If you have lost a loved one due to another party’s negligence or carelessness, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim in order to recover compensation for your loss. There are a number of factors that go into a successful wrongful death claim, one of which is proving negligence. In order to have a viable wrongful death claim, you must be able to establish that there was negligence. To prove this, four key components must be met – duty of care, breach of duty, and causation. In this article, we will explore the different elements of negligence that must be proven in a wrongful death claim.
Duty Of Care
The first criterion that must be met in order to prove negligence is the duty of care. Moreover, it must be established that the defendant owed a duty of care to the deceased victim. Duty of care can be described as the legal obligation that a party owes to another to avoid causing potential harm. Furthermore, it must be proven that the defendant had a duty to act in a certain way in order to ensure the victim’s safety. Here are some examples:
- Medical professionals have a duty of care to administer proper medical care.
- Drivers have a duty of care to obey traffic laws, including traffic lights, speed limits, and right-of-way laws.
- Property owners have a duty of care to maintain their property and repair or report any hazardous or potentially dangerous conditions.
Breach Of Duty
Once it has been established there was a duty of care, the next criterion that must be met is breach of duty. This means that it must be shown that the defendant failed to meet the expected duty of care, thereby breaching this responsibility. This can include actions that were taken or failures to act that a reasonable person would not have done in similar circumstances. In order to prove that the duty of care was breached, evidence such as expert testimony, witness statements, and medical documentation are essential. Some examples of situations in which a duty of care was breached include:
- A doctor failing to diagnose a patient or operating on the incorrect organ.
- A driver running a red light and crashing into another vehicle.
- A property owner knowingly allows their property to be hazardous, thereby causing someone to slip and fall.
Causation
After it has been proven that there was an expected duty of care and that duty was breached, causation must be established. It must be proven that the defendant’s breach of duty directly caused the victim’s death and was not just a factor in it. To help prove causation, accident reconstructionists and expert witnesses may be called in to help. There are two main types of causation – actual cause and proximate cause:
- Actual Causation: Also known as “cause in fact,” actual cause means to demonstrate that the defendant’s behavior directly led to death.
- Proximate Causation: It must be proven that the outcome of the defendant’s actions was foreseeable and likely.
Damages
The final element in proving negligence in a wrongful death claim is showing that there are damages that resulted from the accident. The first type of damage is economic damages. The value of these damages can be reasonably assessed given their tangible nature and seek to cover expenses and losses such as funeral costs and loss of financial support. The other type of damage is non-economic damages. These damages are intangible and difficult to quantify as they seek to compensate the victim’s family and loved ones for the emotional impact of the loss.
Filing A Claim
As you can see, there are a number of different and complex factors that go into proving negligence in a wrongful death claim. Having the expertise of a San Antonio wrongful death attorney on your side throughout the process of filing a claim can greatly ease the process. An experienced attorney can help gather the necessary information in order to prove negligence as well as guide you through the legal proceedings, allowing you to focus on your healing journey and grieve the loss of your loved one.
