It is true that most wrongful death cases involve negligence. Someone crashes into our spouse’s car and kill them. Or a doctor makes a mistake during surgery and your mom or dad ends up passing away. While these situations are tragic, they’re not the only types of cases that can entitle you to damages.
Any Charlotte wrongful death attorney knows that most wrongful death cases involved one of the following things:
- Car accidents
- Fires
- Dangerous drugs
- Product liability
- Medical malpractice
These are the kinds of personal injury cases you’d imagine to lead to a wrongful death claim. In order to prove any of these cases, your personal injury lawyer in Charlotte will have to demonstrate the following four (4) elements of negligence:
- The defendant owed the victim a duty of care
- They breached this duty
- The victim died
- Their death was caused by the defendant’s breach
Obviously, it won’t be difficult to prove that your loved one died. However, it may be hard to show that they died because of the accident. It can also be difficult to prove that the defendant was at fault.
In order to prove a negligence case against a third party, you should rely on a personal injury attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, these attorneys are also the ones you want to use if you need to pursue wrongful death in an intentional case.
Intentional Acts Can Cause Wrongful Death
There are times when someone intends to kill your loved one. That’s hard to imagine, but it happens. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the defendant hated your loved one and wanted them to die. It just means that they intended to carry out the sort of act that ended up leading to their death.
Some of the criminal and intentional behaviors that may lead to a wrongful death case include:
- Gunshot or stabbing
- Assault
- Murder
- Arson
We’ll take a brief look at each of these in detail. Your Charlotte wrongful death lawyer can explain how each of these cases work. They’ll also review your case to see if your family’s entitled to compensation.
Gunshot
Sadly, we live in a world where people do some desperate things to get money. We see stories about stores being robbed at gunpoint all the time. If your loved one is in the wrong place at the wrong time, they could end up being killed.
If someone is holding up a store or business, they may use a gun. If your spouse or sibling tries to stop them, or just gets in the way of a stray bullet, they may get shot. If this happens and they die, the defendant may be liable for civil damages.
Assault and Battery
Fights break out all the time. If your loved one is involved in a bar brawl or some other kind of scrum, they can end up sustaining serious injuries. If they die as a result of their injuries, you may have a claim for wrongful death.
The court will look to see if anyone was acting in self-defense. They’ll also try to determine who caused the fight. Your Charlotte personal injury attorney will have to prove who threw the punch that led to your loved one’s death.
Murder
Almost everyone on Earth recalls or has heard about the O.J. Simpson case. When Simpson was acquitted of murder, Nicole Brown’s family still believed he had killed their daughter. So, they decided to file suit against O.J. for wrongful death.
While there wasn’t enough evidence to prove murder in criminal court, the jury did find for the plaintiff in the civil claim. Although O.J. ended up finding a way to avoid payment of the judgment, at least the family knows they were vindicated.
Arson
When we speak about desperate acts, arson comes to mind. Some property and business owners are in such financial straits, they set fire to their own property to collect the insurance proceeds. When they do this, there’s always the chance that an innocent person could get hurt or killed.
Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina
If your loved one is killed by someone, you may have a claim for wrongful death. Contact an experienced wrongful death attorney in Charlotte to discuss your case.
Call and schedule your free initial consultation with a lawyer at Ted A Greve & Associates today. And remember – you pay nothing until your case settles.
