WRONGFUL DEATH 101: MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, D.C., PENNSYLVANIA & DELAWARE

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

Generally, a wrongful death action is a civil case against someone who can be held legally liable for the death of someone else.

Any "tortious" (unlawful) injury that has caused someone else's death may be grounds (or reason) for a wrongful death action.

Generally, under the common law (e.g., the system of jurisprudence which originated in England and was later applied in the United States), a claim (the assertion of a right to money or property) for wrongful death had to be brought by the deceased person's survivors (usually close relatives only).

Modern "wrongful death" laws in many states have modified somewhat the common law definition.

Generally, a wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the deceased victim was killed as a result of negligence (or some other type of unjust action) by the person or entity being sued.  Further, the lawsuit alleges that the deceased victim's "survivors" are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the unlawful conduct leading to the wrongful death.

[www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Wrongful Death Actions; accident-law.freeadvice.com/ What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?; Barron's Law Dictionary, 3rd Ed., S.H. Gifis]