One of the trickiest cases for legal teams to prove is that of a wrongful death. There are of course always potential cases which are cut and dry and which won’t take much proving. In these cases however we so often see insurance companies look to reach an out of court settlement, knowing that a court case isn’t worth their time, money or resources. Here in Buffalo NY wrongful death lawyers have to use all of the tools and information which they have available when a case like this comes across the table. Let’s take a look then at how they will go about proving that wrongful death has been caused.
Nuts and Bolts
At the heart of this kind of case, it is the responsibility of the legal team to prove that there was a duty of care to the victim which the responsible party should have carried out. Now we often think of hospitals in this kind of situation, and the mistakes which could take place in that setting that then lead to the death of a patient.
The reality, however, is that a number of businesses can be embroiled in this kind of case, if it is deemed that they did in fact have a duty of care to the victim.
For example, it may be that someone is working on a construction site and not given the correct safety equipment before being allowed to operate machinery. Should an accident happen in this situation which leads to death, the legal team will seek a wrongful death lawsuit.
Facts Plus Evidence
Simply proving that the defendant had a duty of care and marrying that up with the eventual death of the victim however is not where the case starts and ends. The reality of course is that the legal team will have to present enough evidence to not only prove that they had a duty of care, but also that they failed to provide it. This is not easy and it is exactly what makes these kinds of cases so tough.
The legal team will use all of its resources to gather information, speak to witnesses, obtain CCTV footage and find any written agreements which were in place prior to the incident. Additionally, they may seek to get expert opinions from medics and pathologists who will present information about the cause of death, and the possible reason for injuries sustained.
Downgrading
In some cases which easily prove that the victim wasn’t afforded the full duty of care by the defendant, they may seek to downgrade the claim from wrongful death. In the eyes of the defendant, a personal injury claim costs a lot less money and does a lot less damage to the reputation of the client. It may be that they argue an injury was caused by their client but that the death was a result of additional factors outside of their control.
These are convoluted and difficult cases, which require a great deal of work by legal teams.