How to Deal With a Wrongful Death That Occurred on a Business Premises

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Legal obligations require property owners to maintain their properties secure. Therefore, if someone is killed due to the property owner’s negligence, they may be held accountable for failing to keep their facilities safe. However, an individual who has passed away will not be able to make a claim on their own behalf. To seek compensation, surviving family members may be allowed to file a wrongful death claim on the victim’s behalf.

Getting compensation for wrongful death is not easy. You need to hire an experienced lawyer to win a case. Hiring a general lawyer will not help you in any way. Instead, hire lawyers from reputed law firms such as Hutzler Law who can answer your questions concerning premises liability claims and possible damages if you or a loved one suffers injuries as a consequence of a premises liability accident. 

Premises Liability

According to the law, everyone is accountable for the consequences of their purposeful acts and damage induced to another by their lack of ordinary ability to administer their property or person.

In a premises liability case, figuring out who is responsible is complicated. In order to win a premises liability claim, the injured party or their surviving family must demonstrate that the property owner’s or manager’s carelessness caused their suffering or death. In addition, an injured party must demonstrate clearly that the:

• The area where the incident occurred was leased, owned, occupied, or under the defendant’s control.
• Defendant used or maintained the property negligently.
• The plaintiff was injured, with the defendant’s main contributing element being negligence.

As previously stated, it is the responsibility of every landowner to keep their property in reasonable condition. A property owner’s duty of care includes any activities that a reasonable property owner would have taken or should have taken in the same situation.

Causes of Death That Lead to the Premises Liability Claims

• Daycare accidents
• Insufficient illumination
• Wildlife assaults
• Theme Park mishaps
• Leakage, flooding, or water spills
• Careless security
• A physical attack
• Fire
• Poisonous chemicals and poisons
• Inadequate upkeep of the property
• Explosions
• Falls and slips
• Pool mishaps
• Unsafe sidewalks
• Violation of building or housing regulations

Filing a Claim for Wrongful Death

A person who died due to a property owner’s negligence cannot claim damages. As a result, their living relatives can bring a wrongful death claim on their behalf. Priority is given to surviving spouses or registered domestic partners when bringing a wrongful death lawsuit for damages. The deceased’s children may also submit a claim.

You must establish the landlord’s or the person in charge’s guilt and show that their negligence was the main cause of the victim’s death to pursue a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death claim has a two-year statute of limitations from the date of death. In addition, surviving family members must demonstrate the following to successfully prove premises liability against a property owner:

• The property owner owed the deceased person a duty of care (s).
• By failing to behave as another prudent property owner would have in a similar situation, the property owner violated their duty of care.
• The death was directly a result of the property owner’s negligence.
• The wrongful death caused losses for the surviving family members.

In a wrongful death claim, possible damages could be:

• Lost advantages
• Loss of leadership, support, and company
• Lost income
• Loss of group support
• Costs of burial and funeral
• Medical costs