What is a wrongful death case?
Transcript
Robert Potter – Well, under our state laws, a wrongful death claim is an action that can cover the gamut of the types of accidents or lawsuits that we handle. It could be a wrongful death from an automobile wreck. It could happen. And a product liability setting, an industrial setting. It could also occur in a trip and fall or slip and fall incident where someone is killed as a consequence of their injury. It is extremely important, in these cases, which to me is the most catastrophic outcome for any plaintiff to face in terms of the plaintiff dying from this particular event. It is so important that action be taken quickly, not only to preserve evidence of the wreck or the incident they take that took the life of their loved one, but because there are administrative things that must be done on the front end. For example, in Alabama, only the personal representative of the estate of the deceased may bring a wrongful death action. So, a personal representative must be appointed. If you died with, the person died with a will is going to be the appointed executor or executrix. But if the person didn’t have a will, which most people unfortunately don’t, it is going to be a series of individuals identified in our statute, and that person or persons have to be appointed. That process needs to be done quickly or otherwise you may lose the right to bring the cause of action as a family member or loved one.
