Toronto Wrongful Death Lawyers

Verkhovets Law, Toronto wrongful death lawyers, understand the sudden loss of a loved one – especially if someone else’s negligence causes it – is the worst tragedy that can happen to a family. For those left behind after a wrongful death, there’s a mountain of emotional damage: grief, shock, anger, anxiety, disbelief, fear. A doctor prescribed the wrong medication to your father. A drunk driver struck your wife. Your husband’s company didn’t get that heavy machinery fixed. All innocents, struck down too soon by someone else’s reckless behaviour.

The Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets Law believe the party who caused the death by their conduct can, and should, be held responsible for leaving a family with heavy financial and emotional burdens through no fault of their own. A wrongful death claim will seek to rectify those losses, usually via the negligent entity’s insurance. No amount of money will bring your loved one back. But your life shouldn’t change because of what someone else does. Call or email us to file a wrongful death claim.

Verkhovets Law, Toronto wrongful death lawyers, know that anytime someone is fatally injured because of the actions of another, the payment of damages can help the bereaved family by replacing the financial and emotional support the victim would have provided – especially while dealing with the terrible feelings associated with knowing the death didn’t have to happen. In other words, the death of a loved was entirely preventable.

Does that mean anyone in the family can sue the negligent party and get monetary compensation?

Yes, if by family you mean immediate, including:

• Children
• Grandparents and grandchildren
• Major depression affects 5.4 per cent of the population
• Spouse: defined as two people married to each other or having lived together for three years continuously. Or the natural or adoptive parent of a child.
• Parents
• Siblings

The Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets Law note in Ontario wrongful death lawsuits are a tort claim brought under the Family Law Act (FLA) against the individual, companies, doctors, governments, manufacturers – whoever was responsible for the death and their car, home, liability, medical malpractice and other kinds of insurance covers it. The Act sets out the guidelines for damages that arise from the breach of the duty of care by the liable party.

Verkhovets Law, Toronto wrongful death lawyers, explain that action must be filed within two years per the Limitations Act. It would seek compensation ranging from financial losses like medical and funeral expenses to other damages, including the loss of care, guidance, and companionship award, which has been boosted in Moore v. 7595611 Canada Corp.

Our Toronto wrongful death lawyers note in that case, the court upheld an unusually large jury award of $500,000 for this type of loss to a mother and father after their daughter died in a basement apartment fire with a blocked exit.

Her landlord was found to have fallen below the standard of care and found responsible. The average amount usually granted for these damages is $50,000, so the trend is going upwards.

Verkhovets Law, Toronto wrongful death lawyers have experience with wrongful death cases. For example, we know if your loved one suffered before they died, the executor can, under the Trustee Act, sue for the same compensation they would have received if they had survived, and the monies become part of the victim’s estate. Meanwhile, the survivors can seek compensation for the pain and suffering the deceased likely experienced.

When it comes to proving wrongful death, especially in negligence cases, it works just like a personal injury claim in that you must prove the other party owed the victim a duty of care and their failure in upholding it caused the death. Contact the Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets Law for help.

Pecuniary damages – The Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets Law say the word pecuniary means “relating to money,” so pecuniary damages in a personal injury matter refer to those losses you can measure financially.

Compensatory damages – Compensatory damages essentially refer to the actual losses suffered by survivors due to the wrongful death of the deceased. Our Toronto wrongful death lawyers note they’re the monies awarded to compensate for damages or other losses like injuries.

Doctrine of Spoliation – Verkhovets Law, Toronto wrongful death lawyers, define the Doctrine of Spoliation holds the parties in a civil dispute to an obligation to preserve and produce evidence in a case. An individual involved in a wrongful death lawsuit cannot therefore “lose” or intentionally destroy or tamper with evidence under this doctrine.

The Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets law stress that predicting the exact amount a wrongful death claim is worth at the outset is extremely difficult – the amounts vary due to the unique circumstances of every family. But with the consultation of a Toronto wrongful dealth lawyer and a careful review of the pertinent facts specific to your case, a range of compensation can be determined that best suits the needs of your loved ones.

Our Toronto wrongful death lawyers point out it’s vital to form the grounds of a wrongful death action that it’s proven there is a liable party; the fatal injury was due to their negligence or deliberate act, and the death has caused the family to sustain damages which usually fall into the compensatory category – actual damages suffered by the survivors by the death.

The Toronto wrongful death lawyers at Verkhovets Law also take guidance from the wide-ranging caselaw in the determination of the proper compensation to seek because there is no cap for FLA damages. For example, in Vokes v. Palmer 2012, a woman who was nine months pregnant was killed in a car accident; her husband was awarded $342,000 in damages, including $135,000 for a younger child and $90,000 to the husband.

In To v. Toronto Board of Education, 2001, the parents of a 14-year-old boy whose head was crushed when a net he was doing pull-ups on fell over in his high school, were awarded $100,000 in damages for loss of guidance, care, and companionship, which his sister was awarded $25,000 on appeal. Our Toronto wrongful death lawyers note this was the leading case for this type of damages until Moore v. 7595611 Canada Corp.