The possibility of a crash exists whether someone simply drives down to the grocery store or commits to a weekend road trip with friends. People largely live their lives without thinking about the risk inherent in motor vehicle travel until something tragic happens. Collisions can leave people hospitalized and can also claim people’s lives unexpectedly.
Those with decades of healthy and happy living ahead of them can die in crashes, leaving their loved ones struggling to recover from the incident. Technically, every driver in Indiana should have liability insurance coverage that will apply after a collision. Those who lose a loved one can file an insurance claim to cover expenses including medical costs, funeral or memorial services and lost wages. However, many families will need to consider wrongful death lawsuits when someone dies in a wreck. Why do people initiate litigation after a loved one dies?
Lifetime losses can add up quickly
Someone’s untimely death will mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for their family, if not more. The decades of salary and employment benefits can add up to quite a bit of money. The person who died likely provided emotional support and practical services for their closest loved ones, and they may have received extensive medical care prior to their passing. The insurance coverage available from the average motorist in Indiana could be as little as $25,000 in bodily injury coverage. When families have far more in financial losses than that, they’re only chance of recovering a reasonable amount of compensation will involve bringing a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court.
Lawsuits can provide valuable closure
In addition to supplying a more reasonable amount of financial compensation given the extent of a family’s losses, a lawsuit can also provide a sense of justice. A fatal crash will not necessarily lead to the state prosecuting someone for the incident, and charges do not always lead to a conviction. Families that want to see justice served after losing a loved one may feel vindicated if the courts rule in their favor in a wrongful death lawsuit and declare another person or a business at fault for someone’s death.
Having the personal representative of someone’s estate file a wrongful death lawsuit can potentially provide both financial support and a sense of closure to those affected by a recent, fatal crash in Indiana.