Auto accidents are the leading cause of death in the United States for people under the age of 30, with hundreds of those fatal accidents happening right here in the Commonwealth. If you’ve recently lost someone you love in a wreck, you know how devastating these incidents are and how uniquely confusing the aftermath of one can be for everyone involved.
On a personal level, the question of what happens when someone dies in a crash has no single answer, and it’ll be up to you and your family members to decide how to manage your personal affairs in addition to your heartache and grief. In legal terms, there’s a standardized procedure for how incidents like this are handled, and understanding the steps of that procedure can be helpful when it comes to protecting your family’s financial security after losing someone close to you. Our car accident attorneys can guide you through your legal options.
Investigating the Crash Scene
Immediately after any kind of auto accident happens, the first people who will take down details about what happened and look into the reasons why it happened will be police officers responding to an emergency call made from the scene. These officers will compile an initial accident report detailing what they think happened and what injuries and property damage the wreck caused. Then, they’ll transfer the case to a police investigator if they believe the wreck happened partially or primarily because of a criminal act.
Pursuing Criminal Charges
If police determine that someone involved in a fatal car accident contributed to causing it because they were breaking a traffic rule, driving while drunk or high, or otherwise acting illegally, they may bring criminal charges against that person in relation to the accident. The outcome of any criminal case arising from a fatal car wreck will have no direct impact on the outcome of any civil claim based on the same incident.
Building and Filing a Wrongful Death Claim
Even if they didn’t do anything specifically illegal or don’t have charges filed against them, a person who causes someone else to die in a car crash can still be held civilly liable for the harm they caused the deceased person and their family. This is possible through a wrongful death claim, which the personal representative for the deceased person’s estate can file on behalf of the deceased person’s beneficiaries.
A wrongful death claim can seek compensation for both economic and non-economic forms of harm that those beneficiaries will experience because of their loved one’s death, including funeral and burial costs, lost financial support, lost love and companionship, and lost help around the house. The personal representative—or the beneficiaries themselves, under certain circumstances—only has two years after the death happens to start this sort of claim.
Learn More About the Aftermath of Fatal Car Accidents from a Wrongful Death Attorney
It’s never easy to heal from the sudden death of a loved one through a traffic accident that wasn’t their fault. You likely have legal options after someone close to you dies in a crash, and help is available from winning wrongful death lawyers. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to understand and enforce your rights.
