In Palm Beach County and throughout Florida, personal injury wrongful death matters often arise as a result of the negligent actions of a party. Many of these claims follow a fatal motor vehicle accident. Wrongful death may be available after a person is found to be the negligent or reckless cause of the accident that resulted in the death of the victim.

Palm Beach County residents may have read about a Flagler County wrongful death claim, which was settled on Feb. 6. The matter involves the death of a 76-year-old woman who was struck by a car as she walked her dog in Palm Coast. The 55-year-old defendant struck the victim with her car on Nov. 10. The victim passed away two days later at Halifax Health Medical Center. The wrongful death lawsuit claimed the driver was negligent and also failed to appropriately contact emergency services.

The family of the deceased woman settled the claims for $1.25 million just two weeks after the lawsuit was filed. It was settled by the representatives of the victim and the insurance company of the woman accused of causing the death. Insurance companies sometimes settle cases prior to a court decision, and in this instance the claim was said to have been for the maximum allowable policy limits.

Investigators are still working to establish all of the facts as to what occurred at the time of the accident. No criminal charges have been filed to date against the driver. A finding of criminal conduct is not necessary for the personal injury claim against the driver to be settled. A civil court need only find that the actions or negligence of a party caused the wrongful death of the accident victim.

Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Family of Flagler woman hit by car gets $1.25 million," Frank Fernandez, Feb. 9, 2012.