How Do I Prove Someone Else is Responsible For My Loved One’s Death?

July 30, 2022

The death of a parent, spouse, child, or other close loved one can be traumatic. That trauma can be worse when the death is unexpected and the result of someone else’s negligent act or omission. Additionally, unexpected and wrongful deaths may carry large medical bills and many other financial burdens on the family who survives your loved one.

As someone who is grieving after losing a loved one, financial stress is the last thing you need. If you believe your loved one’s death was due to someone else’s fault or negligent act or omission, you could have a wrongful death case.

Why Pursue a Wrongful Death Case?

We know that pursuing a wrongful death claim or filing a lawsuit sounds like the last thing you need to add to your plate after losing a loved one. Yet, you could help ease the emotional and financial burden you are feeling and may need answers to help you heal in the long run..

An experienced wrongful death attorney near Hamilton, Ohio will walk you through the process and carry as much of the burden for you as possible.

Proving a Wrongful Death Case

You may know the cause of your loved one’s death, but how do we prove the claim? Great question. In order to prove the death was caused by someone else’s negligent actions or omissions, we must be prove:

Duty of Care

You must prove that a prospective defendant owed your loved one a duty of care. That means that you must show that the person or company that you believe is at fault had an obligation to take certain precautions or behave in a certain manner in order to prevent an accident from happening.

Breach of Duty

Second, you must prove that the person responsible breached this duty of care. This means the person failed to take the proper precautions or act in a way obligated to by that duty of care.

Causation

Next, you must prove that the breach of the duty of care resulted in or caused the death of your loved one. In medical malpractice cases, for instance, several local juries have found that a doctor breached a duty of care but that the breach of that duty did not cause the death.

Damages

Finally, if the duty of care, breach of duty, and causation have been proven, you must prove that damages resulted and what the value of those damages are. A personal injury can help you do that.