We are currently living in a time that is unlike anything that we have ever seen before. We have been part of a global pandemic that is still going on can be trying and can be incredibly difficult to process. Keeping this in mind, the families of first responders and healthcare workers are even more pressed during these times. The families of those healthcare workers that have contracted COVID-19 and since passed may be entitled to some compensation for a wrongful death suit, if the case meets the requirements set forth.
Can Family of Healthcare Workers that Die From COVID-19 Sue?
There is a bit of base work that needs to be done before you can file any sort of wrongful death suit. There must be a report, there must be proof that the person passed as the result of negligence of another person, and there must be information about the case proving that it was the negligence of the other people that caused the death. With something like COVID-19 and the pandemic, it can be harder than ever to prove that the person contracted the virus at work or in some other place.
Keeping this in mind, can help you to determine if you have cause for a suit or if you should go another route. Most healthcare workers were briefed about the dangers of COVID-19 and how to avoid it. Their workplace likely told them what could be done, how they should protect themselves, and they were provided with the safety equipment necessary to protect them from COVID-19. There is some cause however for concern if the hospital or doctor’s office where the person worked did not provide proper care and proper safety equipment your family certainly does have cause to sue and cause bringing about a wrongful death suit.
At the start of the pandemic, many hospitals simply did not have enough protective equipment to go around. That being said, there were millions of workers that were put into situations in which they were more likely to get COVID-19, and they were not provided with enough or the proper equipment to keep them safe. While you may not be able to sue specifically because of the COVID-19, you can sue for wrongful death since the hospital or other location did not provide the proper equipment to keep them safe all while expecting them to go into a situation where their lives were at risk.
What Do You need to Prove?
Knowing that you can sue if your loved one died as a result of not being able to have the professional protective equipment that they needed, it is important to understand what you are going to need to be able to prove you have a case. The first thing that you need is a report stating what the person died from. You need to be able to prove that they in fact died of COVID-19 and not some other illness or not some compounding illness.
You then need to be able to prove that they worked in an area where COVID-19 was present and where the risk of infection was high and where they were likely to get sick. This will help prove that their workplace knowingly put them in danger. You then need to prove that they were not given proper equipment to keep themselves safe and to keep them from contracting the virus and becoming ill. You will need reports, you will need proof, and you will need adequate reports that help to prove that this individual died as a result of not being given the equipment that they needed to protect themselves.
Your lawyer will be able to help you establish if you have a case, to help you determine what proof you need, and will also be able to help you get the witnesses that you need to be able to prove without a doubt that the death was the result of the direct negligence of the medical facility in which they worked. This type of case is hard to prove, but we are currently living in times when accountability is paramount and a good lawyer and a good law firm can help you establish a timeline, establish a good case and get the case off on the right foot. With the help of a lawyer, you can get your case off on the right foot.
It can be so difficult to determine wrongful death but in cases where it is true, it is important that you do take the time to hold those that are responsible accountable for their actions. COVID-19 does not seem to be going anywhere, but that does not mean that healthcare workers should be exposed to it unnecessarily. It is the job of their workplace to protect them above all else so that they can go about helping, they can go about working, and they can go about helping those that are struggling with this awful illness and get ahead of the virus and come out better on the other side.
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