Who Can and Cannot File a Wrongful Death Claim?

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A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim was killed as a result of negligence on the part of the person or entity being sued, and the victim’s survivors are permitted to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct that lead to the death.

Breach of Duty and Legal Liability

In order for a person to be found liable for a wrongful death, the person must be found to have a duty of care to the person who died.  For this person to have breached this duty of care, they must have failed to act like a reasonable person.  This breach of duty must have also lead to the death.

Relationship to the Deceased

For a person to be able to file a wrongful death suit, they must be related in some way to the person who died.  The relationship between the person filing the suit and the person killed must be documented and clear.  For example you cannot file a suit if your neighbor died, but you can file a suit if your child is killed.  Since the relationship between a person and their child is clear it becomes apparent that there is a right to sue.

Common Relationships

Generally you may file a wrongful death claim if you were the:

• Spouse of the victim
• Parent of the victim
• Child of the victim        
  

Generally you cannot file a wrongful death claim if you are:

• A minor
• Distant relative to the victim
• The defendant in the case

The most common distributes are surviving spouses and children, and sometimes parents.  Nothing can ever prepare us for the sudden death of a loved one.  When that death is caused by someone else’s negligence, it is difficult to understand why this happened.  The Seattle wrongful death attorneys at Wattel & York, Attorneys At Law, can help your family obtain the compensation you need and deserve.