Private Detectives and Wrongful Death

When someone dies and it’s someone else’s fault, regardless if the cause of death was negligence, recklessness or deliberate act, this is called wrongful death. This kind of lawsuit is a civil case as opposed to a criminal one, wherein a loved one of the deceased seeks financial compensation from the person who caused the death.

These cases can provide coverage for medical bills, lost wages and compensation, lost companionship, security, funeral expenses, emotional damage and more, but it requires gathering a great deal of facts and evidence to move the case forward. Private detectives and wrongful death investigations often go together, and a P.I. can be a vital element in resolving the case.

Criminal vs. Civil Investigations

It’s important to understand that wrongful death claims are civil cases, rather than criminal ones. While criminal charges may be filed in a homicide investigation, a wrongful death case is entirely different. Often, a wrongful death case starts as a homicide investigation.

When a death is found to be someone else’s fault, a separate legal case can sometimes begin so that the loved ones of the deceased can collect financial compensation for the death, in addition to any criminal charges that may be filed.

Determining Wrongful Death

It can sometimes be difficult to know if a wrongful death suit should be pursued. For example, in cases of medical malpractice, criminal charges may not be filed. In fact, even in cases of auto accidents where negligence was involved, sometimes there might not be enough to file criminal charges. That doesn’t always mean, however, that victims can’t seek compensation via wrongful death.

Very often, determining if an accident is the result of wrongful death requires expert knowledge and investigation. Private investigators are familiar with the law in their state and are trained to gather the necessary clues and evidence to determine if a wrongful death suit can be brought.

Types of Wrongful Death Cases

There are a multitude of wrongful death cases with which a private investigator can help. These include medical malpractice cases, where someone dies due to a negligent error or careless mistake made by a doctor; workplace accidents where someone gets hurt due to industrial accident, heavy machinery or some other incident that’s the result of negligent safety procedures; product liability cases, wherein someone using a product in exactly the way it was intended dies as a result of a catastrophic product failure; and accident investigations like slip-and-fall, car accidents or the like.