With nearly 98 million unintentional injuries in the US, there are more than 200,000 deaths from those unintentional injuries. While not all states have passed legislation to protect the victims of fatal accidents and wrongful deaths, Indiana passed “wrongful death laws”:
- General Wrongful Death Statute: Indiana Code §34-23-1-1
- Adult Wrongful Death Statute: Indiana Code §34-23-1-2
- Child Wrongful Death Statute: Indiana Code § 34-23-2-1
- Illinois’ Wrongful Death Act: 740 ILCS 180/
With these laws, there are civil penalties for wrongful death cases, as well as specifics for what is considered a “wrongful death,” legal claims as “survivors,” and damages in wrongful death cases.
Wrongful Deaths in Delivery and Trucking Industries
There are several reasons why wrongful deaths occur in the delivery and trucking industries. It could involve engine problems, faulty brakes, fuel leaks, transmission problems, and unreliable tires. With appropriate maintenance, you may avoid many of the more serious problems, which can end up causing injuries and deaths.
If you’ve experienced the wrongful death of a loved one related to the delivery and trucking industries, an attorney can walk you through the initial steps in the process. The wrongful death lawsuit could involve the operator or the vehicle, or other drivers on the road. No matter what the fall-out is, an experienced attorney can help you start the process of holding the individual or company responsible.
Wrongful Death around Heavy Machinery Industries
Even when all the safest practices are in place for machine shops, construction companies, and even with farming equipment, there’s always a chance that the faulty equipment could cause the death or serious injury of the machine operator.
It’s the company’s responsibility to ensure health and safety standards, but accidents and deaths happen in and around heavy machinery use. Negligence is usually the main reason for wrongful death or injury involved in heavy machinery industries, but it could be something as simple as a bad road or other conditions that could involve other levels of culpability.
For the machinery and the highways and local roads, you can expect that there should have been repairs, inspections, and regular maintenance. If any of these required repairs and maintenance did not occur, or faulty repairs were somehow involved, you may have further cause to file a lawsuit for wrongful death.
Wrongful Death in Nursing Homes
Nursing homes are associated with injuries and deaths from abuse and neglect scenarios. The signs of abuse can take the form of broken bones, bruises, marks, sores, and other signs of neglect. While many of the most obvious side effects are clear from an autopsy, you won’t know what steps to take to hold the nursing home accountable for the care and wrongful death.
With wrongful deaths at nursing homes, there may need to be a professional investigation into the injuries and death. So, it could be a longer and more drawn-out process. You need a wrongful death attorney who will keep the process moving ahead, but they also need to ask the right questions.
You need to find out who is responsible for the quality of care and the wrongful death. These charges can be serious, even involving fines, lawsuits, and even jail time. It’s also likely that you’re not the only family who faces wrongful death at the nursing home. It’s possible that the other family members simply did not know what they could do to pursue justice in their cases.
Wrongful Death by Manufactures of Faulty Products
The death of your loved one may involve manufacturing, with the use of a faulty product. In an ideal world, all the broken and faulty products would be recalled from the market, but that’s not always the case. So, maybe the part did not work correctly, which led to the severe injury or death of your loved one.
If your loved one was in a car accident that involved faulty parts, you need expert advice and witnesses who can offer evidence. When you have an attorney representing you, they can set up depositions to clearly demonstrate the fault in the case. So you can prove the culpability of the parts manufacturers as well as other companies and responsible parties.
It’s not always easy to prove the individuals and companies who might be involved in the part’s fault which contributed to the accident. Worse than that, proving the negligence of all the related companies and individuals can be a lengthy and costly process, particularly if you’re taking them on all by yourself.
Within the realm of faulty products, you could have a loved one who experienced food poisoning or other deadly side effects from products that did not work as intended. You need an experienced lawyer to represent you and help you in getting justice in your wrongful death lawsuit. It would be difficult enough to prove, even if it wasn’t involving manufacturing and products.
For cases like this, you require an experienced, wrongful death attorney who can also help you to determine the viability of the case. You need to know that too before you get too deeply involved in the case. So, reach out to an attorney to find out how they can help and what the next steps will be.
Next Step: Select the Right Wrongful Death Attorney to Help You
If your loved one was seriously injured or killed in a wrongful death situation, reach out to a Wrongful Death Attorney to determine what your options are. You are entitled to sue the individual(s) or company responsible for the situation.
Indiana’s Statute of Limitations is two years from the date of the wrongful death, so you don’t have the luxury of an unlimited amount of time to determine how best to handle the case. You need an experienced lawyer who can represent you and your wrongful death lawsuit.
