Losing a loved one is hard. It’s worse when you lose someone to the negligent or careless actions of the same people you entrusted their life to – doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. While the grief and emotional pain may be crippling, don’t allow the death of your loved one to pass without attaining justice.
Proving Negligence in Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Negligence is the primary cause of action in a successful medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit. To prove negligence, the plaintiff (surviving wrongful death beneficiaries) must show that the health care professional violated the standard of care, and that this breach was the proximate cause of the decedent’s death. Here are the four elements that your wrongful death attorney will have to prove:
- Legal duty: The health care professional owed a legal duty to your loved one
- Breach: The health care professional breached that legal duty by violating the standard of care
- Proximate Cause: The violation of the standard of care was the proximate cause of your loved one’s death
- Damages: You have experienced mental anguish and a loss of companionship and society as a result of your loved one’s death