Wrongful death lawyer 

If you’ve been in an accident or you are the family member of somebody who has been killed in an accident, you are wondering about your legal rights. And depending on the type of action and the result of that accident, you may be liable for money damages, and whether you receive those damages or your family receives those damages all depends on whether it’s a personal injury case or wrongful death case. You should talk to a wrongful death lawyer, whether your case is a personal injury case or a wrongful death case.

Similarities between personal injury and wrongful death claims

There are many similarities between personal injury and wrongful death, most notable is that they fall under tort law, which is an area of law the Joseph a civil wrong that causes someone to suffer, often with legal liability for the person who has committed the act of negligence. Tort law focuses on intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, financial loss, invasion of privacy, injury, and other harms. If you have questions about whether your case falls into the wide category of tort law, you should talk to your wrongful death lawyer.

So to successfully pursue a personal injury claim, you must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care. And of course, to prove a wrongful death claim, you must prove that the defendant owed the person that died a duty of care. So these types of cases are very similar in what you must prove, however they have two very different outcomes.

Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits apply to many accidents, such as:

• auto accidents 
• trucking accidents 
• motorcycle accidents 
• medical malpractice 
• Workplace accidents
• slip and falls

The above is not a full list, but it is a list of most commonly seen personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. You should talk to your wrongful death lawyer if you have any questions about other causes of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, especially if you believe that you might be the victim of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit that you are not certain of.

Differences between personal injury and wrongful death claims

Both legal claims are based on negligence, however in a wrongful death lawsuit, the victim of this negligence is dead, so the injury is basically the injury that the estate and the family sustained. However, in a personal injury lawsuit, the injury is usually a bodily injury that was sustained by somebody who is a victim of negligence. 

The circumstances of the accidents can also cause differences in the statute of limitations, especially if the accident goes from being considered a personal injury case to a wrongful death case. You should talk to your wrongful death lawyer if you have any questions about whether your case’s statute of limitations is changed.