Frequently Asked Questions

Wrongful death refers to the event when someone dies due to someone else’s negligence, wrongdoing, and carelessness.

When the survivors/dependents of the deceased file a wrongful death lawsuit, then the damages can be considered for compensation:

1. Loss of companionship.
2. Monthly income earned by the deceased.
3. The amount paid for the medical and funeral services by the survivors/dependents.
4. The value of services provided by the deceased to the dependents such as maintenance, livelihood expenses, children’s education, etc.
5. The mental distress and pain.
6. The savings in the name of the deceased.
7. Punitive damages.

First, the court uses a life expectancy table to calculate the potential future earnings of the deceased.

Secondly, an experienced attorney should multiple the earnings of the deceased at the time of death up to the number of years left, until the age of retirement.

Also, your attorney will need to calculate the retirement benefits based on the life expectancy table, once a number is available. Then, it is adjusted equally to the amount of money that would have been invested conventionally.

Whenever a person dies because of someone else’s negligence, carelessness, and wrongdoing, then it could be considered as wrongful death.

Whenever a person dies because of someone else’s negligence, carelessness, and wrongdoing, then it could be considered as wrongful death.

Some cases of wrongful deaths:

• Automobile accidents: When accidents happen because the driver was negligent of their driving responsibilities, such as drunk driving or driving a car or riding a bike without glasses in case of weak eyesight. Also, In cases, if an automobile company sells a defective automobile that compromises the safety of the driver, then the manufacturer can be held responsible for the death of the deceased.
• Medical Malpractice: If a doctor is negligent of his responsibilities and ignores the standard medical procedures or fails to diagnose a fatal disease that may cause someone’s death.
• Emergency room negligence: This refers to when a patient dies due to surgical errors or if the medical facility employees make the patient wait instead of providing urgent medical treatment.
• Accidents at workplaces: This refers to the accidents that happen at workplaces, such as the chances of getting hurt in manual labor or doing construction jobs. All these types of jobs have a higher risk and, if someone dies due to the negligence of the employer(such as not following the safety procedures), then It is considered as a wrongful death occurrence.

Proving a medical negligence case in the court requires an in-depth investigation, and the attorneys at Utah Wrongful Death Lawyers perform a full investigation for everything related to the death of the deceased. Also, we consult & work along with the medical experts to thoroughly examine medical records and interview all the potential witnesses and medical staff involved.