Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Wrongful death? Survival action? What’s the difference?

Whether it stems from medical malpractice or an auto accident, negligence can unfortunately result in death. In most personal injury lawsuits, the plaintiff filing the lawsuit is the one that suffered some sort of physical injury. They are suing because they desire compensation for the injuries they sustained, and the costs associated with those injuries.

When the plaintiff dies, although they have sustained harm from another’s negligence, they are obviously not around to sue that party. A wrongful death claim allows those who were affected by that person’s death to sue the person responsible. However, there are two separate types of claims involving deaths: Wrongful Death Claims and Survival Actions.

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Tough Wrongful Death Case Resolves

Three years after the death of a beautiful 22-year-old girl, her family has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the Louisville Metro Police Department.  The case settled for $700,000 – and a letter.  A letter to the family of the deceased from the driver responsible for the crash, an off-duty police officer.

In a letter to the family, as part of the settlement, the detective admitted that he was speeding at the time of the accident, which was a “contributing factor to this accident.”  An investigation determined that he was driving at approximately 80 mph, around a curve sloping down a hill.  The Louisville Metro Police Department, who admits that speeding off duty is an ongoing problem, suspended the detective for 30 days, the department’s strictest discipline, short of being fired.  According to the department, he was not fired for a number of reasons, one of which was the fact that the deceased was found to have a blood-alcohol content higher than the state’s 0.08 level for drunk driving – an allegation argued by the family’s attorney as the blood-alcohol sample was lost.