Wrongful Death

Death caused by a person without legal justification. Wrongful death may be the result of negligence, such as when a drunken driver hits and kills someone; or it may be intentional, as when someone kills another person with a gun. In most states, suits can be filed for damages caused by wrongful death. Much work has been done in an attempt to put a value on human life and, therefore, to determine the compensation allowable to the family of an individual who has been killed.