Wrongful Death Claims & Experts

In Hawaii Wrongful Death Claim, attorney Wayne Parsons writes on the evidence needed to prove fault in a wrongful death case:

In order to win a wrongful death lawsuit, you must be able to prove that the person accused of wrongful death had an obligation or duty to act in a certain way, and by failing to do so, caused the victim's death.

The burden of proof in wrongful death cases is a "preponderance of the evidence." This means you only have to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant's actions led to the death of your loved one. This is considerably less than the burden of proof in a criminal case, where you need to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Evidence needed to prove fault in a wrongful death case includes testimony from witnesses who saw the incident, wrote medical reports, engineering expert reports and police reports. In cases involving medical malpractice, boating accidents, defective products, vehicle safety, or construction site safety, you will also need testimony from an expert witness.

Excerpted from InjuryBoard.com.