Georgia Wrongful Death Defenses

A wrongful death claim may be filed by the deceased’s surviving relatives or dependants against the person or party liable for the deceased’s death. The majority of wrongful death lawsuits claim negligence as the reason for the death. In a negligence claim, the plaintiff must have a preponderance of evidence that shows that the defendant had a responsibility to perform certain actions and, through failing to perform these actions, caused the wrongful death.

In a wrongful death case, the defendant may utilize one or several wrongful death defenses in order to keep the plaintiff from meeting the preponderance of evidence burden. If the defendant is successful with his or her defenses, the plaintiff may receive reduced damages or none at all. For this reason, hiring an experienced wrongful death attorney is extremely important. A skilled attorney may be able to argue against the defendant’s defenses in order to ensure you win the full compensation to which you are entitled.

To prove that the defendant is responsible for a wrongful death, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s actions caused the family member’s death. Even if more than one party was responsible for the wrongful death, if the plaintiff can prove that there was a connection between the defendant’s actions and the death, he or she may be entitled to recover damages from the defendant.

If there is no correlation between the defendant’s actions and the family member’s death, the defendant may not be held liable for the wrongful death. The defense attorney may argue that the deceased failed to seek medical treatment for an injury or that the death was due to the deceased’s own conduct. If the defense can convince the court that the defendant’s conduct did not contribute to the wrongful death, no damages will be awarded to the plaintiff.

In a case that involves comparative negligence, the judge or jury may assign a degree of fault for the actions that caused the wrongful death. The defense may claim that the deceased was liable for a large portion of the accident that led to the wrongful death. If the judge finds that the deceased was 50% or more at fault for the events that caused injury and/or death, no damages may be awarded. However, if the deceased was 49% or less responsible, his or her family may still recover damages, though the amount will be reduced by degree of fault.

The wrongful death attorneys at Head, Thomas, Webb and Willis have 150 years of collective experience arguing against a defendant’s wrongful death defenses. To learn how we can help with your wrongful death suit, please contact our firm today for a consultation.