Table of Contents
What is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death occurs when an individual or organization knowingly or negligently causes a person’s death. Surviving family members pursue a wrongful death lawsuit in court to seek compensation for their losses and damages that result from the deceased person’s death.
For example, a family that has lost a primary wage-earner to knowing or negligent actions would file a wrongful death lawsuit to get compensation for income loss due to the wage-earner’s death. Wrongful death actions can be also pursued against those facing criminal charges.
Even if the person is not found liable for the wrongful death, the lower burden of proof in civil court can allow compensation for surviving family members.
Wrongful Death Damages
Wrongful death damages depend on many factors. Factors such as the deceased’s income, expected future income, and family dependence are issues in determining compensation.
An example is a parent with young children who dies from wrongful actions. The deceased’s children depend on current and future income from the deceased. Their compensation would be different from survivors of someone without young children.
Compensation may cover pain and emotional harm caused to family members, funeral expenses, and replacement of income.
Common Wrongful Death Causes
Wrongful death is associated with personal injury. Personal injury is physical injury inflicted on a person’s body leading to wrongful death.
Injuries fall into the categories of accidental injuries, and intentional harm. In accidental injuries, the defendant didn’t intend to hurt the deceased but injured them, nonetheless. An example would be someone who was wrestling and caused physical harm.
Intentional torts are when wrongful death occurs because of harm committed on purpose, such as homicide.
Wrongful Death Without Injury
Not all wrongful death is associated with injury. Negligence without physical injury can lead to wrongful death. Failure to act, failure to provide care, and failure to address hazards are negligent wrongful death without injury reasons.
Some reasons for wrongful death without injury include:
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is medical errors and omission of care. An example of medical malpractice is a doctor who fails to notice a problem during surgery that leads to a patient’s death. Omission of care is failing to provide adequate care for a patient.
For example, a nurse who fails to feed a patient or take care of patient hygiene leading to death has committed omission of care.
Toxic Exposure and Environmental Hazards
Toxic exposures can cause wrongful death. Exposure to toxins such as lead and asbestos are toxic exposure and environmental hazards. An example of wrongful death due to toxic exposure would be a property manager who failed to disclose to tenants about lead hazards.
Negligence in Elder Care and Nursing Homes
Nursing home abuse and neglect often lead to wrongful deaths without physical injuries. Neglect can involve inadequate nutrition, hydration, or failure to give medical attention. An example is a nursing assistant who fails to report or doesn’t try to prevent decubitus (pressure ulcers) in a nursing home resident.
Wrongful Death in Illinois
The Illinois Wrongful Death Act governs wrongful death lawsuits and compensation in Illinois. In this state, there are no caps, or limits, on compensation. A no-cap law means there aren’t restrictions on the compensation plaintiffs can recover by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Common compensation includes medical expenses incurred before death, funeral and burial expenses, lost wages incurred before death while the deceased was under medical care, and future loss of wages the deceased would have earned during their lifetime.
Non-economic damages are damages that don’t involve the money spent or lost, but emotional loss. Pain and suffering from the loss of your loved one and loss of consortium such as companionship are non-economic losses.
You may not know who to turn to when you have questions about wrongful death. At Thomas Law Office we are here to inform and help. Contact us today.