Losing a loved one due to a driver’s negligence, malice, or recklessness on the road may be excruciating. Unfortunately, truck accidents, many of which can be avoided, are a primary cause of mortality in Indiana. Yet, family members who have suffered a wrongful death feel confused about what they may do to seek justice for losing a loved one. Let’s learn more about this topic!
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
Families of victims who die in avoidable accidents may file wrongful death claims and a civil lawsuit in Indiana. Those left behind may get some financial relief via these claims while concentrating on their sorrow and recovery. However, in many circumstances, wrongful death victims may not die immediately. Instead, there will be piled-up medical and supportive care bills leading to their death, for which family members might seek compensation.
Who Can File for Wrongful Death after a Person’s Demise?
Who can make a wrongful death claim? The person to make a claim is determined by the deceased’s age. To know which family member is qualified to bring the wrongful death claim in court, it is necessary to ask a truck accident attorney in Gary, Indiana. In addition, parents or legal guardians may pursue a wrongful death lawsuit if the victim is a child.
How Indiana Law Defines a Child:
- One who is under the age of twenty
- One who is single and childless
- One under the age of twenty-three and in an educational program.
- A viable fetus.
Indiana’s Wrongful Death Statutes
The deceased’s family must submit a wrongful death claim two years after the victim’s death. It may be challenging to focus on pursuing justice in the immediate aftermath of a death in the family, but doing so is crucial. If you miss the deadline for claim filing, you will lose your right to pursue justice and get compensation for your loved one’s wrongful death. Hiring a wrongful death lawyer might assist in streamlining the process.
What Determines Liability in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
People held legally responsible for a wrongful death claim contributed to the decedent’s death in some way. For example, truck drivers, trucking companies, truck owners, freight owners, and truck maintenance companies may all be named defendants in a truck accident case. When seeking to file a wrongful death claim, an attorney may aid in determining fault.
Legal proceedings involving a wrongful death sometimes require an expert inquiry to determine the next steps. Once the responsible parties have been brought to court, a trial may commence. Some responsible parties may send their insurance company to avoid going to court to arrange a settlement.
Compensation for Losses Related to Wrongful Death
When a family wins a wrongful death case, they may be entitled to several sorts of compensation. Damages include medical bills, funeral costs, lost earnings, and legal fees. In Indiana, grief-related cost compensation is prohibited. Lost wages compensation is split between the dependents of the deceased.
What Leads to Fatalities in Truck Accidents
A tragic truck crash necessitates an investigation by the police. Unfortunately, there has been a spate of truck accidents in Indiana, with many of them sharing the same root reasons. Truck drivers’ extended hours on the road make fatigue the primary cause. In addition, some truck drivers disregard the rules restricting their time spent behind the wheel.
Other contributing factors include distracted driving, problems with cargo and loads, impaired driving, excessive speed, and sloppy upkeep. Accident and wrongful death lawsuits in Indiana may be filed against the truck driver, the trucking business, or the maintenance firm, depending on the cause of the accident.
Conclusion
The emotional suffering caused by a death in the family cannot be compensated for by monetary means alone. However, holding the guilty people legally accountable via compensation and justice may assist family members in surviving throughout the bereavement period. In addition to allowing grieving loved ones some measure of peace, filing a wrongful death lawsuit may ensure their loss does not happen to anyone else.
