What are Common Causes of Wrongful Death Accidents?

What are common causes of wrongful death accidents? Common causes of wrongful death accidents may include medical malpractice, traffic accidents, work-related accidents, product liability accidents, and violent crimes.

If you believe you have a claim, please talk to our compassionate New Orleans wrongful death lawyer to see how we can help you hold the responsible parties accountable.

Medical Malpractice Affects Thousands of People Per Year

Not every person who dies while under the care of a medical provider has a medical malpractice case. However, mistakes that are preventable, including situations where a doctor, hospital, nurse, or other licensed provider acts outside the scope of what another similarly qualified professional would, can be critical to seek legal guidance.

Some examples of medical mistakes that lead to wrongful death include:

• Medication errors, including providing too much or too little
• Anesthesia-related errors causing kidney damage or sudden death
• Surgical errors and oversights
• Failure to treat a patient in time
• Failure to provide a proper diagnosis of the condition based on symptoms
• Lack of care due to understaffing
• Birth injuries
• Prescription medication errors
• Medical equipment failures

In these situations, families may have no idea that a doctor or hospital made a mistake that led to their loved one’s death. As a result, it becomes critical for victims to seek guidance from a medical malpractice lawyer to determine what happened and who is at fault. If your loved one died and you are unsure why, let an attorney help you investigate what took place.

Traffic Accidents are One of the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death

Traffic accidents are one of the most common causes of wrongful death accidents.  Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that in their Fatality Facts from 2023, 40,901 people died in motor vehicle accidents across the United States.

In Louisiana, 811 people lost their lives in that year alone. Some of the most common causes of car accidents resulting in fatalities include:

• Speeding and other forms of reckless driving
• Distracted driving, including using a phone, navigational tools, eating, holding pets, or otherwise engaging in other activities
• Intoxication from drugs or alcohol while driving
• Unsafe road conditions due to weather conditions, poor road maintenance, and visual limitations
• Fatigued truck drivers sharing the road
• Aggressive driving, including road rage incidents

Wrongful death happens when a driver’s actions cause the loss of life to another person. In these situations, families must investigate, file a claim against the other driver, and seek fair compensation. Nearly all traffic accidents are preventable. Talk to our New Orleans car accident lawyer today.

Fatal Work-Related Accident Claims Can Be Complicated to Pursue

Employees are legally required to have a safe place to work, and that means employers must anticipate safety risks and prevent hazards. When that does not happen, a person can lose their life or suffer critical injuries. Work-related accidents can also be caused by third-party contractors on the worksite. Some of the most common workplace wrongful death accidents include:

• Falls from heights
• Caught between and caught in equipment accidents
• Vehicle accidents at work
• Faulty equipment accidents
• Fires and explosions
• Chemical exposures
• Toxin exposures leading to disease and long-term death
• Improper training
• Lack of safety equipment

If your loved one works in any type of industry and lost their life at work, it is critical to turn to a workplace accident lawyer for guidance. Some of the most dangerous industries in Louisiana include construction, oil and gas, marine, transportation, manufacturing, and law enforcement. Even if your loved one worked outside of these areas, let a New Orleans workplace accident lawyer guide you.

Product Liability Accidents are the Cause of Many Wrongful Death Claims

Another type of wrongful death accident occurs when a product provided by a manufacturer or distributor fails to work as expected and causes the death of a person.

These are some of the most challenging wrongful death cases to prove because you may not have a lot of evidence to demonstrate it, until you learn others have also suffered serious injuries and fatalities. Some examples of product liability wrongful death cases include:

• Equipment failures
• Medications that cause complications and side effects
• Explosions or fires caused by the product
• Toxic exposure to the product is causing disease
• Poor design or manufacturing that leads to injuries

Wrongful deaths resulting from product liability accidents require a thorough investigation to determine what happened. In many situations, your New Orleans product liability lawyer will need to look at the full scope of what happened, including who made the product, who sold it, and what information they provided about expected hazards. A lack of instruction or faulty information on product use can cause the death of a user.

Assault and Battery Can Qualify for Wrongful Death Claims in Louisiana

Wrongful death may also happen when a person suffers serious injuries in an assault. There is no simple explanation for why these incidents happen. If your loved one was involved in an assault and they lost their life as a result of it, it becomes critical for you to seek legal action. Examples of when this can occur include:

• Physical altercations that cause serious injuries
• Objects thrown at a person
• Gameplay that is aggressive or improper during a sport
• A person being held and restrained at unsafe levels
• Gunshot wounds, stabbings, or other types of weapon-based attacks

Suppose your loved one lost their life because of the careless behavior of another person, even if the injury was not intentional. In that case, you have the right to pursue legal action against them for those losses.  Not every case of assault and battery is done out of aggression. Someone throwing rocks or pushing someone can lead to their death in various circumstances, making the claim for wrongful death valid.

A Wrongful Death Claim Can Help You Seek Justice for Your Loved One

It may not be obvious that your loved one lost their life in a wrongful death event. By contacting a wrongful death lawyer, you gain the advocate you need. Your attorney will investigate the case, determine what happened, and how it could have been prevented.

If your loved one lost their life, contact our wrongful death lawyer at Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers now. Let us provide you with a free consultation to learn more about your situation.