Legal terminology is, well, legal, meaning most fundamentally that it pertains to highly specialized subject matter that has a very precise meaning within a distinctly set-off niche.
That is to say, legal terms are seldom thrown about by professionals within the legal profession in a loose or cavalier way. In many instances, a legal expression, rule, process or limitation comes with exacting requirements that must be fully considered prior to presentment or attempted application.
A wrongful death lawsuit well illustrates the singular considerations that can attach to legal subject matter.
One preliminary point to note about wrongful death is that the commencement of an action seeking damages in Arizona or elsewhere can only proceed if certain elements are present.
Central to any wrongful death lawsuit is the focus on culpability of a third party.
In a nutshell, what that means is that an individual’s death must have been closely linked with (sometimes termed as “proximately caused” by) irresponsible third-party behavior. That conduct is most often negligence-based, although wrongful death lawsuits also allege acts of willful misconduct.
Experienced personal injury attorneys deal with wrongful death claims that arise in multiple contexts. Many fatalities that occur in motor vehicle accidents obviously involve elements of negligence or willfully dangerous driving behaviors. Wrongful death is a tragically frequent outcome in construction accidents, in botched medical surgeries, as a result of premises liability and following use of a defective consumer product.
Considerable complexity can attach to wrongful death claims, ranging from the assessment of financial injuries suffered by the surviving family members of a person who died as the result of a wrongful death incident to close consideration of applicable deadlines that apply when filing a claim.
A proven personal injury attorney can answer questions and advocate diligently on behalf of family member seeking a legal recovery on behalf of a loved one who died as the result of another party’s negligent or willful behavior.