Miami Wrongful Death

Wrongful death is a common law ground for civil action, falling within the body of private law known as ‘tort’ (or ‘delict’), in which the actions of a party responsible for causing a death may be liable in respect of that death in a civil court setting. While an individual or body corporate may be criminally liable for their actions, Miami wrongful death provides a civil remedy for the immediate family of the deceased, who can ‘represent’ the deceased’s claim against the accused party.

Bringing A Claim For Wrongful Death

In order to bring a successful cause against an individual or body corporate for Miami wrongful death, it is first a requirement to establish the action amounting to the death in question, and whether that action was in fact directly responsible for the death – a concept known in law as ‘causality’.

‘Causality’ can be further broken down into two classifications – ‘legal’ and ‘factual’, of which there is one vital distinction. The party defending the action must have legally caused the death of the individual concerned, i.e. their actions must have directly resulted in the wrongful death, with no intervening external or ‘new’ factors. This is distinct from factual causation, where one can say ‘if X hadn’t acted in a particular way, Y would not have suffered harm’ – while it is possible that causality can be established both factually and legally, it is the legal causal element that is required to bring a successful wrongful death claim.

There is also a requirement to establish the level of culpability of the accused party regarding his actions. Typically, a party may be either liable as a result of the nature of his behavior, such as through negligence or recklessness, but they may also be liable under statute simply for committing the crime – known as ‘strict liability’. Establishing liability on common law grounds is a more involved and complex process on which the success of any claim rests, while strict liability is automatic on occurrence of the relevant act and hence require less in terms of persuasion.

Finally, having established all the facts the pursuing party are required to establish their case on the ‘preponderance of the evidence’, rather than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ – a comparatively softer burden to satisfy. At the determination of the judge or jury, any case which prima facie is not capable of satisfying the civil burden of proof will consequently fail on those grounds, thus the main focus of the pursuing party in any Miami wrongful death claim is to establish on the preponderance of the evidence the case against the party accused of causing the wrongful death in question.

A specialist Miami wrongful death attorney should be consulted prior to initiating any legal proceedings to establish whether or not a case exists and whether wrongful death is the correct legal avenue to pursue. The Law Offices of Macey & Searns can be of assistance in starting and managing legal proceedings in respect of a wrongful death claim. Macey & Searns (www.injuryexperts.com) will prove an invaluable resource throughout the legal process, providing efficient and effective legal solutions for family members.