In Philadelphia, wrongful death is described as when an individual dies as the result of negligence by another individual or an entity such as a business, corporation, manufacturer, or other. A wrongful death personal injury claim seeks compensation for the victim's survivors from the person or entity that caused the individual's death.
A modern legal concept, wrongful death was not one of the early core "common law" legal principles brought to the U.S. by English colonists on which American's laws were first based. Those early common laws allowed victims injured by negligence to pursue compensation but held that the right to recovery died with the individual. Early law denied families to sue for the losses suffered by the death of a loved one: loss of earnings, loss of financial security, loss of family companionship and support, and loss of all the specific and even esoteric contributions the individual would have made to his family had he lived. Seeing a need for a path to such recovery, states gradually passed wrongful death laws. All 50 states now wrongful death laws, although they can vary widely from state to state.
In Philadelphia, a wrongful death claim can be made anytime death results from the negligent actions of another. State of Pennsylvania statute allows personal injury lawyers to sue for recovery to compensate the individual's survivors for the financial loss sustained by the death of their family member. Compensation is based on the portion of the deceased individual's earnings that would have supported his family had he lived. This can include funds for housing, food, clothing, education, health care, recreation, entertainment and gifts. In Philadelphia, wrongful death recovery is also allowed for the value of the care, comfort and companionship the individual would have provided his family over his lifetime.
Next time: Keys to proving wrongful death
