Any person who is born into the world must face the inevitable but often dreaded concept of death. It is overwhelming to imagine what happens, if anything, after a person ceases to live. Many individuals in Pittsburgh live long and happy lives that end in old age. Unfortunately, though, individuals of all ages perish in unexpected accidents and leave their loved ones reeling from losses they did not expect to experience.
A wrongful death is one that happens due to the negligence of another person. Negligence happens when a person fails to exercise reasonable care given the circumstances of their situation, and if a person owed a duty of care to their victim and still acted negligently then the acting party may be liable for the deceased party’s wrongful death.
A common way that wrongful deaths happen is through motor vehicle accidents. Individuals who are licensed to drive owe others on the roads a duty of care to be responsible in their driving conduct. If a person speeds, drives drunk or breaks other traffic laws and causes a fatal accident, then it is possible that they will be held responsible for the victim’s loss of life.
Motor vehicle accidents are just one way that wrongful deaths occur. Wrongful deaths can happen while victims are performing the duties of their jobs, when they are visiting other people’s properties and a myriad of other situations. To learn more about wrongful death lawsuits and the elements that Pennsylvania courts require parties to plead to be successful readers may wish to contact personal injury attorneys.