How Is Wrongful Death Defined Under Alabama Law?

The Code of Alabama defines a wrongful death as one resulting from a person’s or entity’s carelessness, failure to act, or otherwise wrongful behavior. This definition covers everything from fatal car accidents and falls to intentional actions like shootings or assaults.

Proving that someone in your family died wrongfully presents a significant challenge. You will need legal help from a wrongful death lawyer to prove your case, or you might miss your chance for justice and fair compensation.

What Are Some Events That Can Result in a Wrongful Death?

Among the most common causes of Alabama’s wrongful deaths are car crashes and other motor vehicle accidents. When a driver is speeding, distracted, under the influence, or simply not paying attention, a crash can turn deadly in an instant. Crashes involving semi-trucks or other commercial vehicles are more likely to involve fatalities because commercial trucks are significantly bigger and heavier than passenger cars.

Medical mistakes are another leading cause of wrongful deaths. If a doctor, nurse, or hospital fails to provide proper care — whether through surgical error, misdiagnosis, or medication mistake — it can cost a patient their life. These cases are challenging to prove, but a skilled attorney can help you hold medical professionals accountable when their carelessness has deadly consequences.

Other wrongful death cases stem from workplace accidents, especially in industries like construction, manufacturing, or trucking. Falls, equipment failures, or unsafe working conditions can result in fatal workplace injuries. Property owners may also be responsible for wrongful deaths if someone dies due to dangers on the premises, such as poor lighting, broken handrails, or lack of security.

Finally, defective products frequently cause fatal injuries or illnesses in Alabama. Whether it’s a faulty car part, dangerous machinery, or an unsafe consumer product, manufacturers must ensure that what they sell is safe. Defective products are hazardous because thousands of people may use them before someone discovers their potentially fatal flaw.

What Is Necessary to Prove a Wrongful Death?

To prevail in a wrongful death action in Alabama, you must prove that someone in your family died because of another person’s or entity’s wrongful act, negligence, or failure to act. This proof involves showing that someone acted carelessly or recklessly, and their actions — or their lack of action — led directly to your family member’s death.

Proving a wrongful death claim requires showing a clear link between the wrongful act and the person’s death, which can require collecting a wide range of evidence.

For example, in a fatal car accident, the evidence might include police crash reports, skid mark analysis, toxicology reports (if the driver was impaired), and a driver’s cellphone records (if the driver was looking at their phone when the crash happened). In a workplace fatality case, the evidence might include safety inspection records, eyewitness accounts, or maintenance logs.

Expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists, doctors, or engineers, sometimes testify in wrongful death cases to explain how a death occurred and why someone could have prevented it.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Alabama?

Section 6-5-410 of the Alabama Code, or Alabama wrongful death statute, provides that only the deceased’s personal representative can file a wrongful death claim. The representative can be anyone the deceased named in their will or other documents. Surviving family members usually serve as personal representatives, but no rule says someone must choose a family member. A court can appoint a personal representative if someone dies without naming someone for that role.

What Are the Different Types of Wrongful Death Damages and Compensation?

Most states let families seek compensation for many losses they’ve experienced due to someone’s death. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in Alabama. Instead, the state lets only families seek punitive damages in these cases.

Punitive damages do not relate to specific losses families experience, such as a deceased family member’s lost income or medical expenses. Instead, punitive damages are based on the circumstances of the case, a defendant’s resources, and the degree of their careless or wrongful actions. These factors are subjective. They may vary widely among cases, making it challenging to say the typical compensation in these cases.

Alabama does not cap compensation in wrongful death cases. An experienced and determined attorney can help you make a persuasive case for compensation that reflects all the harm you and your family have suffered.

How Are Wrongful Death Settlements Paid Out in Alabama?

Alabama law provides complicated rules about who receives compensation from a wrongful death claim. Instead of going to the deceased’s estate or heirs, claims are paid out based on whether the deceased person was:

• Married, without children or parents — The surviving spouse would get everything.
• Not married, with children — The children would receive everything.
• Married, with children from that marriage — The spouse would get the first $50,000 and half of the rest. The children would receive the remainder.
• Married, with children from another relationship — The spouse would receive half. The children would receive the rest.
• Married, without children, with surviving parents — The spouse would get the first $100,000 and half of the rest. The parents would receive the remainder.
• Not married, with no children — The parents would receive the entire amount.
• Not married, with no surviving children or parents — Any sibling survivors would receive equal shares of the recovery.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death in Alabama?

The deceased victim’s personal representative has two years from the date of the death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This deadline applies from the date of death, not from the date the deceased person suffered fatal injuries. For example, suppose someone dies a couple of weeks after a car crash. In this scenario, the deadline to file a wrongful death suit would apply from when the person died and not from the crash date.

Contact an Alabama Wrongful Death Lawyer

Gartlan Injury Law believes in putting people first, particularly when someone in your family dies a wrongful death. Our results and client testimonials illustrate our commitment to every client and our legal acumen. Call or complete our contact form for a free consultation with a wrongful death attorney. You will pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

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