Any time a person is killed by the wrongful or negligent conduct of another it is known as a wrongful death. These cases are always tragic and happen too often when motorcyclists are involved in an accident. When a person is killed through the negligence of another, the law allows the next of kin to act as plaintiff and bring a lawsuit against the negligent party to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Next of kin are family members such as a spouse, domestic partner, children, parents or siblings—in order of priority. In other words, if a man with a wife and children was killed in a motorcycle accident, his brother would not be able to bring a wrongful death suit as the spouse, then the children, then the parents have priority. If none of those existed, then the brother would be able to file a wrongful death suit.
Compensation from a Wrongful Death Suit
Even if the deceased family member happened to be partly at fault for the accident the family may still be able to instigate a lawsuit for damages. Should the death be directly related to an impaired driver punitive damages may also be awarded. The wrongful death plaintiff may be able to be compensated for funeral or burial expenses, loss of future income of the deceased, loss of household or childrearing support, loss of medical and retirement benefits or non-economic damages including the loss of support, companionship and affection. A surviving spouse will also have a separate right to recover damages known as loss of consortium under a separate civil action.
Statute of Limitations
Family members who are considering filing a wrongful death suit after their loved one was killed in a motorcycle accident should remember that prompt action is essential. There are time limits known as statute of limitations which gives a narrow window of time in which the plaintiffs must bring suit or lose their right to seek recovery. The purpose of the statute of limitations law is to allow the plaintiff sufficient time to hire an attorney while also giving the defendant some sort of assurance that after a specific length of time, should no suit be instigated, they are free from threat of a lawsuit. In some instances the statute of limitations could be as little as six months—in the case of a governmental agency causing the injury—or two to three years in some states.
How Often Motorcycle Accidents Occur
Some 5,000 people are killed in motorcycle accidents every year in the United States. Motorcycle accidents and subsequent deaths are on the rise due to the increasing number of people using motorcycles as a means of commuting to and from work. Motorcyclists are 26 times as likely to die in a crash as the driver of a passenger car and as many as 65% of all motorcycle accidents are the fault of another driver.
The Necessity of a Personal Injury Attorney
In order to win a wrongful death suit following a tragic motorcycle accident, negligence on the part of the other driver must be proven. Traffic laws, eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence from the scene of the accident may all be used in order to prove the case against the defendant. These cases can be extremely complex and it is imperative that the family members who are filing a wrongful death suit have an extremely knowledgeable, experienced personal injury attorney by their side who will fight on their behalf for and equitable settlement.