The lawyers at Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey have been helping families of people who died because of the carelessness of others for over 50 years. They are experienced at investigating, pursuing, trying and settling wrongful death cases.

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Wrongful Death

When the Injured Person Dies from Injuries Caused by Another

Personal injury cases come in many forms:

  • Car accidents
  • Truck accidents
  • Trip/Slip and fall
  • Doctor’s or hospital’s negligence (medical malpractice)
  • Dentist’s negligence (dental malpractice)
  • Falling merchandise or shelves in a store (premises liability)
  • Defective products (product liability)
If any of the injuries result in death, the case is called a “wrongful death” case, regardless of what caused the injury. That is, the death was caused by someone else’s carelessness.

There are special rules in wrongful death cases. For instance, in Virginia, the beneficiaries (certain family members) cannot usually recover for the pain and suffering and mental anguish suffered by the person who died; however, they can recover for the medical expenses from the hospitalization and care and treatment of the decedent. Generally, the claim the beneficiaries have is a claim for their own damages. The law defines those damages as:
  • their sorrow, mental anguish and solace
  • loss of companionship, comfort, guidance and advice of the person who died
  • reimbursement of medical expenses for the care and treatment of the decedent from the injury that resulted in the death
  • reimbursement of funeral expenses, and
  • compensation for the loss of future income the family member would have contributed.

If the person died because of particularly outrageous behavior by another (what the law calls “willful or wanton” or such “recklessness as evinces a conscious disregard for the safety of others”), the beneficiaries can recover punitive damages against the wrongdoer.

The beneficiaries are not always the same family members who would inherit under a will. Virginia law tells us who the beneficiaries are. For instance, if the decedent was married, it would be the spouse; if the decedent had children, it would be the spouse and children, etc. (These are examples only; the law is very detailed about who are the beneficiaries and in what “class” of beneficiaries they are.) The law also does not require that everyone receive an equal share of the damages recovered. Occasionally, a major challenge for the lawyer representing the personal representative of the beneficiaries is resolving the question of who are the beneficiaries and how to assign the amount of damages to each beneficiary.

The lawyers at Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey have been helping families of people who died because of the carelessness of others for over 50 years. They are experienced at investigating, pursuing, trying and settling wrongful death cases.

We serve clients across Northern Virginia, including the Counties of Fairfax, Alexandria, Prince William, Loudoun, Arlington, Stafford, Fauquier and the cities of Manassas, Manassas Park, Haymarket, Dumfries, Quantico, Falls Church and Vienna, VA including Burke, Herndon, Centreville, Chantilly, Reston, Springfield, McLean, Great Falls and Burke Station.

Case Results for Wrongful Death:

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