{"id":42747,"date":"2022-01-13T17:34:52","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T21:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ciccarelli.com\/philadelphia-injury-lawyers\/?p=42747"},"modified":"2022-01-13T17:34:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T21:34:52","slug":"elements-of-a-wrongful-death-case-in-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciccarelli.com\/philadelphia-injury-lawyers\/elements-of-a-wrongful-death-case-in-philadelphia\/","title":{"rendered":"Elements Of A Wrongful Death Case In Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

If an individual loses a loved one, they will experience a range of emotions. The loss of life is a tragedy, particularly when the death is caused by the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity in Philadelphia. In these situations, the estate and family members may be able to hold the at-fault party responsible through a wrongful death lawsuit. It is important to understand that there are certain elements that must be present in order for a wrongful death claim to be successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim<\/span><\/h2>\n

In Pennsylvania, Commonwealth law defines wrongful death as a death \u201ccaused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another\u201d (<\/span>42 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. \u00a7 8301 (2021)<\/span><\/a>). In order to prove negligence for wrongful death claim in civil court, there are four elements that must be present:<\/span><\/p>\n

Duty of Care<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It must first be shown that the alleged negligent party (the defendant) owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. The duty of care will look different depending on the type of situation involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, every driver on the roadway has a responsibility to operate their vehicle safely because they owe a duty of care to others around them. Property owners have a duty to ensure that their premises are safe for anyone who has the right to be there. Companies have a duty of care to ensure that the products they sell are safe for use or consumption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Breach of Duty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After a duty of care has been established between the defendant and the deceased, it must be shown that the defendant breached their duty of care somehow. Again, this breach of care will look different depending on the situation at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the defendant was found to have been operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time a collision occurred and caused a fatality, they will have likely breached their duty of care to others on the roadway. If wrongful death is caused by a defect on another person\u2019s property, the property owner will likely have breached their duty of care if they failed to remedy the situation even if they knew about the hazardous condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Causation\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After it has been shown that the plaintiff breached their duty of care, it must be proven that this breach of duty led to the fatality. A breach of duty in and of itself is not enough to prove a wrongful death claim. For the case of a driver operating while impaired by alcohol or drugs, it has to be shown this action directly led to an accident that caused the loss of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plaintiff Damages<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Finally, after it has been shown that a breach of duty caused a fatality, the personal representative of the deceased in Pennsylvania must show that the estate and the family members suffered some sort of monetary loss as a result of the fatality. This can include loss of consortium damages, loss of companionship, funeral and burial expenses, pre-death medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Work With an Attorney<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you have lost somebody you love as a result of the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity, reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A skilled <\/span>wrongful death lawyer in Philadelphia<\/span><\/a> can handle every aspect of these claims on your behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If an individual loses a loved one, they will experience a range of emotions. The loss of life is a tragedy, particularly when the death is caused by the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity in Philadelphia. In these situations, the estate and family members may be able to hold the at-fault party responsible through a wrongful\u2026 READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","_content_optimizer_report_url":"","_content_optimizer_report_added":"","_content_optimizer_keyword_hide_used":false,"_content_optimizer_keyword_hide_above_average":false,"_content_optimizer_entities_hide_used":false,"_content_optimizer_entities_hide_above_average":false,"_content_optimizer_headings_hide_used":false,"_content_optimizer_questions_hide_used":false,"_content_optimizer_tab_active":"","_content_optimizer_report_url_ce":"","_content_optimizer_report_added_ce":"","_content_optimizer_keyword_hide_used_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_keyword_hide_above_average_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_entities_hide_used_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_entities_hide_above_average_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_headings_hide_used_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_questions_hide_used_ce":false,"_content_optimizer_tab_active_ce":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"sm_multiple":false,"sm_custom_multimenu":null,"sm_custom_title":"","sm_disable_sidebar":false},"yoast_head":"\nElements Of A Wrongful Death Case In Philadelphia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you need to file a wrongful death claim in Philadelphia, contact the lawyers at Ciccarelli Law Offices. 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