Understanding Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Simply put, wrongful death is the death of one person caused through the fault of another person. You should talk to an experienced wrongful death attorney if you believe you have a claim, but below is some information to help you understand some of the situations that call for legal representation.

Wrongful death lawsuits can originate from a number of situations, such as deadly motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, product liability, constructions injuries, reactions to prescription or over-the-counter drugs, and attacks by family pets. In any of these scenarios, should the circumstances result from the neglect of another party, a wrongful death claim may well exist.

1) Motor Vehicle Accidents

The commonest situation bringing on this type of lawsuit is motor vehicle crashes. Each year, many people worldwide are killed in terrible car accidents. Because most of these car accidents come from the carelessness of the other motorists, wrongful death claims are commonplace. In addition, this type of claim can be made against a city when it has been negligent in providing for the safety of pedestrians.

) Medical Malpractice

Members of the family of the deceased victim may well file suit against medical care providers who've been negligent in their responsibility to provide proper health care, which in turn has lead to their patient's demise. This loss of life may have been caused by a surgical error, incorrect medical diagnosis of a fatal condition, emergency room neglect, as well as any other kind of carelessness by a medical care practitioner or healthcare facility.

3) Product Liability

Makers or suppliers of products can be held legally accountable for a wrongful death if the items that they make or sell are faulty and the item brought about the death of a relative. A suit could be based on product liability such as defective medication, a substandard car part, a malfunctioning safety product, faulty medical equipment, or defective construction scaffolding, among others.

4) Premise Liability

Owners of properties will be held accountable death that arises from an incident like a trip and fall incident, construction mishap, escalator or elevator injury, as well as any kind of incident that is a result of the owners' lapse in their legal responsibility of proper care of the property.

A wrongful death claim is different from standard personal injury claims in that family members, as opposed to the individual who has been harmed, generates the legal claim. The kinds of damages granted are consequently distinct too; settlement isn't determined by factors such as pain and suffering. Instead, these claims are meant to deal with the economic and emotional harms sustained by the remaining members of the family.

The laws and regulations concerning damages differ from one state to another. Generally, litigants can get recompense for the calculated lifetime income of the individual that passed away. Pain and suffering as well as loss of companionship can also be compensated in these situations, especially where the complainant, such as a spouse or child, lived in the same residence with the dearly departed.

State statutes establish the time period when these kinds of claims may be brought, along with who will be permitted to file a wrongful death lawsuit. For more information, if you believe you have a claim, you should contact a local trial attorney who is experienced in wrongful death lawsuits. These attorneys normally offer a free consultation to determine if you have a case and if he or she is the best lawyer to represent you in your claim.

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Lawsuit Follows Death Of Woman When Doctors Failed To Screen Her As Per Cancer Screening Guidelines

The need for screening even symptomatic patients for colon cancer when they are 50 or older and for testing patients who exhibit certain symptoms such as blood in the stool is generally accepted within the medical community. A failure to do so may lead to a delay in the diagnosis of colon cancer which in turn may allow the cancer to spread. Below we examine a documented case involving a woman over the age of 50 whose doctors not only failed to screen her when she was as symptomatic but continued to not test her even after she developed a number of symptoms.

In this case the woman treated with her primary care physician from the time she was 50 years old to the time she was 55. During that time her medical history included obesity, a hernia and hypertension. Her doctor, however, never performed or recommended that she undergo screening for colon cancer.

When she was 55 she experienced vomiting as well as diarrhea with blood clearly visible in her stool. She went to the emergency room where the attending physician diagnosed her as having gastroenteritis. She followed up with a doctor a few days later. This doctor made a note of the fact that she now had up to three bowel movements a day, all of which contained a blood. The doctor recommended a wait-and-see approach and thought that she would need a lower G.I. endoscopy if her condition did not improve. The doctor's differential diagnosis was for colitis. The doctor apparently never considered colon cancer as part of the differential diagnosis. A year later she again saw this doctor complaining of abdominal issues and at least 50 pounds of unexplained weight loss. The doctor concluded that her weight-loss was the result of a change in her diet and even though she had a history of blood in her stools that doctor again did not order or perform any tests to rule out colon cancer.

A month later the woman again goes to the hospital with complaints of pain in her abdomen and continuing diarrhea. Also, by now there was blood present when she vomited. Her stool was now a dark brown color and testing revealed blood present in the stool. The doctor at the emergency room diagnosed her as having a gastrointestinal bleed. The doctor next ordered an x-ray which revealed a partial obstruction of the bowel. The doctor then admitted her to the hospital. Blood tests revealed that her CEA, a marker for colon cancer, was abnormally high.

Initially a gastroenterologist performed an upper G.I. endoscopy and took several biopsies. The gastroenterologist, however, failed to a colonoscopy. It was not until a covering physician at the hospital noted that her history was suggestive of cancer and that additional testing was required that a sigmoidoscopy was finally performed approximately 2 weeks later. The sigmoidoscopy revealed a large obstruction and a follow-up CAT scan showed a large tumor. During surgery it was discovered that her cancer had already spread to both her uterus and her bladder. In addition the pathology report of the material removed during the surgery found cancer in 13 lymph nodes. The diagnosis - stage IV colon cancer.

She commenced treatment with chemotherapy and after experiencing intolerance for the chemotherapy along with bowel obstructions and even renal failure, the woman died less than a year later. She was only 58 years old at the time of her death. She was married and had two adult children. Her family pursued a claim against the doctors for the delay in the diagnosis of her cancer. The law firm that handled this lawsuit documented a settlement in the case for $950,000 on behalf of the family.

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