If the death of an individual was anothers fault, the law gives his/her survivors the right to seek justice. Whether it was intentional or negligent, you can file a lawsuit claiming damage recovery from the responsible party with the help of a wrongful death lawyer.. The Illinois Wrongful Death Act provides this right to the survivor of the deceased.
The Injuries Act came into existence in Illinois as early as 1853. However, certain limitations marred its scope of providing adequate relief to the deceased survivors. For example, the act gave the next to kin the right to recover pecuniary damages but did not give this right to other dependents like employees, friends, etc.
Moreover, the original act had a limit on the amount of damage recovery, which was $5,000. This later increased to $30,000 in 1957, and it was only in 1967 that this clause was done away with from the act. Today there is no limit to the damage recovery if you can prove the occurrence of wrongful death.
Another major drawback of the original act was that it did not provide any compensation for the loss and suffering of the survivors. Therefore, it was more of a right to get monetary damage recovery and not equivalent to what the actual loss was for the survivors. This only changed in 2007, with the amendment of the act.
Now that you have an idea about the act applicable in Chicago, it is time to decide whether you should file a case or not. Three factors are of considerable importance in this regard. Sit down with your lawyer and discuss these areas. If you and your lawyer agree that, there is sufficient ground to file a case, go ahead and do so.
What are the factors to consider? Here are the details:
The establishment of cause and effect relation between the intention/negligence and the injury and subsequent death is essential for the case. Only when the
Chicago wrongful death lawyer is capable of doing this, it is possible to recover damages.
The existence of close relationship between the deceased and the plaintiff is necessary. Only when the plaintiff is a close relative, a friend, or a dependent of the deceased, he/she has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
The occurrence of direct losses to the plaintiff because of the death is also a contributing factor. You must prove that the individuals decease affected your financial status in an adverse way.
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