It's many people's worst nightmare. Receiving a phone call or a visit that bears news of the sudden loss of a loved one. Shock is normally the first and prominent reaction, followed usually by any emotional reaction in the book. Most can't believe that this is really happening. Once realization sets in, many have questions about how and why this happened.

A loved one can pass away suddenly without any negligence or fault to be found for anyone. However, often in accidents there are situations that would indicate negligence was present or suspected due to the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident and wrongful death. Car accidents, medical procedures, work accidents and many others can have indicators that may indicate a person or third party's involvement with their death and their failure to uphold a level of care or responsibility for that person.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident, different levels of care may be expected of different parties. For example, a doctor or medical facility is held to a stricter liability standard than would a driver of a vehicle. However, these situations alone do not indicate that any wrongdoing has occurred. Rather, an unusual circumstance surrounding the death often tips a loved one off that something might not be right with the way their loved one died.

This could be immediately after hearing how the person died. Or it could be after an investigation is conducted. Any work death will be fully investigated as will any road fatality. Medical facilities may or may not conduct their own investigation into a medical fatality, moreso, this action would need to be brought by the plaintiff.