Archive for the ‘Causes of Action’ Category

When a parent, spouse, child, or sibling has been killed in an accident, the loss is sudden and devastating. In addition to pain, grief, and emotional loss, family members must also deal with facing life, both emotionally and financially, without their loved one.  An experienced personal injury lawyer can help family members make sense of the legal and financial aspects of their loss.  Below is a brief discussion of wrongful death claims in West Virginia including who may be entitled to compensation and for what losses.  At the bottom of this article are links that may help some deal with the emotional challenges losing a loved one presents.

Wrongful Death Claims – Who Is Entitled to Money Damages?

Whenever the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another, then a personal representative of the person who died can bring an action for wrongful death.  In West Virginia, a jury may award money damages to the decedent’s surviving spouse, children — including adopted children and stepchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, and any other persons who were financially dependent upon the decedent at the time of his or her death.   If you’re unsure whether you are entitled to compensation under West Virginia law, contact me or another experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your potential wrongful death claim.

Wrongful Death Compensation

In a West Virginia wrongful death case, compensation may be awarded for the following: (1) Sorrow, mental anguish, and solace (which may include society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice of the decedent); (2) compensation for the reasonably expected loss of income of the decedent and for the loss of services, protection, care and assistance provided by the decedent; (3) expenses for the care, treatment and hospitalization of the decedent; and (4) reasonable funeral expenses. W. Va. Code § 55-7-6.

Below is a list of supportive resources that I hope is helpful to those who have recently lost a loved one.

Support for coping with the death of a spouse.

How Social Security Can Help if a Family Member Dies.

Grief Support, Huntington, West Virginia.

If you’re injured by a defective product, such as a defective car like the Ford Pinto to the right, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries from the manufacturer, distributor and/or seller of the product under several different theories of liability including negligence, strict liability, and/or breach of warranty.  These type of claims generally fall under the category of product liability law.  Products subject to such laws include virtually any tangible thing you can purchase including trucks, guns, motorcycles, toys, drywall, tools, appliances, and over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

If you are injured by a product, keep the product and all of its parts in a safe place and in the same condition it was in at the time of your injury. Do not attempt to repair the product as it is likely the most important piece of evidence in your case.  You will likely need it to show that the product was in fact defective.  Of course, if you repair it, it’s no longer defective and you will have effectively destroyed your evidence.

What is Strict Liability?

The general rule for recovering under the theory of strict liability is that an injured person may recover if he or she was injured by a product that it is not reasonably safe for its intended use.  Under West Virginia law, it’s no excuse that other manufacturers are making similar products that are also not reasonably safe.  In contrast to a negligence claim in which you would have to prove that whoever injured you acted negligently in order to recover compensation, a strict liability claim means that you don’t have to prove that the defendant acted negligently or in any culpable way.  To prevail on a defective product strict liability claim in West Virginia, you generally only have to prove that you were injured by a defective product while using the product as it was intended to be used or using it in a reasonably foreseeable way.   If you were injured by a product, you may have a claim and should consult an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.