Learning that another motorist ran over your loved one while they were on their way home on a motorcycle is devastating. You’ll be feeling lost, powerless and angry. You won’t be able to think about anything else but your loved one, and you’ll mourn over their loss. However, you must control your emotions at that time and take action against the person responsible for the accident. To take action and get compensated for the damages you suffer because of your loved one’s death, you should file a wrongful death claim.
In this post, we’ll explain how you can file a wrongful death claim and recover damages after a fatal motorcycle accident.
Understanding Wrongful Death
Wrongful death refers to a death that occurred because of the negligence of another person or party. For instance, a motorist is expected to drive safely, obey traffic rules, and keep their eyes on the road. If they don’t perform these tasks while driving, they are likely to cause an accident. If an accident occurs because a motorist was negligent, they may be held liable for harm that results from the accident. The court may order them to compensate for the loss of the other party who suffered harm because of their negligence. If the negligent actions of a motorist result in another person’s death, the victim’s family may file a wrongful death claim against the motorist.
Proving Wrongful Death
When you file a wrongful death claim to recover damages after a fatal motorcycle accident, you’ll be required to establish four important fundamentals. These include:
Duty of Care
You’ll be required to show to the court that the driver who hit your loved one owed them a duty of care. This could mean showing that the motorist was bound to follow the traffic rules and regulations.
Breach of Duty
Once you have proven that the driver owed a duty of care to your loved one, you must show that they breached their duty. For example, the driver didn’t follow traffic rules or was over speeding.
Cause of Injury
You must also show to the court that the death of your loved one occurred because the driver violated their duty.
Damages
After that, you’ll be required to show that you have suffered injuries because of the loss of your loved one for which you should be compensated.
In a wrongful death lawsuit after a motorcycle accident, you may seek compensation for financial damages like emergency treatment costs, hospitals bills, damage to the motorcycle, lost wages and financial support. You may also receive compensation for loss of support, companionship, pain, and suffering.
Collecting Evidence
To prove that another motorist’s negligent behavior led to the death of your loved one in a fatal motorcycle accident, you’ll require evidence. Evidence that will help strengthen your position in a wrongful death lawsuit includes witness statements, documentation of the death and accident, and medical records. In addition, you should collect a copy of the official police report, death certificate and any photos captured by witnesses at the crash site. Names of witnesses may be listed on the official police report.
Collecting evidence after a motorcycle accident can be difficult. You’ll have to go to the police station and also find witnesses who were present at the scene of the accident. Fortunately, you can hire a wrongful death attorney to collect evidence on your behalf. An attorney can gather all the required evidence for a wrongful death lawsuit and strengthen your position in the case.
Sometimes a motorcycle accident occurs because of a defected bike. For example, the brake of the motorcycle may stop working in the middle of the road resulting in a crash. In that case, a wrongful death claim may be filed against the motorcycle manufacturing company. The wreckage of the bike should be stored at a safe facility so that it can be analyzed for malfunctions to prove the negligence of the manufacturer.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
In Florida, a wrongful death claim may be filed by a surviving spouse, parents, children, dependent blood relatives and child born outside of wedlock of a father or mother. Sometimes, a motorcyclist gets gravely injured as a result of the accident but doesn’t die immediately. In that case, a personal injury claim can be filed by the family on their behalf. If the injured person dies before the personal injury claim gets settled, the beneficiaries of the deceased may continue the injury claim as a wrongful death lawsuit.
Time is an essential factor in filing a wrongful death claim and getting compensated for the damages suffered as a result of your loved one’s death. Florida’s statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is two years. This means that the wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the unfortunate loss of your loved one. If you delay it any further, you won’t be able to recover damages of the fatal motorcycle accident that led to your loved one’s death.
Conclusion
A wrongful death lawsuit can help you recover damages after a fatal motorcycle accident that killed your loved one. After your loved one is gone, you’ll likely experience financial difficulties. By filing a wrongful death claim, you can get compensated for financial damages as well as non-financial damages. When you have to file a wrongful death claim after a fatal motorcycle accident, take help from an experienced attorney. The attorney will explain the process of filing a wrongful death lawsuit in detail and help you collect the evidence required to win the case. With them on your side, you are more likely to receive fair compensation for the damages.
