Accidental death occurs unexpectedly and in an abrupt manner. Such deaths are caused by various uncertainties such as the falling of objects from a high point, electrocution, drowning, poisoning, among others. The personal injury in accidental death falls in the category of tort law. Go online for detailed information about personal injury
The cases of such unexpected deaths are heard in civil courts and differ with the criminal cases in the terms of the burden of proof and the punishment handed out. The personal injury law requires the plaintiff to be the injured person. In the case of accidental death, this is not possible, and as such, the court allows the heirs of the deceased person to be the plaintiffs. However, the definition of heirs may vary across different system of governments.
In the cases where there is no immediate family member of the deceased, the person’s heirs may have a distant relationship. The financially dependent minors can be the theirs in case there is no close family member. Though the heirs can be several, they are treated as a single unit whether they relate well with each other or not. As such, if the court orders an award to the heirs, then they must share it equally. For more information about heirs, click here.
The claims that involve economic damages can be complicated in the case of accidental death claim than any other personal injury cases. This is occurs because economic damages include any outstanding medical bills and the lost wages if the deceased was the primary source of income. In this case, the lost wages can cover the years the deceased would have worked before retiring. Accidental death also involves non-economic damages. These damages occur in the form of emotional injury such as emotional distress and the loss of companionship. Visit this site for more information about economic and non-economic damages.