Wrongful Death Caused by Car Accidents
26th June 2020
Car accidents can cause injuries that range from minor to fatal.
Common Causes of Fatal Car Accidents
Car accidents are dangerous, and can be fatal depending on the cause of the accident, and where the collision occurs. There are many causes of fatal car accidents, including speeding, reckless driving, distracted driving, and driving while under the influence. Car accidents account for a majority of cases brought to court. Therefore, having an experienced lawyer by your side can help your case exponentially.
Reckless and Aggressive Driving
Reckless and aggressive driving can mean multiple different things, and is dangerous for many reasons. A driver who drives recklessly may not be paying attention to their surroundings as well as they should. This is dangerous and can cause an accident if they’re not being careful. This could include accidents after changing lanes, running red lights, or following someone too closely at a high speed.
Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is one of the causes of car accidents that you hear about more often than others, simply because driving while under the influence is so unsafe. Driving under the influence can be dangerous, as the driver may lose control of the car, forget that they’re driving, get confused, or follow beams of light (like tail lights, traffic lights, and street lights), and forget to pay attention while driving. Drunk drivers often run red lights, stop signs, and can even drive their cars off the road depending on their level of intoxication. Because these drivers are so distracted by their intoxication, these accidents are often fatal for the driver and/or the opposing passengers.
Texting or Distracted Driving
Texting and driving is another big cause of wrongful death. Anything can happen in traffic, even if you look away for just a few seconds. Texting in combination with speeding can lead to incredibly dangerous car accidents, like rear ending someone at full speed. Distracted driving is the largest cause of fatal car accidents, for good reason. Looking at a phone, eating a sandwich, or talking to your kids in the back seat can take your eyes off the road long enough for an accident to occur.
Excessive Speeding
Excessive speeding, especially in combination with other problems, is another leading cause of fatal car accidents, often for the person driving. Accidents caused by excessive speeding usually include rear-ending accidents and side collisions from changing lanes too quickly. The problem with speeding is that going too fast means you don’t have enough time to break or slow down if something happens. If a light turns red and you can’t slow down, you may rear end someone, or even t-bone someone in traffic.
Car Accident Statistics
On average, there are about 6 million car accidents in the United States every year and more than 90 people die each day because of car accident related injuries. 1 in every 7 people don’t wear a seatbelt while in the car, even though seatbelts are known to reduce the risk of death by 45%.
Out of all the car accidents recorded each year, over 50% occur because of aggressive drivers, with the most common denominator being excessive speeding. Because of that, 10,111 people died in 2016 from speeding related accidents. Moreover, speed was a factor in 31% of teen-driver fatalities in 2018. It’s clear that speeding is a really big problem, but many people don’t consider it to be. When surveyed, 42% of drivers said that they didn’t consider going 10 mph over the speed limit to be speeding. Another 10% believed that going 20 mph over the speed limit wasn’t considered speeding.
What is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death occurs when someone dies because of someone else’s negligent or intentional actions. This means that if you were to get into a car accident because someone else was texting and driving, speeding, or generally not following the rules of the road, and you were to die, a family member would be able to sue them for wrongful death.
Proving Negligence
It can be hard to prove negligence, especially in a wrongful death case. That’s why it’s important to have a good lawyer on your team who can help investigate. Experienced attorneys, like the ones at Sand Law, have years of experience working with insurance companies and investigating crime scenes to make sure that your case is handled and that you get the compensation that you deserve for the death of your relative.
In a wrongful death case, you must be able to prove that the other person was acting with negligence. If there’s no evidence that the plaintiff caused the accident because of their own negligence, you don’t have a case. Thankfully, an experienced lawyer can help you gather evidence and build your case.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim can be filed by an immediate family member, like a spouse, child, adopted child, or parents of an unmarried child. Any designated beneficiary is also able to sue for wrongful death. This could include a distant family member like a sibling or grandparent, a domestic life partner, or a financial dependent.
Contact a Wrongful Death Attorney
You may be entitled to receive wrongful death compensation if you’ve lost someone you love because of a car accident. Our experienced lawyers here at Sand Law can help you build your case. We will work with you to make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve. For more information, and a free case evaluation, please contact us online or at 701-609-1510