Wrongful Death

Wrongful death lawsuits may be brought against a person or company by family members of a deceased individual. This may include a car accident, construction accident, truck accident or from a general standpoint, a victim that dies due to a person inflicting harm or a company’s neglect in the safety of their product. Civil action may be considered mass tort when a large number of people are bringing a wrongful death lawsuit against a company such as an Avandia drug lawsuit, Toyota auto lawsuit, and mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit. This is called a class action lawsuit. The jurisdiction in tort law is where death occurs or where the negligent act takes place. People or companies that cause the death of individuals are exposed to varying degrees of liability, including:

Unsafe Products

Wrongful death lawsuits may be brought against a company when the use of a product caused the death of an individual, including:

• Drug Liability: Drug liability falls under the category of strict liability in which the drug caused death despite the victim’s cautious use, the company failed to meet safety standards, or the company failed to warn the victim about the risk of death associated with the product. Drugs such as Avandia, Levaquin, Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella are currently under scrutiny for drug liability.
• Product Liability: Product liability also falls under the category of strict liability in which the design of the product does not allow for safe use, safety mechanisms are inferior when compared to other products, or the company failed to provide warnings that would have prevented the death of the individual otherwise. Chemical such as PBC’s, mercury, lead, asbestos, benzene and mold have also been associated with wrongful death. This also includes: medical devices such as Cardiac Science Defibrillator and defective sports equipment such as composite bats and aluminum bats or football and bike helmets.

Vehicle Accidents

Wrongful death lawsuits can also be filed against individuals or companies responsible for vehicle accidents or slips and falls, including:

• Truck Company and Auto Maker Liability: Truck company and auto maker liability can occur when the company fails to monitor their hiring practices or fails to comply with state and federal regulations which results in the death of a victim. Auto maker liability occurs when manufacturer is neglectful in the design or maintenance of a vehicle that causes injury to a victim. The Toyota recall is the most recent well known example of product liability. A wrongful death lawsuit may also be filed against a truck company when the neglectful acts or a truck driver causes serious injury or death to an individual.

Slip and Fall Accidents

• Slip and Fall Liability: Slip and Fall liability occurs when a person fails to maintain their property, provides no warning of a dangerous condition or does not repair dangerous property.

Premise Liability and Murder

Wrongful death lawsuits may also be brought against a property owner or perpetrator that results in the death of an individual, including:

• Premise Liability: Premise liability occurs when injury or death results to an individual because a property owner failed to maintain a safe property, failure to warn of a risk, or failed to provide security which results in criminal activities that cause serious injury or death to a victim.
• Murder: Murder involves a defendant that devised a plan and had the intent to kill a victim before the killing took place.
• Manslaughter: Voluntary manslaughter means that the death was committed by a person who was provoked by the deceased or that the murderer was not of sound mind at the time of the murder. Involuntary manslaughter means that the cause of death was due to defendant activities that were criminal or reckless in nature.
• Criminally Negligent Homicide: Criminally negligent homicide involves a defendant that criminally results in death of one or more individuals.

Call Burton Padove for a free consultation at 219-836-2200 for nationwide callers. Visit www.todayslawalert.com view Burton Padove’s blog. Burton Padove is currently accepting legal cases involving Avandia, Levaquin, Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Toyota.