When you lose a child because of negligence, you want to know what legal action is available to you. Of course, you want to hold the negligent party accountable, but you may also want to pursue compensation to help cover some of the expenses you incur because of the loss.
A wrongful death involving an infant is even more challenging to overcome. No parent should ever have to experience the loss of a child. When the cause of death is preventable, it’s devastating to endure. Here is what you need to know about pursuing compensation from the responsible party.
What Compensation Is Available?
Compensation often varies depending on the situation. However, in most infant wrongful death cases, the losses break down as economic and non-economic.
- Economic costs: Your economic losses after an infant wrongful death can include funeral expenses, additional medical expenses, and burial costs.
- Non-economic costs: Your non-economic losses factor in your pain and suffering from the loss of your child.
Your mental state and anguish come into play when juries consider non-economic losses. Because infant wrongful death cases involve the loss of a child, non-economic damages are the most significant to your recovery.
How Do I Prove Liability in an Infant Wrongful Death Case?
Proving liability falls in line with all personal injury cases. First, you must show that there was a duty of care. A duty of care always exists in a patient-doctor relationship. Second, you must show that the doctor did something to breach that duty of care.
Third, you must show that the doctor did something that resulted in harm. Finally, it must show that the action was the direct cause of the infant wrongful death. Proving liability can be difficult, and you need to have legal representation to move forward, especially when you consider what the laws don’t consider wrongful death.
At Beam Legal Team, our Chicago birth injury lawyers are ready to help you pursue justice and maximum compensation for your losses. We’ll put together a case strategy with your family’s best interests in mind, and we’ll work to hold the negligent party accountable.