While it’s a sad fact of life that many patients lose their lives due to reasons outside of the hospital’s control, it’s also true that negligence plays a hand in many untimely deaths.
If you have suffered a loss as a result of hospital negligence, you might be wondering how to sue the hospital for wrongful death. In situations such as these, discuss your case with a wrongful death lawyer who can review the details, evidence, and your legal standing to pursue such a claim.
What is a wrongful death case?
A wrongful death case can occur after a patient dies as a result of medical malpractice. Medical malpractice refers to negligence committed by the hospital, doctor, nurse, or another healthcare professional that inflicts injury to a patient.
Wrongful death cases can be extraordinarily complex to navigate. If you are planning on suing a hospital for wrongful death, you need an experienced lawyer who will act as your advocate every step of the way.
Understanding Your State’s Wrongful Death Statutes
To understand the process of how to sue a hospital for wrongful death, it’s critical that you understand the applicable state’s wrongful death statutes. Wrongful death laws can vary by state; a wrongful death lawyer has extensive knowledge and experience regarding that particular state’s laws.
In Missouri, doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals can be held accountable in wrongful death medical malpractice claims. These claims occur when the medical professional causes injury to a victim who died as a result of negligence.
Who can sue a hospital for wrongful death?
States vary in which parties are entitled to collect damages in a wrongful death medical malpractice case. In Missouri, the following parties are eligible to pursue these claims:
- Husband or wife
- Children
- Parents
- Siblings
- The executor of the estate
What damages are available in a wrongful death case?
According to Missouri Statute §537.090, damages available in a wrongful death medical malpractice case can include various losses and expenses such as:
- Burial, funeral, or cremation expenses
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Loss of decedent’s earnings and benefits
- Loss of decedent’s future earnings and benefits
- Loss of the decedent’s comfort, care, and support
- Therapy, grief counseling, and support expenses
- Medical bills incurred by the decedent between the occurrence of the injury and time of death
- Decedent’s pain and suffering experienced between injury and time of death
While Missouri does not impose a damages cap on wrongful death cases, the state does impose a cap on the damages a family can collect in a medical malpractice wrongful death case. In 2015, Missouri set a limit of $700,000 in medical malpractice cases involving wrongful death with an annual increase of 1.7 percent (Missouri Revised Statutes §538.210.1).
If you have questions regarding what damages you might be able to recover by suing a hospital for wrongful death, contact an experienced lawyer with insight into your state’s statutes.
Contact Langdon & Emison’s Wrongful Death Lawyers
There is no amount of money in the world that will make up for the loss of a loved one. However, suing a hospital for wrongful death can help ease the financial burden that many families are left with following an untimely death.
A life cut short by the negligence of a hospital is a tragic event and it is difficult to know what to do or who to turn to in your time of need. When you work with Langdon & Emison’s experienced Missouri wrongful death lawyers, we guarantee that you and your family will be treated with the compassion and respect you deserve. You can focus on grieving while we handle the details of your case.
Contact our office today at (866) 931-2115 to schedule your risk-free case evaluation. We’ll learn more about your case, answer any questions you may have, and outline your options. We look forward to hearing from you.
