Wrongful Death Lawyers

What is a Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death occurs when a person dies as a result of the negligent, reckless, or intentional actions of another individual or entity. Essentially, it's a death that could have been prevented if not for the actions or omissions of someone else. 

Wrongful death can arise from a wide range of circumstances, including:

• Car Accidents: If a person dies in a car accident caused by another driver's negligence, such as speeding, drunk driving, or distracted driving, it may be considered a wrongful death.
• Medical Malpractice: When a healthcare provider fails to provide a proper standard of care, resulting in the death of a patient, it may constitute wrongful death. This can include surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication errors, or failure to diagnose a condition.
• Workplace Accidents: Deaths that occur due to unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, or employer negligence may be considered wrongful deaths. This can include incidents such as construction accidents, industrial accidents, or exposure to hazardous materials.
• Product Defects: If a defective product causes someone's death, such as a malfunctioning vehicle part, dangerous medication, or faulty machinery, the manufacturer or distributor may be held liable for wrongful death.
• Criminal Acts: In cases where someone intentionally causes another person's death, such as through assault, homicide, or manslaughter, it is considered wrongful death. Even if the perpetrator is criminally prosecuted, the surviving family members may pursue a civil wrongful death claim for damages.
• Premises Liability: Property owners or managers can be held responsible for wrongful death if a fatal accident occurs due to dangerous conditions on their premises, such as slip and fall accidents, inadequate security leading to assault, or building code violations resulting in structural failures.

Florida Wrongful Death Laws

In Florida, a wrongful death claim can typically be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of the deceased person's survivors. Survivors can include the deceased person's spouse, children, parents, and any blood relatives or adoptive siblings who were partly or wholly dependent on the deceased for support or services.

In order to succeed in a wrongful death claim, the plaintiff (the personal representative of the estate) typically needs to prove that the defendant's negligent or intentional actions caused the death of the deceased person.

Florida follows a system of comparative negligence, which means that if the deceased person was partially at fault for their own death, any damages awarded in a wrongful death claim may be reduced in proportion to the deceased person's degree of fault.