If you live in Pennsylvania, maybe you know the term “wrongful death.” Perhaps you have heard it in some context. You may not feel sure what constitutes a wrongful death, though. You may not know the legal definition.
If someone in your family dies unexpectedly, though, maybe you can bring a wrongful death suit afterward. That depends. If you feel sure some person or entity caused this person’s death, then you can at least contact a lawyer and look into it.
We’ll discuss some wrongful death scenarios that can happen in Pennsylvania right now. Some common ones usually show up in courtroom settings, and if you’re representing the deceased, maybe you can collect some money on their behalf.
Traffic Fatalities
Pennsylvania saw 1,230 traffic fatalities in 2021. You can expect a similar number most years. Those include cars that hit pedestrians and cyclists. The number also includes cars that hit other vehicles, causing deaths. It includes those that caused serious injuries that eventually killed the afflicted person.
You can sometimes sue the person driving the car that hit the pedestrian, cyclist, or another vehicle. Actually, you can sue them any time you like, but you can’t prove wrongful death unless the crash meets certain criteria.
If you allege that wrongful death occurred, then maybe the person who drove the car ingested alcohol before they drove. Perhaps they drank far more than the law allows. If they have three times the legal limit in their body, you can probably prove wrongful death.
Perhaps you have a speeding situation. You have a driver who mows someone down in a crosswalk, and they’re driving 40 miles over the speed limit when they do. If you’re representing the deceased, you can certainly claim that constitutes wrongful death.
Maybe you even have a situation with a deranged driver. They see someone peddling down the street on their bike or walking in the crosswalk, and they speed up rather than slow down.
If you’re representing the person who this driver killed, you can be sure they’re facing criminal charges, but you can also bring civil ones. You can absolutely say that constitutes wrongful death.
Medical Malpractice Cases
If you have someone in your family die when they’re at a hospital, clinic, urgent care facility, or at a private doctor’s office, you can bring a wrongful death suit in some instances. That depends.
The person or facility might not perform the medical necessities that the profession demands. If so, you can sue them. If the facility or doctor did everything possible that the medical field required, then you won’t win a wrongful death lawsuit.
Maybe a doctor stays up for 30 hours and then attempts an operation. They make a fatal mistake, and the patient dies. You can easily see why you might consider that a wrongful death.
Perhaps a nurse gives the patient the wrong drugs, or they give them the wrong amount. It kills them. You can see how that constitutes wrongful death if the nurse simply doesn’t pay attention. They violated the standard of care that their profession demands.
You might have a doctor who misdiagnoses a patient. The patient has obvious symptoms, but the doctor determines they have a completely different condition or disease than they actually do. They start doing treatment, but it’s incorrect, and the person dies.
That’s a wrongful death, and you can sue them accordingly. If you can collect some money, the doctor’s medical malpractice insurance should pay you.
All doctors need medical malpractice insurance, and if they don’t have it, they will face additional penalties. They could pay a massive fine, serve jail time, or lose their license.
Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability cases also come into play sometimes with wrongful death lawsuits. You might have a family member die outside your home somewhere, and when you look into their death, you see that some person or entity could have prevented the occurrence.
For instance, maybe someone has a large dog, like a German Shepard or a Doberman. You have a family member who visits the dog’s house. Perhaps they’re reading the gas meter, or they’re delivering a package.
The dog’s owner has it loose in the yard, and they don’t have any signs up. They did not restrain the dog in any way. Your family member can’t fight off the dog, and it mauls them. Your family member subsequently dies.
You can sue the owner. They had a duty to keep the dog chained up or restrained in the house. They did not follow that duty, and they put up no warning signs, either.
You might have a family member slip and fall down in a store. Maybe they land awkwardly and break their neck. If the store did not have a wet floor sign or any other indication a dangerous situation existed, that’s a wrongful death.
Maybe your family member walks past a construction site. Some careless construction worker drops a tool, and it lands on your family member’s head, killing them. You can bring a wrongful death case in that instance as well.
Some escalator or elevator accidents causing death might constitute a wrongful death. If the owner or building operator didn’t bother maintaining that conveyance, you can sue them and win.
Some food poisoning situations can also bring a wrongful death lawsuit. If your family member ate some food in a restaurant that the establishment prepared incorrectly, you can sue them. Maybe the restaurant owner served food well past the expiration date to save money.
Many other wrongful death cases exist. If you can clearly blame a person or entity, and their negligence or ill intent caused your family member or friend’s death, then you can sue, and you should win.
If you’re unsure about a wrongful death case in Pennsylvania, contact a lawyer and tell them what happened. Once you describe what occurred, they can probably tell you whether you have a case.
