Most of the time truck accidents are pretty serious. The victims may even die due to the catastrophic injuries sustained from the accident. However, a truck accident will change your life. Sometimes you lose someone you loved in a truck accident. If you relied on that person for financial support, your life will be in crisis.
If you have any relation to the person who died in a truck accident, you can file a wrongful death claim. No amount of money can bring back a person from death. But the compensation you receive from a wrongful death lawsuit may help you to maintain your financial responsibilities.
Filing a personal injury truck accident lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit is entirely different. In this article, we will look at how to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Who Should File A Wrongful Death Claim?
Any individual who represents the deceased person’s estate can file a wrongful death claim. These individuals include the spouse or partner, children, siblings, and other financially dependent people. Each state has different laws for who can represent a deceased person. Most of the states in the United States follow two legal systems; Lord Campdell’s Act and Loss-to-estate system.
Lord Campdell’s Act states that only one beneficiary can bring a wrongful death claim. The beneficiary usually begins with the spouse or children. If there are no beneficiaries, then there is no right to bring the claim. The Loss-to-estate system states that only the people who represent the deceased person’s estate can file a wrongful death claim. Any compensation amount would be dispersed among the beneficiaries of the deceased.
When Should You File A Wrongful Death Claim?
You can file a wrongful death lawsuit if the death of your loved one is because of the negligence on the part of one or more parties. In the case of truck accidents, these involved parties include the truck driver, the truck driver’s employer, trucking company, the manufacturer of the truck, and the cargo shipper. For winning the wrongful death lawsuit you need to prove that the accident was the result of the negligence of the defendants.
Why Should You Hire A Truck Accident Lawyer?
Hiring a truck accident lawyer will help you to speed up the proceedings and file the wrongful death lawsuit. A truck accident lawyer can help you to draft a spoliation letter and send it to the trucking company. The lawyer will hire an expert to inspect the truck that caused the accident and document his findings on the cause of accident which will help you to build a stronger case. A truck accident lawyer will also interview the witnesses and record their statements.
