Personal Injury Articles

Madison Personal Injury Lawyer

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death cases are a claim in common law jurisdictions against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, generally by close relatives, as enumerated by the state. In Wisconsin, those eligible to file a wrongful death suit are those individuals that were dependant on the deceased such as a surviving spouse and children under 18 years of age.

Before wrongful death existed as a civil action, common law prevented the deceased from bringing a suit. This resulted in a legal hole because activities which resulted in a person’s injury would result in a civil sanction, under personal injury, but activities that caused a death would not result in a civil action, although they were still eligible for criminal prosecution.

In the United States, the standard of proof for wrongful death cases is generally a "preponderance of the evidence" as opposed to "clear and convincing" or "beyond a reasonable doubt." This results in a lower standard of proof. The lower standard of evidence often makes it easier for a family member to seek retribution against someone who kills a family member via a tort case rather than a criminal prosecution. The two cases are not mutually exclusive.

A person may be prosecuted criminally for a death, such as for murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide, and then also sued in a civil court in a wrongful death case. If an individual is found not-guilty in a criminal court, that does not mean they will be found not-guilty in a civil court.

If you have lost a loved one due to someone else’s actions, contact the Madison personal injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C. at 800-242-7205 to discuss your case and to schedule an initial consultation.