When you lose a loved one in a motorcycle accident, how do you cover burial expenses, medical bills, and the emotional loss you feel for their companionship and guidance? Motorcycle wrongful death claims are a complex area of the law that can help surviving family members seek compensation against the negligent party who caused their loved one’s death.
How Do Wrongful Death Claims Work?
Wrongful death claims allow the family members who benefited from a decedent’s household contributions to file a claim against the negligent party who caused the accident. Each state has slightly different variations for who can file the wrongful death claim, but usually, the list includes a spouse, children (biological or adopted), parents, and sometimes siblings or more distant relatives.
States also might restrict whether a family member can file a wrongful death claim directly or if a representative of the decedent’s estate must file the claim on behalf of the presumed beneficiaries. Some states even allow both and might impose a time limit for a family member to file before the estate’s representative must file the suit.
The estate representative may also be able to file a survivorship claim on behalf of the decedent if they didn’t pass away immediately from their injuries. A survivorship claim allows the estate to pursue compensation for the decedent’s pain and suffering, medical bills, and burial expenses. Survivorship claims are separate from wrongful death claims.
What Kind of Compensation Can a Family Member Pursue in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Motorcycle accidents and death rates have been on the rise in recent years. In motorcycle wrongful death claims, a decedent’s family can pursue economic, non-economic, and punitive damages in many states. Some states place caps on certain types of compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Many states allow family members to pursue compensation for certain losses, including:
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of instruction or guidance
- Medical bills because of the accident
- Loss of the decedent’s income and future financial support
- Loss of inheritance
- Burial expenses
Damages are a form of compensation meant to make the plaintiff whole again after causing a loss. Economic damages in wrongful death claims include lost wages, lost future income, medical and burial expenses, and other financial losses suffered by the family upon the decedent’s death.
Non-economic damages include emotional losses suffered by the decedent’s family members, including marital losses and the loss of parenting for minor children.
In some states, if the negligent party who caused the accident was particularly reckless, intentional, or malicious, the decedent’s family members may also receive punitive damages meant to punish the defendant financially.
Proving Negligence in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The plaintiff has the burden of proof to prove negligence by the defendant with a “preponderance of the evidence.” But how do you prove the defendant was negligent? If you file a wrongful death lawsuit against a liable party in your loved one’s death, you must prove:
- That the defendant owed your loved one a duty of care
- That the defendant breached their duty
- That your loved one died because of the defendant’s breach of duty
Having an experienced wrongful death attorney on your side can help you file your wrongful death lawsuit properly and gather the evidence necessary to prove that your loved one died due to someone else’s negligence.
Contact Law Tigers for Wrongful Death Due to a Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle wrongful death claims are a complex area of personal injury law. At Law Tigers, we’re attorneys who ride, and we represent bikers and their families in personal injury and wrongful death claims across the country. Call us at 1-888-863-7216 for a free case evaluation.
