A civil action against someone who can be held liable for a death. Any tortious injury that caused someone's death may be grounds for a wrongful death action. Under the common law, a claim for wrongful death had to be brought by the decedent's...
tort damages
wrongful death statute
A statute that essentially codifies the common law claim of wrongful death, but modifies any rules that legislators deems arcane or unjust. For instance, modern wrongful death statutes permit the decedent's executor or administrator to bring the...
zone of danger rule
The zone of danger rule is a doctrine that limits the liability of persons accused of negligent infliction of emotional distress ("NIED"). If the zone of danger rule applies, plaintiffs suing for NIED may only recover damages if they were (1) "placed...