Top Causes of Wrongful Death By Hardin Ramey on April 13, 2020

Flowers atop a coffinWrongful death refers to a situation in which the reckless or negligent actions of another person or party leads to a person’s death. Wrongful deaths are particularly devastating for surviving loved ones, because they have to live with the fact that the death could have been prevented.

When a wrongful death occurs, surviving family members can file a lawsuit to seek financial compensation for resulting losses. Wrongful death lawyer Hardin Ramey has handled many wrongful death cases in Dallas, TX, and surrounding areas. Here, we go over some of the top causes of wrongful death.

Automobile Accidents

Automobile accidents are a leading cause of wrongful death in the United States. Any accident has the potential to result in serious injury, and many cause catastrophic injuries that have a lifelong impact. Unfortunately, many automobile accidents result in death.

In data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the year 2016, it was reported that 37,461 people were killed in automobile accidents that year. They further breakdown this statistic to show that an average of 102 people were killed in automobile accidents in the United States each day, which amounted to an automobile accident death every 14 minutes.

Medical Malpractice

Society relies on doctors and other medical personnel to treat their ailments, but neglectful medical care is not uncommon. If a medical professional makes a mistake or is negligent when providing care, there can be catastrophic consequences, including wrongful death. Cases of medical malpractice that are most likely to result in death include surgical errors, anesthesia errors, prescription errors, adverse drug interactions, and misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.

Defective Products

When people use a product, whether it be a vehicle, an appliance, or toy, they don’t expect it to injure them, let alone kill them. Unfortunately, defective products are a top cause of wrongful death lawsuits. If a product causes injury or death when being used as intended, victims have the right to sue for compensation for damages. Parties that may be held liable in wrongful death cases involving defective products include designers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

Work Accidents

Work accidents are another common cause of wrongful deaths. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, reports that 5,250 workers died on the job in 2018. While any field of work could have accidents that result in death, one of the most dangerous is construction. In 2018, OSHA reports that just over 21 percent of worker fatalities in the private industry were in the field of construction.

Criminal Activity

Criminal activity is not as common a cause of wrongful death for our Dallas clients as the abovementioned incidents, but these types of deaths do occur. Wrongful death incidents involving criminal activity include assault, shootings, and domestic violence.

Contact Us

People who have lost a loved one to wrongful death may be due compensation for financial and non-financial losses. If you are interested in exploring your right to a wrongful death suit, send a message to attorney Hardin Ramey or call us in Dallas at (972) 437-5577 to schedule a legal consultation at your earliest convenience.

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