When a fatal accident happens, the most many of us can do is mourn a tragic loss earlier than its time. In some cases, in which someone else may have caused a loss, the best that family members and other survivors can do is try to claim financial damages to make the loss less damaging.
A 21-year-old man from Milwaukee was fatally injured when he was shot by a sheriff’s deputy firing at a fleeing suspect. The victim was sitting in a parked car outside a restaurant in East Troy when the driver of the car tried to leave the area ahead of approaching police cars. The shooter claimed the car was heading towards him, justifying the use of lethal force in self-defense.
The case was complicated when some material evidence was allegedly damaged by the shooter’s fellow officers. The county, two municipal governments and the individuals implicated in the destruction of evidence are defendants in a new lawsuit with nine causes of action brought by the family of the man killed in the shooting. One of those actions is wrongful death.
The basis of the case is the failure of several officers to intervene when the situation turned dangerous, as well as the possible tampering with evidence that may have shed light on the incident. Damages are unspecified as yet, but precedents for similar cases are in the millions.
Victims of fatal accidents by others are not able to provide for their families, so their survivors have the right to sue for appropriate financial damages. An attorney can help families plan for the life after the sudden loss of a loved one.
