Losing a loved one is always tragic, most of all due to the negligence or another. In New Mexico, the law offers options for wrongful death suits in the event the death could have been prevented had appropriate actions taken place. While compensation cannot return a loved one to life, awards in a wrongful death claim may defray any costs from funeral arrangements, damages to property or lost family income. At Youngers Law we are deeply sympathetic to the pain of your loss, and understand that making choices in a wrongful death suit can be extremely stressful and difficult.
When filing a wrongful death lawsuit, you may choose to file against an individual or individuals you feel are responsible for events leading to the death, against an organization, or both. For example, KRQE News 13 reports on a case in which a Santa Fe County Deputy was killed by a fellow deputy while both were intoxicated. The wife of the slain deputy has filed suit not only against her husband’s killer, but against the establishment where the two deputies drank, employees of the establishment, the legal holder of the establishment’s liquor license and the establishment’s parent company.
Each individual charge is based on separate allegations of responsibility in the wrongful death suit, from lack of staff intervention to the deputy’s claim of self-defense in the shooting. Matters of accountability and liability in wrongful death lawsuits can be extremely complicated when multiple defendants are named. More information about negligence and fatal injuries is available on our webpage.