What is Considered Wrongful Death Under the Law? Everything You Need to Know

Cassidy Loutos
Feb 22
4 min read

If you’ve been wondering what’s considered wrongful death under the law, you’ve probably suffered a loss recently, and you want to take action to receive justice.

You’ve come to the right place. The first step is to identify whether you have a wrongful death claim or not, and then you can start moving forward.

We’re going to cover the various examples that count as wrongful deaths and some situations that unfortunately don’t to help you make your decision.

What is Wrongful Death?

First, it’s important to define wrongful death in non-legal terms. A wrongful death case is very similar to a negligence or malpractice case. However, in a wrongful death case, the resulting injury was fatal.

Wrongful death cases are filed by the surviving family members of the deceased. It is an attempt to get justice after someone else’s negligence has cost them their loved one.

What Counts as Wrongful Death?

For a situation to be counted as wrongful death instead of an accident, there has to be evidence that neglect or malpractice caused the event.

There are several types of cases that most wrongful death claims fall under. We’ll highlight each one individually.

1: Car Accidents

Auto accidents are some of the most common cases that cause wrongful deaths. If the other driver did something that caused the accident, and your family member died, you may claim wrongful death.

However, if it’s determined that your family member is at fault for the accident, or that the accident was an unavoidable incident without any neglect causing it, it is not a wrongful death case.

2: Medical Malpractice

The medical field is complicated. When someone is receiving medical care, especially complicated and risky medical care for serious conditions and injuries, there is no guarantee that the person will survive. The medical team can only do their best.

However, if it is determined that the death was caused due to malpractice, it is a wrongful death case.

Medical malpractice is when a medical professional fails to uphold standards of care, and their mistakes cause harm. Administering the wrong medication, not following normal procedures, failing to properly assess the patient, and similar things can be considered malpractice.

3: Defective Products that Cause Death

Defective products cause injuries all the time. There have been several major cases in recent years because of it, and sometimes, those defective products cause deaths.

For example, if your family member purchases a new e-bike battery, and it catches fire during their ride, but the manufacturer never issued a recall or warning to the public, that is a wrongful death case.

This can be complicated, though. It is much harder to argue wrongful death if the company did do its due diligence, determine the product was defective, and issue a recall. Especially if they reach out to customers or the recall becomes widespread knowledge.

In that event, if the customer did not comply with recall notices, you might not be able to claim wrongful death. It’s important to speak to a personal injury attorney to clarify whether you have a case or not.

4: Accidents in the Workplace

When you’re at work, your employer is expected to provide a safe working environment. Of course, some jobs are very dangerous, and safety can’t be 100% guaranteed. However, those jobs do have to have proper safety protocols in place, train employees effectively, and keep appropriate staff members in charge of upholding those safety protocols.

In the event that your loved one experiences a fatal accident at work, you might have a wrongful death case. It depends on the details.

Did the company have every required safety measure in place? Did they have staff members in charge of upholding safety measures and monitoring employees? What action was taken after the incident to save them? Was the incident avoidable, but negligent security caused it to happen anyway?

If you answered yes to those questions, then it’s wrongful death.

On the other hand, if your family member was intentionally breaking safety protocols or did something intentionally, it might not be a wrongful death case.

The fault has to be placed mostly on the employer for this to count.

5: Intentional Harm and Homicide Cases

You might not expect it, but you can actually sue for wrongful death in the event of homicides and acts of intentional harm that cause death.

Homicide cases are self-explanatory, but a good example of intentional harm would be a bar fight. Maybe your family member was minding their own business at the bar, someone started an argument with them, and they struck your family member.

Unfortunately, while the other person didn’t intend to kill your family member, they did pass away. Even though they didn’t mean for things to go that far, it is still a wrongful death.

What Must You Prove in a Wrongful Death Case?

If you’ve lost your loved one to wrongful death and want to win a case, you will need to achieve four goals in the courtroom.

First, you will need to establish a duty of care. Duty of care means that the person you’re suing was responsible for caring for your family member in the first place. You can’t sue the janitor for wrongful death because the doctor gave them the wrong medication. You have to sue the person responsible.

Then, you have to prove that they neglected that duty in some way. They didn’t do something right, and that led to your family member’s death.

You must also prove the cause of the death. Neglect might have happened, but if it didn’t cause the death, it’s not a wrongful case. For example, if your family member died at work after falling off a walkway, but the only signs of negligence you can find had to do with paperwork, you’re unlikely to win that case. A genuine cause would be if the company didn’t install safety railings on the walkway.

Finally, you must be able to prove that your family has sustained the damage you’re claiming. You don’t simply ask for a certain amount of compensation. You need a list showing how much you’ve been financially impacted.

Still Unsure? Call Loutos Law PLLC

Losing a loved one due to negligence is devastating, and you deserve a legal team that will fight for truth and accountability. Loutos Law PLLC is committed to guiding families through wrongful death claims with compassion and determination.