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A
Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit
alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of the negligence
(or other liability) on the part of the defendant, and that the surviving
dependents or beneficiaries
are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant's conduct.
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What is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death is a claim in common law
jurisdictions against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim
is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives. The claim is the
result of statute. Under common law, a dead person cannot bring a suit, and
this created a legal hole in which activities that resulted in a person's
injury would result in civil sanction but activities that resulted in a
person's death would not.
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Unlike most criminal law cases, private parties bring the suit. In
principle, the defendant can refuse to testify on the grounds of
self-incrimination but if a defendant invokes this right, the defendant has
presented no case and the plaintiff automatically wins the case.
Florida has enacted Section 768.16
cited as the "Florida Wrongful Death Act". A qualified Florida
Wrongful Death Lawyer is familiar with various nuances surrounding the
Florida Wrongful Death Act and is ready to help you with all of your
legal needs.
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The standard of proof is
typically preponderance of the evidence as opposed to clear and convincing
or beyond a reasonable doubt. For all the above reasons, it is often easier
for a family to seek retribution against someone for wrongful death in tort
than a proper criminal law conviction. It should be noted, however, that the
two actions are not mutually exclusive; a person may be prosecuted
criminally for causing a person's death (whether in the form of murder,
manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, or some other theory) and that
person can also be sued civilly in a wrongful death action (as in the O.J.
Simpson cases).
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In most, if not all states in the United States, there was no common law
right to recover civil damages for the wrongful death of a person. However,
now the states have each enacted statutes to correct this deficiency in the
law so that there is a right to such recovery. The issue of liability will
be determined by the tort law of a given state.
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Florida Wrongful
Death Lawyers
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