When someone from your family or your friend dies, it causes an immediate shift in your life. However, knowing that someone else’s negligence resulted in their death can be even more painful. These deaths are avoidable, and when reckless people do not pay attention on the road, they cause fatal car accidents.
Catastrophic car accidents are not uncommon in Chicago. On average, the city experiences about 100,000 accidents, constituting about 33% of the accidents in the state. If your loved one has met with an accident that resulted in their demise, Chicago accident lawyers can help you file a wrongful death claim.
Making a Wrongful Death Claim
The Illinois legislature enforced wrongful death provisions to provide financial help to a decedent’s family. Damage recovery is based on the decedent’s family’s ability to prove that the other driver’s negligence caused the accident. As with other responsibility claims, you have to show evidence suggesting the other driver was at fault.
When an individual dies, civil courts must base their judgments on the testimony of the remaining driver, available physical evidence, statements from witnesses, and the opinions of police officers. Courts may determine responsibility against both drivers but still pay some of the decedent’s wrongful death claim.
Source: pinterest.com
Compensations in Wrongful Death Claims
The compensation for a wrongful death claim depends on the circumstances of your loved one’s passing. A skilled attorney may help you get an estimate of the economic and non-economic damages that you may be entitled to claim.
Economic damages mainly include hospital bills or medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of income for the decedent. However, non-economic losses include loss of service and companionship, pain, mental suffering, etc.
In exceptional situations, the court may award you with punitive damages. However, to get the punitive damages, you must need evidence that shows the death of your loved one was caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of the at-fault party.
Punitive damages serve the purpose of punishing the at-fault party because of their misconduct. It is important to know that you can not ask the court for punitive damages. The court will look into the matter and decide whether to render them or not.
Source: pinterest.com
Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Claims
In Illinois, the statute of limitations sets a definitive period during which a wrongful death claim must be initiated following a fatal car accident. This legal timeframe is crucial for families considering legal action for the loss of a loved one due to another’s negligence.
Typically, the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is two years from the date of the decedent’s passing. However, there can be exceptions and nuances depending on specific case circumstances, such as the discovery of new evidence or the involvement of a governmental entity.
Grieving families must be aware of these time constraints to ensure their right to seek justice and compensation is not forfeited by procedural oversights.
Who Can Recover Benefits?
The decedent’s representatives must bring the action. According to the statute, any money obtained in the suit is intended only for the benefit of the victim’s spouse and next of kin.
The amount of money recovered is allocated by the court hearing the case or, if the matter is settled, by the circuit court. The percentage of the money received by the eligible parties is determined by their level of reliance on the deceased.
Table of Content
