Arizona has passed legislation that specifically addresses wrongful death claims
A wrongful death results when either an intentional or unintentional act causes an injury that results in death. Causes may include negligence, either recklessness or deliberate, or the malicious behavior others. Often cited sources of wrongful death are car and motorcycle accidents, transportation accidents, medical malpractice and accidents associated with the workplace. Like all U.S. states, Arizona has passed legislation that specifically addresses wrongful death claims filed in the state’s civil court system. These laws spell out what exactly qualifies as a “wrongful death,” who has a legal right to file a wrongful death suit, and what forms of compensation are available in this kind of action.
Damages in an Arizona wrongful death claim are expressed solely in terms of financial or monetary loss for survivors of the decedent when negligence or an intentional act causes someone’s death. The specific damages that are available in an Arizona wrongful death claim depends in part on who is pursuing the claim in court. For example, the spouse or child of a deceased person may seek damages for loss of care and companionship, while the estate of the deceased person may not seek damages for that particular type of loss.
A wrongful death suit accuses the NHL of being negligent
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the NHL by the family of hockey enforcer Derek Boogaard, who was 28 when he died from an accidental overdose of alcohol and oxycodone in May of 2011. The suit accuses the NHL of being negligent and with supplying the painkiller to Boogaard.
Three years before he died of a drug overdose, Derek Boogaard was punched in the mouth during a fight at a Wild game. And broke a tooth. Four days later, Boogaard got a prescription for 15 pills of hydrocodone — the narcotic in Vicodin — from Dr. Kyle Edlund, a team dentist. Soon, Boogaard, the Wild’s 6-foot-7 enforcer, was going from one team doctor to another. Three days later, he got a prescription for five Vicodin pills from Dr. Sheldon Burns, the team medical director. Boogaard got a total of 165 pills in the first four weeks, 432 by the end of the season, according to a lawsuit filed by Boogaard’s family.
An incidence of wrongful death may result in two separate and distinct cases, civil and criminal. In a criminal case, the state brings the case to court, and a defendant’s liability is expressed with a sentence of imprisonment or other penalties. In a wrongful death case, the family or personal representative must bring the case to a civil court and liability is expressed solely in terms of money damages.
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