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Wrongful Death Lawyer West Palm Beach, FL
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When a family has to endure the unexpected loss of a loved one in West Palm Beach due to the actions of another, there is a painful question that follows: Who is to blame? A wrongful death claim may offer some closure for families in cases where a death was caused, in part or in full, by a person, company, professional, or organization through negligence or one of many other actions that may be considered wrongful.
In some cases, individuals who were directly involved in the incident may not be the only ones who can be held responsible. A wrongful death lawyer in West Palm Beach, FL can help you in investigating all the potential parties responsible for the incident.
Finding the Party Behind a Wrongful Death
The person responsible for a wrongful death is often not the only one present at the scene of the incident. Accident liability may extend to a company, employer, healthcare practitioner, owner of property, manufacturer, or organizations depending on the scenario.
Drivers and Transportation Companies
A fatal crash involving a truck may warrant an investigation into the trucking company. The company’s policy may also include the driver’s hiring practices, as well as the company’s practices regarding vehicle maintenance and other safety policies. In such a case, the employer may be held responsible for the actions of their employee.
Medical Professionals and Healthcare Facilities
The deaths of patients can lead to claims against physicians, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers. Loss of life cases often entail prolonged, complex medical records and are often best assessed by medical professionals.
Property Owners and Businesses
Property owners and businesses may be responsible when dangerous conditions on their premises contribute to a person’s death. This can happen when an owner fails to maintain the property, provide adequate security, or address a hazard they knew or reasonably should have known about.
These cases may involve unsafe stairways, inadequate lighting, negligent security, swimming pool accidents, falling objects, dangerous structural conditions, or other serious hazards. A fatal dog attack may also result in liability when the circumstances support a claim against the dog or property owner.
Determining responsibility usually requires examining what caused the accident, how long the dangerous condition existed, and whether reasonable steps could have prevented the death.
Manufacturers and Other Entities
Manufacturers, distributors, and other businesses may be held responsible when a defective or unreasonably dangerous product causes a fatal injury. These cases can involve defects in a product’s design, manufacturing process, safety warnings, or instructions for proper use.
Government agencies may also be responsible in certain circumstances. However, claims involving a government entity often have different notice requirements, deadlines, and legal limitations that must be considered before pursuing a case.
What Makes Someone Legally Responsible for Wrongful Death?
Just being present during an incident doesn’t make someone legally liable for a death. Wrongful death claims require proof that another party’s actions resulted in a person’s death. When investigating civil lawsuits, there are key questions that arise which dictate if a party has grounds for a claim.
Did the Party Owe a Duty of Care?
Duty of care means that a person or organization has a responsibility to act reasonably to avoid creating an unnecessary risk of harm to others. For example, drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely around others on the road. Property owners may also have a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for people legally on their property.
Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to provide care for their patients, while a manufacturing company has a duty to ensure that their product does not cause an unreasonable risk of harm to the consumer.
Was That Duty Broken?
This question refers to whether the failure to act in a given situation provided an unreasonable risk of harm to another. An example of a breach of duty of care is a driver running a red light, a property owner failing to correct a dangerous condition on their property, or a health care provider failing to follow proper procedure.
Did the Conduct Cause the Death?
It must be determined whether the actions of the party caused death or helped to establish a set of circumstances that resulted in a death. Often, the result can be attributed to the actions of multiple parties.
Did the Death Cause Legally Recognized Losses?
A wrongful death claim can also cover losses suffered by the family or the deceased person’s estate. These may include financial losses as well as the loss of support or companionship. One may not be legally responsible simply because they were present or involved. In order to impose civil liability for the death and the resulting losses, there must be sufficient evidence connecting the party’s obligation to the death.
When More Than One Party May Be at Fault
A fatal accident may involve the negligence of more than one person, business, or organization. Determining liability requires examining what happened, who contributed to the incident, and whether each party had a legal responsibility to prevent the harm.
For example, a negligent driver may not be the only party responsible for a fatal crash. If the driver was working at the time, the employer may also bear responsibility depending on the circumstances. Similar issues can arise in medical malpractice cases involving healthcare providers and the organizations that employ them.
Property-related deaths can also involve multiple parties. A property owner, management company, maintenance contractor, or another business may share responsibility when their actions or failures contribute to dangerous conditions.
However, the involvement of several parties does not automatically mean each one is legally responsible. The evidence must establish how each person or organization contributed to the circumstances that caused the death.
A wrongful death lawyer in West Palm Beach can investigate the parties involved and examine evidence such as employment records, contracts, maintenance records, company policies, and medical records. This investigation can help determine whether additional individuals or businesses may share liability under Florida law.
Identifying all potentially responsible parties is especially important in a wrongful death case. Each claim must be supported by evidence connecting that party’s conduct to the death and the damages suffered by the surviving family.
Building the Case Against the Responsible Party
Identifying a potentially responsible party is the first of many steps. Next is providing evidence of how the responsible party acted (or failed to act) in a negligent manner. This can require assembly of the data from a variety of sources. Some key documents and evidence may include:
- Police or accident reports
- Medical records
- Employment and financial records
- Company policies and records
- Contracts and agreements
- Maintenance and inspection reports
- Witness statements
- Photos and videos from the scene
- Surveillance footage
Collectively, this evidence can provide insight into how negligent acts of a responsible party caused a death.
In wrongful death cases, establishing liability will require expert analysis by a wrongful death lawyer in West Palm Beach, FL. This analysis includes accident reconstruction and/or medical negligence. Records can be lost or destroyed, photos can be altered and/or disappear, and witnesses can become unavailable. It is important to retain evidence as early as possible to ensure its integrity as the case progresses.
Find Out Who May Be Responsible for Your Loved One’s Death
You cannot bring your loved one back, and no legal case can compensate for your loss; however, you may find closure if you can figure out who is responsible. The Jacobson Injury Firm helps families suffering from the injuries of their loved ones. West Palm Beach residents can contact the firm for a free case review and to discuss how a wrongful death lawyer in West Palm Beach, FL, will assist them in their case.
