Kinds of Negligence in Wrongful Death Claims

Any way you slice it, negligence is basically a lack of care. That duty of care varies in different situations, as outlined below. Basically, legal claims compel tortfeasors (negligent actors) to accept responsibility for the mistakes they make. In a perfect world, we’d all step up to the plate and accept the consequences of our mistakes. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

So, when people negligently cause injury, a Sugar Land personal injury lawyer must often force them to accept responsibility for their mistakes. This responsibility adheres to a basic “you break it, you buy it”  principle. If Tom unintentionally drops a coffee cup, he should pay compensation (pay for the cup). If Tom unintentionally kills someone, he must pay compensation (usually compensation for pecuniary losses). The compensation is much higher in a wrongful death claim because people are worth infinitely more than coffee cups.

Negligence Per Se

This principle often applies in alcohol-related car crashes. Tortfeasors (negligent actors) who violate safety laws, such as the DUI law, and cause injuries, such as a wrongful death, could be liable for damages as a matter of law.

Pecuniary losses in a wrongful death claim usually include compensation for the decedent’s final medical bills, final expenses, like funeral and burial costs, decedent’s pain and suffering, lost future emotional support, and lost future financial support.

Many of these losses are difficult to determine. It’s almost impossible to put a price tag on something like lost future emotional support. So, a Missouri City personal injury lawyer often partners with psychologists and other outside professionals in these situations.

Ordinary Negligence

Most law enforcement agencies have mandatory DUI arrest policies, so negligence per se is quite common in these cases. However, in other injury cases, emergency responders rarely issue citations. They don’t want to get involved in what they believe is a civil matter.

That’s okay, because the ordinary negligence doctrine is available in these cases. This legal principle, which is based on the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you), has four basic elements:

• Duty: Most people have a duty of reasonable care in most instances. For example, most drivers must avoid accidents whenever possible and always drive defensively. Companies, including drug companies, have a duty to warn end users about all known side-effects. A higher duty of care applies in professional negligence cases, like medical malpractice.
• Breach: The breach refers to the core principle of negligence, which is a lack of care. Divers violate their duty of care when they drive aggressively or while impaired. Companies and professionals violate their duty of care when their actions or products fall below the industry standard.
• Cause: A Missouri City personal injury lawyer must prove legal and factual cause in a wrongful death case. Foreseeability is possibility. When people step in the shower, there’s a possibility, albeit an unlikely one, that they may slip on bars of soap. Factual cause means substantial cause. Bad weather might contribute to a car wreck, but in most cases, driver error causes that accident.
• Damages: This element is the easiest one to prove in a wrongful death case. Negligence substantially causes a wrongful death even if a pre-existing medical condition contributed to the risk and/or severity of injury.

Swimming pool drowning, dog bite, and other premises liability matters have two basic elements. The owner must have a duty of care and the owner must know about the injury-causing hazard.

The duty of care varies according to the relationship between the owner and victim, but in most cases, the owner has a duty of reasonable care. Evidence of knowledge could be direct or circumstantial (should have known).

Work With a Compassionate Harris County Attorney

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. We routinely handle these matters throughout the Lone Star State.