Wrongful Death Claims – A Lawsuit By Another Name

The concept of wrongful death is unique in the law because it is what is known as a bootstrap law. While someone may file a wrongful death lawsuit, the legal claims in that lawsuit are actually based on other legal theories that exist regardless of whether a person died or not.

Any article that you read on wrongful death claims tends to be somewhat vague and ambiguous. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the foremost is the fact that a wrongful death claim cannot exist independent of some other legal claim. In truth, it is nothing more than a normal legal claim that is supercharged if you will because the victim lost their life. Let's look at some examples.

It's Friday! My co-workers and I head off the bar for some adult beverages at happy hour. I imbibe too much and then make things worse by getting behind the wheel. On my way home, I hit another car. Fortunately, nobody is seriously hurt. In addition to being arrested, I am sued by the other car driver for negligent driving. This is a classic civil lawsuit claim.

Now consider the same exact example with one exception. Let's assume the crash is a bad one. While I am only bruised up, the man driving the other car is killed. Besides criminal charges, I will be sued for wrongful death by his surviving spouse and kids. The wrongful death action will be based on the fact I was drunk driving and caused the action. In short, the wrongful death claim is bootstrapped onto the underlying legal theory. Without it, there is no wrongful death lawsuit.

This may seem an obvious distinction, but it is important when it comes to understanding why specific information on wrongful death cases is so hard to find on the web. The problem is a wrongful death action can be based on theories ranging from such esoteric subjects as asbestos exposure to negligent conduct to medical malpractice to assault.

Given this wide scope, it is very difficult to speak in anything but the vaguest generalities. To understand whether you have a valid case, an individual evaluation must be done by legal counsel. Until then, it is anybody's guess.