Indianapolis Wrongful Death Lawyer

The sudden and unexpected death of a family member can cause monumental grief. Getting through each day without the companionship and love of your spouse, child, or parent can seem unbearable. You might feel overwhelmed as you are left with a lot of unexpected medical expenses. If your loved one contributed to the family’s finances, you might also be experiencing financial uncertainty.

If you believe your loved one died because of someone else’s mistake, you might be eligible for some financial relief. An Indianapolis wrongful death lawyer could help you seek monetary damages in a personal injury claim.

Potential Legal Grounds for a Wrongful Death Suit

Preventable deaths occur in many different situations. A wrongful death occurs whenever someone dies because of another person’s negligent, careless, reckless, or willful conduct. After a wrongful death occurs, the deceased person’s family members might be eligible to sue the responsible parties. While wrongful deaths can happen in many different ways, they most commonly arise out of the following situations:

• Automobile crashes – Including from trucks, buses, and motorcycles.
• Medical malpractice – Medical providers who provide substandard care that leads to a death could be liable. The most frequent types of fatal medical mistakes include missed or delayed diagnoses, medication errors, surgical mistakes, birth injuries, and anesthesia errors.
• Nursing home neglect and abuse incidents
• Slip and falls and other accidents occurring due to inadequate property maintenance and upkeep
• Dog bites
• Defective products – A decedent’s family could take legal action against a manufacturer or distributor for creating a faulty product (including defective drugs) or for selling a product without adequate operating instructions.
• Intentional violent acts

A dedicated legal team could comb through the evidence, searching for proof that the defendant’s actions or inactions led to the decedent’s death. The purpose is to demonstrate that if the defendant had acted reasonably and appropriately, the death would not have occurred. An Indianapolis wrongful death lawyer must look for evidence establishing the defendant’s actions as the proximate cause of the decedent’s death.

Potential Claimants in a Wrongful Death Action

A sudden death can upend the lives of many people. Immediate family members, extended family members, classmates, friends, neighbors, and coworkers can all grieve extensively. However, not every grieving person is legally eligible to file a wrongful death legal claim in Indiana.

When an injured person files a personal injury suit, they file a claim for themselves because they are the one who suffered the harm. In a wrongful death claim, the person who suffered the grievous injury that led to their death cannot file a claim for themselves. In Indiana, the personal representative of the decedent’s estate generally files a wrongful death claim on behalf of the deceased person’s heirs. In most cases, only people who are closely related to the decedent, such as the surviving spouse, children, or parents, are eligible for compensation.

A seasoned wrongful death attorney in Indianapolis could help a person determine if they are eligible to bring a claim or collect the proceeds from a lawsuit brought by the estate.

Call an Indianapolis Wrongful Death Attorney

If you lose a loved one due to someone’s misconduct, the responsible party should be held accountable. Because the laws on wrongful death claims can be complicated, working with an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer is critical. A compassionate legal team could help guide you through the legal process while giving you the time to focus on your family and getting your life back together.

Call an Indianapolis wrongful death lawyer today.