Losing a loved one in an accident is always a tragedy. Knowing that the accident didn’t have to happen makes it even more painful. If you believe that someone else’s negligent behavior caused your loved one’s death, you can hold them accountable with a wrongful death lawsuit.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
Under South Carolina law, wrongful death lawsuit eligibility belongs to the executor or administrator of the estate, also known as the personal representative. If the executor chooses to file a wrongful death suit, it must benefit the surviving spouse and children of the deceased. Should there be no spouse or child, then the suit must benefit the parents of the deceased. If there are no surviving parents, then the lawsuit must benefit the heirs.
Regardless of who the wrongful death claim will benefit, the role of the personal representative in wrongful death suits is to be the person who files the suit or in whose name the lawsuit is filed. Unless you are the personal representative of the state, you cannot file a wrongful death claim even if you are the spouse or child of the deceased.
Negligence in Wrongful Death Cases
The burden of proof in wrongful death cases rests with the plaintiff, so you must gather evidence to prove that your loved one’s death was the defendant’s fault.
Liability in wrongful death actions usually depends on negligence, which refers to behavior that does not show reasonable care for other’s safety or well-being. In some accidents, only one person is responsible for what happened. For instance, if a driver runs a red light while speeding and slams into an oncoming car, that driver may bear sole liability for the accident. However, liability isn’t always that simple. What about cases where both people bear some fault for what happened?
South Carolina follows a principle called comparative negligence in fatal accident claims, meaning that the court will compare the negligence of all parties to the accident and assign fault to each party. If the person who died was less than 51% at fault for the fatal accident, their heirs can collect compensation for their death.
Proving negligence in wrongful death cases is a job for an experienced wrongful death lawyer. The insurance company may deny responsibility if they think they can get away with it, but a skilled lawyer can prove that the at-fault party’s negligence was the cause of the accident.
Types of Compensation in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In a wrongful death lawsuit, surviving family compensation is determined by whatever the jury considers appropriate in the case. A wrongful death lawsuit is essentially the same as a personal injury lawsuit, except that the injured person did not survive their injuries. South Carolina defines a wrongful death as any death caused by someone else’s wrongful act, including acts of neglect or default. If the person who died would have had the right to file a personal injury claim if they had survived, then their personal representative can file a wrongful death claim.
For this reason, the types of compensation available in a wrongful death lawsuit are largely the same as those in a personal injury lawsuit, including economic as well as non-economic damages, or compensation. Economic damages include compensation for lost income and medical bills, but unlike in a personal injury case, they can also include funeral expenses.
When it comes to economic vs. non-economic damages, the biggest difference between them is that economic damages are more easily calculated. Medical expenses in fatal injury cases may include emergency room bills and the cost of surgery. Funeral expenses in wrongful death lawsuits are also easy to determine by reference to the bill.
Loss of consortium claims and other non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering, are more subjective and are not as easy to assign a figure to. For instance, loss of consortium refers to the loss of a spouse’s companionship, while pain and suffering refers to the pain the injured person suffered before dying. These losses are difficult to quantify, but an experienced wrongful death attorney will consider all the relevant factors before deciding what compensation to demand.
Exemplary Damages
South Carolina courts sometimes award punitive damages for wrongful death under the name of “exemplary damages.” The court will only award exemplary damages when the defendant’s actions show malice, willfulness, or recklessness. Unlike compensatory damages, exemplary damages aren’t intended to compensate you for your losses but to make an example of the defendant for their behavior. Exemplary damages can greatly increase the size of your award, but South Carolina caps them at the greater of $500,000 or triple your other damages except in some circumstances. For instance, if a drunk driver caused the accident, then the state imposes no cap on punitive damages. There is also no cap if the defendant harmed the deceased intentionally.
Contact a South Carolina Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims provides a three-year window in which to file a lawsuit. Don’t delay contacting a lawyer, as your attorney needs to have enough time to investigate the case and negotiate a fair settlement.
Wrongful death settlement negotiations are often stressful. The insurance company may pressure you to take a minimal settlement offer, and if you don’t have a lawyer, you may be tempted to accept their proposal. However, a lawyer experienced with fatal accident legal claims will know not to take the first offer the insurance company makes. You deserve much more than the bare minimum for your tragic loss.
Murphy Crantford Meehan is a personal injury law firm serving Charleston, South Carolina. We take pride in helping the surviving family members of a person who lost their life in a tragic accident. Nothing can undo the terrible loss you have suffered, but holding the responsible party accountable may at least give you a sense that justice has been done. If you have lost a family member in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, contact Murphy Crantford Meehan immediately.
