What is the Difference Between a Wrongful Death Claim and a Survival Claim?

Tragedy can strike at any time for family members: car accident; truck accident; work tragedy; etc.

The deceased person’s estate and surviving family members may bring a wrongful death lawsuit and survival action after the loved one’s death.

An immediate surviving family member may receive financial compensation for the following:

• Funeral expenses
• Medical bills
• Grief
• Financial losses
• Property damages
• The deceased’s pain and personal injury
• Outstanding medical bills and expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of financial support (lost earnings) due to the family member’s death

Our law firm helps surviving family members understand the difference between a wrongful death case and a survival claim so that they or the deceased’s estate recover financial compensation after a tragedy.

Contact us if you have questions or want legal advice about a  wrongful death case, wrongful death case, personal injury lawsuit, survival actions, wrongful death claim, or wrongful death and survival action.

Legal advice and an attorney-client relationship may help the deceased person’s spouse or other family member. The following sections explore these topics.

States passed laws that allow you to recover after a fatal crash. Contact our Chicago wrongful death lawyers to learn more.

When Can You Bring Wrongful Death Claims?

A wrongful death lawsuit and survival claim on behalf of the family members, deceased person’s estate, and anyone else are complicated.

The personal representative must have an expert grasp of the victim’s injuries, the difference between wrongful death and survival claims and other personal injury cases, the legal procedure of how to exactly file a wrongful death claim, and wrongful death laws in general.

Here are the essential elements of a wrongful death claim and wrongful death lawsuits as well as related survival claims:

• Someone died.
• The deceased person died because of someone else’s negligence.
• A spouse, family member, or other person suffered injuries and damages because of the deceased person’s death.

Wrongful death victims are typically related to the deceased dying immediately or suddenly.

We intimately understand the difference between a wrongful death suit and a survival action claim merely trying to recover damages relating to the event. We can file a wrongful death lawsuit and survival claim if someone dies.

Wrongful death and survival claims are for the pain from the event along with lost earnings or other losses, including the following:

• Mental anguish
• Lost future income
• Current and future income
• A child’s college education, etc

This compensation is for eligible family members of the decedent’s estate that the deceased supported financially, including the deceased’s beneficiaries) for the surviving spouse (deceased wife or husband), close family members, and any pain and suffering the deceased incurred.

Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation on survival laws and survival claims.

What Relief Can You Obtain in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

If your loved one died due to someone else’s negligence, then you may be able to bring a wrongful death claim and survival claims. The difference between wrongful death suits and survival claims is that the former allows different kinds of recovery.

Like traditional cases, a survival claim for wrongful death can seek damages the deceased person suffered, like pain and suffering. These will vary depending on the incident and the victim’s death.

Unlike traditional cases, unlawful killing causes of action can seek compensation for harms and losses that the families of victims sustained. This is special because these are not things the defendant directly caused.

Generally, families that bring a survival claim after the deceased person dies may be able to obtain financial relief for lost support, lost companionship, pain, grief, and related forms of harm and damage.

How Can an Attorney Protect My Case?

In the immediate aftermath of a tragic event that takes someone’s life (like a traumatic brain injury), you may not be considering a legal lawsuit and a survival claim.

Yet, legal counsel can take steps to protect your case and maximize your recovery in the short and long term so you can focus on your family, including these:

• Investigate the circumstances of the incident.
• Talk to key witnesses.
• Communicate with relevant insurance companies.
• File a case for damages in court.
• Present at trial or arrange for a negotiated settlement.

Talk to us if you have any questions after losing a loved one so you can understand your options for legal relief and recovery.

Wrongful Death Jury Awards and Settlements

Here is a sample set of case summaries to give you a sense of the type and amount of recovery possible.

$1,300,000 Settlement; Deadly Chicago Motorcycle Accident Case; 2019:

A man, just thirty-eight years old, was driving his motorcycle down Grand Avenue in Chicago (Cook County). It was an early spring day in May of 2017.

A car struck him, causing his death almost right there on the spot.

His parents and brothers brought this wrongful death action after the motorcycle accident on behalf of their loved one and the personal injury and grief it caused everyone when he died.

Thankfully, the at-fault driver responsible for the crash had insurance.

The plaintiffs were able to deal directly with the insurance and get help and damages with the help of their attorneys.

The policy paid out $1.3 million.

$4,000,000 Settlement; 2021:

A family filed a wrongful death lawsuit after their loved one died. A few weeks before his death, he visited his cardiologists at a Champaign-area hospital.

They performed some stress tests and sent him home.

However, in the eventual medical malpractice and wrongful death claim, the family argued that the tests displayed abnormal results that should have warranted his transfer to an ER. They claimed this oversight by the doctors was medical negligence under the law.

The plaintiffs continued that such a transfer would have made a difference in care and allowed him to get the help he needed from a doctor. The lawyer argued that the patient did not, and he died, leaving the family with a tremendous loss.

The doctors and hospital settled with the family for a reported $4 million.

$1,990,000 Premises Liability Settlement; 2016:

In this tragic case, a four-year-old drowned in a pool at a country club in the western suburbs of Chicago. A lifeguard was working then but was not there when the child entered the pool.

Also, they did not have emergency equipment to resuscitate him.

The child was survived by his parents and siblings. They brought the negligence, wrongful death, and premises liability lawsuit with a personal injury lawyer for damages.

The family was devastated by losing their loved one and thought the property owners and management company were responsible for the dangerous condition and other conditions that caused his wrongful death.

Their legal survival claim pleads for compensation for their personal injuries under Illinois’ law of personal injury. The plaintiffs alleged that the business breached the duty of safe care it owed the deceased and someone generally that was there.

The club and management company settled with the family for $995,000 for $1,990,000.

How Can a Wrongful Death Accident Attorney Help My Case?

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers understand that the loss you feel is unimaginable, whether losing a loved one through another’s negligence or intentional act.

When you attempt to grieve and move on with life, you’ll likely find that filing a wrongful death lawsuit is overwhelming.

A wrongful death lawyer can provide the support you, your children, and your grieving family needs after tragically losing your loved one.

The law firm can focus on your wrongful death case in gathering the evidence you need to build the most compelling case possible.

Contact our personal injury firm at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today to schedule a free consultation.

We accept all survival claims and wrongful death lawsuits through contingency fee agreements, meaning no fees are paid until the case is resolved.