Losing a loved one can cause severe trauma, and it worsens when the death is from unnatural causes. You should file a wrongful death lawsuit to find closure in such a case. However, to get the deserved justice, you need to follow the proper step-by-step process of filing the lawsuit. If you are in Indiana, read this article to get the correct process of filing the lawsuit. The steps are as follows:
1. Contact an attorney
Firstly, you need to contact attorneys such as an Indiana wrongful death attorney. You need the services of an experienced attorney owing to the complexity of wrongful death lawsuits. The attorney will walk you through what you need to get started with the case. The attorney will assist you in getting a personal representative and ensure you make a timely claim.
2. Provide relevant documents to the attorney
This next step requires you to get the relevant documents like a death certificate for filling this lawsuit. You can obtain this certificate from the county’s Department of Health. If there are other documents such as medical bills, you should avail of them. They will be used too in the process.
3. Reach out to the defendant
After getting the paperwork in order, you should contact the defendant with the help of your attorney. The defendant may want to settle the case out of court in many cases. If the offer is fair enough to you, you should take it. However, note that many defendants might try to devalue your claim. Should that happen, you shouldn’t settle for less and instead continue to the trial stage.
4. Recover the wrongful death damages
After the successful lawsuit, the defendant should pay at this stage. The compensation can be medical bills, financial support, and loss of earnings, among others. However, to get to the point of receiving compensation, then it should be a strong case. The best way to get fair compensation is by using a knowledgeable attorney. The attorney will help you assemble witnesses and evidence to build the case.
Questions that are asked regularly
What do you need to prove wrongful death?
You need the following key elements: negligence, breach of duty, causation, and damages to prove wrongful death.
What are the examples of wrongful death?
Wrongful death includes those caused by accidental or deliberate poisoning, overdose, pedestrian accidents, workplace harm, vehicle accidents, and other cause of bodily harm.
What does the law say about wrongful death?
The wrongful death laws differ from state to state. In Indiana, the law allows the deceased person’s immediate beneficiaries to recover damages in the event of wrongful death. Among the damages is the loss of the deceased person’s companionship. If you want fair compensation, you should use experts like an Indiana wrongful death attorney to help you with the case.
If you lose your loved one due to another person’s accidental or deliberate act, you should file a wrongful death lawsuit. But, before filing the case, you should make sure that the case meets the threshold of wrongful death. The information in this guide should help you with the whole process. However, due to the complex nature of these cases, you should get an attorney to help you.
