GOING AFTER ALL RESPONSIBLE PARTIES IN YOUR WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM
According to Pennsylvania statutes, a wrongful death is one in which a victim died as the result of someone else’s wrongful, negligent or criminal actions. State law recognizes the fact that an accidental death often deprives a family of many things. First and foremost, the victim’s family is deprived of the emotional support and guidance the victim previously provided. This is often referred to as a loss of society or consortium. These types of losses can be especially hard for a victim’s young children to overcome.
There is also the matter of lost income. In many American families, it’s necessary for both parents to work full-time in order to cover their day-to-day costs. The wrongful death of a primary wage earner often leaves the family of the victim scrambling to make payments on mortgages, cars, insurance deductibles, tuition and more.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania laws allow the estate of a wrongfully killed person to sue those responsible for compensation of those losses. Obviously, no amount of money can ever replace a family member. However, a wrongful death lawsuit can go a long way towards helping to provide for the financial support and future needs of spouses and children left behind.
One of the largest hurdles family members often face in wrongful death lawsuits is establishing liability. A good example of this can be found in a previously written article on our blog site. In that case, we talked about a fatal van accident that killed one person and left 15 others injured. Police charged the driver of the van with aggravated assault and homicide by vehicle. What’s important about this case is that van driver was employed by a company at the time of accident. The van driver/employee also indicated that his employer may have been at least partly responsible for the accident due to the van’ s poor vehicle maintenance.
Since 1985, our law firm has provided legal services Pennsylvania residents in Doylestown, Allentown, Easton and Stroudsburg. We work hard on behalf of our clients to hold every responsible party accountable for his or her roles in wrongful death lawsuits.
Prospective clients should know that they can reach us 24 hours a day to schedule an appointment and meet with an attorney at one of our four law offices. Spanish-speaking clients are also encouraged to take advantage of our translation services.