Wrongful Death Lawsuits
If your loved one or family member died due to the negligence or intent of someone else, you might be able to seek justice through a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death may be caused by a dangerous product, car accident, medical malpractice, and workplace accidents, or intentional acts. Wrongful death laws give you the power to hold the responsible parties liable, whether that party is a person, company, or even government entity.
Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Every state in the U.S. has rules for who is able to file a wrongful death lawsuit, as well as how long you have to file one. In Puerto Rico, the statute of limitations is one year, which means you have 12 months to file a claim, starting at the time of the wrongful death.
But there are several elements that you will have to prove to have a successful case:
the person bringing the case is a representative of the deceased’s estate.
their surviving family members are suffering financial hardship due to the death, and
their death was caused by someone else’s negligence or intent, and
Your family member died, and
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Suit?
Typically, to file a wrongful death action, you must be an immediate family member such as a parent, child, or sibling. While most states limit persons beyond immediate family, Puerto Rico provides that persons related to a victim by love and affection may also be entitled to file suit against the entity that caused the death.
While you can seek compensation from the entity that caused your loved one’s death, you may not be able to hold the government liable in certain cases, and unfortunately, if your loved one died from an unreasonably dangerous medication, you will not be able to hold the drug maker liable unless it was a brand name drug.
Seeking Damages
Family members seeking damages for wrongful death may be entitled to seek economic and non-economic damages. However, Puerto Rico does not allow for punitive damages, a type of damages often awarded to punish the at-fault party for their actions or intent and to dissuade other entities from similar conduct.
Economic Damages
Basically, economic damages compensate you for some costs and expenses and for the financial contributions your loved one would have provided their family if they did not die including:
- Loss of expected earnings
- Medical costs
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of benefits
Non-economic Damages
These types of damages are to compensate you for non-tangible losses such as:
- Your pain, suffering, and mental anguish over the loss of your loved one
- Loss of the protection, advice, nurturing, and care of the deceased
- Loss of the companionship and love of your loved one,
- Loss of consortium (the physical attention of your loved one)
We Can Help
Wrongful death actions are complex and require generous resources to investigate and prove. We have the resources needed to present the evidence that will be required to prove your claim. If your loved one was killed by the negligence or intent of someone else, contact us as soon as possible. We have been fighting for the rights of those harmed by negligence for more than 20 years, and we will fight for you and your family. Contact us today to learn if you are entitled to justice and compensation for your losses.
