Every state has wrongful death statutes that allow plaintiffs to recover from a family member’s death. Some states’ laws also allow parents to recover for a stillbirth. In this article you will find a discussion of how stillbirth wrongful death claims work, but parents should talk to an attorney for specific advice.
The Basics of Wrongful Death Claims
These claims are based on statutes that exist in some form in all fifty states. These laws allow a deceased person’s heirs or relatives to be compensated for deaths that were caused by negligent or wrongful acts. Before these laws were enacted, families couldn’t sue for damages because only the injured party could bring a claim. Survivors’ statutes and wrongful death laws were enacted to repay families for their loss of financial support.
The Stillbirth Must Have Been Negligently Caused
Remedies provided by wrongful death laws are only useful if a defendant’s actions negligently or intentionally caused a death. Stillbirths, while tragic, aren’t always the doctor’s fault; many states don’t allow malpractice suits, but they do allow wrongful death suits for intentional or negligent cases. In such locations, plaintiffs need to follow the proper procedures to document the provider’s liability and they should visit Northfloridaautoaccidentlawyer.com. If a stillbirth is caused by someone outside the medical field, that person must be assigned liability before the wrongful death law applies.
Stillbirths Can’t Be Charged as Wrongful Deaths in All States
Most American states apply wrongful death statutes to stillbirths, but some do not. In states without these rules, the reasoning is that a fetus isn’t a person under the law. Many of those states, however, do allow other stillbirth-based cases, such as intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Some States Require the Fetus to be Viable or Moving in the Womb
In states with wrongful death rules on stillbirths, the fetus must have been able to survive outside the womb at the time of the negligent act. Right now, the earliest time of viability is about 24 weeks; if the act was committed before that time, wrongful death claims do not apply.
In other states with these statutes, a fetus must have “quickened” when the negligent act happened. “Quick” means that the fetus must have been making detectable motions in the womb; a heartbeat isn’t enough evidence of quickness. Infants are often quick long before they are viable, and in certain states there are higher chances that wrongful death statutes will apply.
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