Learn more with the tips in this article Avoiding Wrongful Death with Your Survival Action.
Both are based on the negligence of another. In a survival action, the death must be first established before compensation may be given. In a wrongful death, damages are based on the SAP that is in place.
Survival Action
This action is brought against a negligent party for damages sustained by him due to an injury to another, which results in that other’s death. The death must first be established before you may access the damages.
The beneficiary or person of interest must show that he was financially dependent upon the non-decedent. The decedent sustained damages that were a proximate result of the injury. He was entitled to recover as a beneficiary or person of interest.
Wrongful Death Action
A civil action that seeks monetary recovery for death resulting from the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another. This action’s primary purpose is to compensate the beneficiary or person of interest for the financial loss he sustained because of the death.
A wrongful death suit arises out of and is based upon the negligence of another. The damages are determined at the time when the action is filed. On the other hand, a survival action arises from an injury to another, resulting in another’s death. The damages are assessed at a later date after establishing that death.
Avoiding Wrongful Death with Your Survival Action Plan (SAP)
To avoid the financial hardship of losing a loved one and having to go through a wrongful death lawsuit, create and maintain a Survival Action Plan (SAP). To have the SAP, you should be aware of certain things in your life or lifestyle that might change your life drastically in an instant. If something happens to you, it is the loss of valuable life and a huge loss financially.
Some of the situations which can be detrimental to your financial or living life are:
Being involved in a horrible accident
Being ill and unable to support your family
Avoiding Wrongful Death
In these unpleasant situations where your survival actions resulted in a wrongful death, you should have a SAP (Survival Action Plan).
A survival Action Plan is an essential part of your life that will help you out when you need it the most. You can easily create SAP by just making a list of things that might happen if something goes wrong.
The following are the steps that you can take to create a survival action plan
- Write down all the essential things you do in a day
- Make a separate page for each of your family member, who lives with you.
- List up all the activities that your family members do in a day that might have financial consequences
According to the American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI), you should have a survival action plan to protect yourself from financial loss.
You can create a survival action plan for yourself and your loved ones as well. SAP is very easy to make and will help you and your family members a lot in the time of need. You can also note what you can do to avoid being in such situations or having a financial loss due to being ill.
The Survival Action Plan Should Have All The Vital Information About
-Your health
-Insurance
-Bank accounts
-Credit accounts
-Other essential details which you would like your family or friends to know if something happens to you
-Make notes of the medical records, medications, and contact numbers of the doctors.
-List your essential documents and their contact numbers.
-Bank accounts and their passwords.
Once you have made a list of the things your family members need to do if someone gets ill or needs to take care of financial matters due to your death, give them a fair idea about how you would like them to proceed if something like that happens.
This plan will help your family members get financial assistance, medical attention, and other necessities. So, schedule your SAP today and protect yourself from a wrongful death.
What If My Survival Actions Caused The Death of Someone Else?
If it was your survival actions that caused someone else’s death, you will be charged for a crime under the “Felony Murder Rule.”
Felony murder rule says that if someone dies during the commission, everyone involved in this felony can be charged with murder.
The only exception for this rule is that if you are not directly involved in the commission of a known crime, then you cannot be held responsible for it.
It May Be Unclear Whether A Crime Was Committed. The courts will need to decide.
When you are involved in a situation where an individual is injured or harmed due to your actions, you might be charged with more than one felony charge. You also will have to pay for damages caused by your actions during a survival situation.
It is vital to understand that this rule also favors the defendant; it depends on the situation.
If you take someone with you to complete a felony crime, you might be held responsible for killing others.
To Avoid Felony Murder Charges
Make sure the following things:
When someone steals your car, then do not chase them; report it to the police. Do not pursue the thief. Call the police.
If you pursue them and they have a fatal accident, then you might be charged with felony murder.
Survival Actions Caused An Injury
Survival actions caused an injury to someone else, what should I do?
Where you are involved in something that results in injuries to others, it depends on whether you knew that this would happen or not. If you were not aware that your actions would injure someone, you could be charged with a misdemeanor.
To avoid being charged with a felony crime, it is essential to understand that in most cases. The law will not hold you responsible if you did not intend to cause harm.
However, if you failed to take necessary precautions or actions that show that you were aware of your actions and their consequences, you would likely be held responsible for a felony crime.
If you were knowledgeable that your actions might injure someone else. it is strongly suggested not to take any legal actions that can harm anyone further.
It is possible to avoid a felony charge if you injure someone during a survival situation.
What About Malicious Intent?
Malicious intent refers to an action caused by an individual’s bad intention rather than as a result of an accident or mistake.
In a case of malicious intent, it is crucial to understand that death or serious injuries would lead to a felony charge:
This rule only applies when there are intentional attempts to harm someone else.
You try to hurt someone maliciously, then you will be charged with a felony crime.
Make sure that you do not try to hurt anyone as it will lead to severe consequences.
Causing harm on purpose would result in you dealing with felony charges.
Did not intend to hurt someone else in a survival situation, but things got out of control, you might be charged with a misdemeanor crime.
I Am Facing A Felony Charge.
A felony charge means that the crime was considered serious enough to require more than a year in prison.
If you are an adult and are accused of committing a felony crime, you can be sentenced to over one year in jail.
In some cases where the perpetrator is above the age of 18 years, they can be imprisoned for 20 years.
In the case of child offenders, an individual can be imprisoned for 30 years or more.
You will have to deal with the repercussions after the conviction if you have not been informed about a avoiding wrongful death conviction. You will be considered as a ‘felon.’
When you are charged with committing a felony crime, you will likely not be allowed to vote in any election. It is also likely that your application for any government job will be rejected.
Conclusion
It is challenging to deal with your situation as a felony charge can put your life in bad shape.
The best thing you can do is hire an attorney specializing in criminal cases.
Hiring an attorney will help you reduce the chances of being convicted by carrying out a successful defense.
The attorney can also reduce the charges you are facing and in some cases where it is possible.
An attorney is well-versed with the government’s laws and rules, which gives him an upper hand in dealing with felony cases. Most of the time, you will be asked to appear in court as part of your trial proceedings or answer legal questions. However, all of this can be avoided if you have an attorney defending on your behalf in court.