Chandler Truck Accident Attorney

What Are Wrongful Death Claims?

Historically, the surviving family members of people who were killed by the negligent or intentional conduct of others could not pursue a civil remedy against the at-fault parties. By contrast, people who were injured by others but didn’t succumb were entitled to pursue compensation through injury claims. The state Legislature recognized that this difference between the rights of personal injury victims to pursue compensation versus the lack of rights of surviving family members to do so was inequitable. To rectify this inequity, the state enacted ARS 12-611 to allow specific family members to pursue compensation through wrongful death claims. Under Arizona’s wrongful death statute, the negligent party’s liability doesn’t end with the victim’s death.

Proving Wrongful Death Liability

A plaintiff in a wrongful death case can include claims based on intentional or negligent acts. However, most wrongful death claims include negligence causes of action. To win a wrongful death case involving negligence, you will have the burden to prove the following legal elements of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence:

• The defendant owed a duty of care to your loved one.
• The defendant’s actions violated the duty of care.
• The defendant’s violation of the duty caused theaccident and yourloved one’s death.
• You incurred actual damages because of the defendant’s negligence in causing your loved one’s death.

Civil vs. Criminal Liability

In many cases, defendants who have caused the deaths of others will be criminally charged. The fact that a defendant has been charged with crimes for your loved one’s death does not mean that you can’t also file a civil claim against the defendant for the same event. Instead, you have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim against a defendant even if a criminal case has been filed against them.

Both wrongful death civil lawsuits and criminal cases might rely on similar types of evidence. However, they operate under different bodies of the law and require differing burdens of proof.

Criminal prosecutors are tasked with prosecuting criminal cases. Since a conviction can result in the loss of the defendant’s freedom through incarceration, the burden of proof prosecutors must meet is much higher than the burden of proof required of civil wrongful death plaintiffs. Criminal prosecutors must prove each of the elements of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that there is no reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.

By contrast, a wrongful death plaintiff must prove the elements of the civil cause of action by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that the events are more likely than not to have happened as the plaintiff has argued. If a plaintiff wins a wrongful death lawsuit, the defendant will be liable to pay monetary damages. However, the defendant will not face prison if they lose a wrongful death action. If they are found guilty at a criminal trial, however, they will face a potential prison sentence.

Since the burden of proof in a wrongful death case is lower than the burden of proof in a criminal case, it is sometimes possible for a defendant to be found not guilty in a criminal matter while being found liable in a wrongful death case for the same incident. Being able to file a wrongful death case makes it likelier that you will be able to hold the wrongful actor accountable for their actions.

One famous illustration of the difference between the possible outcomes of criminal homicide and civil wrongful death cases involves O.J. Simpson. While Simpson was famously (or infamously) found not guilty following his criminal trial for the murders of his wife and her friend, he was later found liable in the wrongful death actions filed against him by the victims’ surviving family members.

Parties Allowed to File Wrongful Death Claims

Arizona restricts the parties who are eligible to pursue wrongful death lawsuits under ARS 12-612. According to this law, only the people with the following relationships with the deceased victim can file wrongful death claims:

• Victim’s surviving spouse
• Victim’s surviving children
• Victim’s surviving parent/guardian
• Estate’s representative or executor if none of the above parties survive

For child victims, the parent(s) or legal guardian can file a wrongful death lawsuit. If none of the surviving family members listed above exist, the estate’s executor or personal representative can file a claim. In that situation, any recovered amounts will go to the estate to be distributed according to the decedent’s will or by the state’s laws of intestacy if the decedent died without a will.

Arizona Survival Actions

Survival actions can also be filed when someone is killed because of another’s negligent or intentional acts, but they are different than wrongful death lawsuits. Wrongful death lawsuits are meant to compensate the surviving family members for their losses caused by the death of their loved one as the jury deems to be fair and just under ARS 12-613.

By contrast, survival actions are found in ARS 14-3110. Only the personal representative or executor of the decedent’s estate can bring a survival action. The surviving family members cannot. However, if the surviving family member is also the estate’s executor or representative, they can file both actions. Unlike wrongful death actions, which are meant to allow the surviving family members to recover damages for their losses, survival actions are meant to allow the estate to recover compensation for the estate’s and decedent’s losses, including any medical expenses the deceased victim incurred before succumbing to their injuries, the decedent’s lost wages, burial expenses, and funeral expenses. Survival actions don’t allow for the recovery of the deceased victim’s pain and suffering damages, however.

Potential Damages

The damages that might be available will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. Some of the potential damages that might be recoverable include the following:

• Burial and funeral expenses
• Wages and benefits the decedent might have earned if they had survived
• Medical expenses for treating the decedent’s injuries before death
• Property losses
• Lost rights to an inheritance
• The emotional pain/suffering of the surviving family member
• Loss of consortium, companionship, and guidance
• Loss of the decedent’s household services

There isn’t a cap on the damages that can be recovered in Arizona wrongful death lawsuits.