Wrongful death claims are emotional for everyone involved. A wrongful death action accuses someone of negligent actions that led to the death of another.
A wrongful death lawsuit against you or your business can have disastrous consequences. While you may understand the need for the victim’s family members to hold someone accountable, you might not believe the death was due to your negligence.
Here are some possible defenses to explore.
Statute of limitations
The expiration of the statute of limitations is a simple defense that could result in the wrongful death case being dismissed.
The Texas statute of limitations for wrongful death actions is two years. If the victim’s family members bring the lawsuit two years after the death of the victim, they cannot proceed.
You can also defend yourself by arguing that you were not negligent. Negligence requires proving four elements: duty, breach, causation and damages.
Duty means having a legal responsibility or obligation towards the victim. You could argue you did not have a duty to be careful in a way that could have prevented the injury and death.
Lack of causation
Even if you acknowledge you had a duty and breached your duty, you can attack the causation element by arguing that your breach of duty did not cause the victim’s death.
There must be proof that your breach directly caused the victim’s death. Thoroughly investigating the facts and circumstances that led to the death can help you learn if there were alternative causes for the death, such as the victim’s own actions.
This is often called assuming the risk. You can argue that the victim assumed the risk of injury or death by engaging in risky behavior. You must show that the victim knew about the risk of danger and voluntarily proceeded anyway.
Failure to mitigate
Another common defense is failure to mitigate, which means the victim did not take actions to reduce their harm or loss. For example, if the victim refused medical treatment after the injury, this could be a failure to mitigate.
There are many potential defenses to a wrongful death lawsuit. Successfully defending yourself can prevent you or your business from experiencing financial and reputational losses.