Johnson City Wrongful Death Lawyers

Some of the most common causes of wrongful death include car accidents, truck accidents, and accidents involving dangerous products and dangerous premises. However, the single most common cause of wrongful death is medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice is among the leading causes of death in the United States—behind only heart disease and cancer. According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine, medical errors are responsible for more than 250,000 deaths in the United States each year.

Liability refers to the legal responsibility for paying damages due to the wrongful death of another. Although the negligence of an individual, corporation, or other entity may have resulted in the wrongful death, the at-fault party’s insurance company is usually liable for the losses. This includes responsibility not only for the surviving family’s out-of-pocket costs (e.g., funeral expenses and any medical bills incurred prior to death), but also loss of income, loss of inheritance, and various forms of non-financial loss.

Under Tennessee law, there is no cap on liability for economic damages in civil actions (a category which includes personal injury and wrongful death claims). So, if you have tragically lost a loved one in an accident or due to a medical error, a wrongful death lawyer can help your family seek full compensation for all of your financial losses. This includes losses that you have incurred to date, as well as those you and your family will incur in the future.

Non-economic damages in Tennessee are capped at $750,000 in most cases. However, up to $1 million in non-economic damages may be recovered in the event of the following:

“Wrongful death of a parent leaving a surviving minor child or children for whom the deceased parent had lawful rights of custody or visitation.”
– Tennessee Code § 29-39-102(c)-(d)

In Tennessee, only certain individuals can bring a claim for wrongful death. These are:

• The personal representative of the deceased (i.e., an individual named in the decedent’s will (also known as an executor) or appointed by the court (also known as an administrator) to act as such)
  OR
• The surviving spouse
  OR
• A surviving child or children of the deceased
  OR
• The next of kin (if the deceased had no spouse or children); this could be a parent, sibling, etc.

A wrongful death action by a personal representative must be brought for the benefit of the decedent’s surviving spouse, children, or next of kin.

The surviving spouse, parent, child, and other next of kin may all be entitled to the proceeds (i.e., the compensation in a settlement or trial award) of a wrongful death claim. Distribution of the proceeds is determined according to Tennessee’s law of intestate succession. This is the law that governs how a person’s assets are distributed if they die without a will. (NOTE: The law of intestate succession applies in wrongful death matters whether the deceased had a will or not.)

Under this law, different family circumstances call for different distributions of wrongful death damages. Some of the most common examples include:

• If there is a surviving spouse and no surviving children, the spouse receives 100% of any wrongful death damages awarded.
• If there is a surviving spouse and one surviving child, each receives 50% of the damages.
• If there is a surviving spouse and two surviving children, each receives 33.3% of the damages.

Again, these are just examples. When you speak with a wrongful death lawyer in Tennessee, your lawyer will be able to explain how the law applies to your family. Your attorney can also determine who is allowed to file the wrongful death claim, as well as how much each member of your family may be entitled to recover.

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Proving negligence in a wrongful death case starts with conducting an investigation. This investigation should take place as soon after the fatal incident as possible.

Generally, you should hire a lawyer to conduct the investigation. Based on the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death, your attorney will determine what investigative steps are necessary. In cases involving fatal accidents, the first step will usually be to examine the accident scene.

Proving negligence may also involve obtaining phone records, employment records, medical records, and other forms of documentation. In addition, your wrongful death lawyer will work to obtain any video footage that may be available (i.e., footage from a traffic camera or security camera). Finally, testimony from both eyewitnesses and expert witnesses may be essential for explaining what happened and determining who is responsible.

The evidence needed to prove a wrongful death claim depends on the circumstances involved. In cases involving fatal car accidents, for example, forensic evidence from the crash site, video footage of the accident, and eyewitness testimony could all prove key. If the driver was drunk or distracted, the police report and/or cell phone records could serve as key evidence as well.

When a fatality is caused by medical negligence, the victim’s medical records and expert testimony will be crucial for establishing liability. A knowledgeable wrongful death attorney can determine what evidence is necessary and work to gather this evidence on your family’s behalf.