WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM MAY FOLLOW HIT-AND-RUN CRASH
[Following the death of her daughter in March this year, a British Columbia mother now has to adjust to living without a loved one. The person responsible for the death of this young woman will spend four-and-a-half years behind bars and is banned from driving for 10 years. The 25-year-old woman lost her life in a hit-and-run accident in Burnaby. Grounds for a wrongful death claim in civil court clearly exist.
Reportedly, the woman was driving home to Burnaby after finishing a shift as a waitress at her job in Vancouver. When an SUV driver disregarded a red traffic light, the woman’s car was T-boned. She died on impact, and the driver of the SUV fled the accident scene. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested that driver several days later and charged him with dangerous vehicle operation causing death and fleeing the scene of a fatal accident.
After pleading guilty in October, the Vancouver Provincial Court recently handed down the sentence. The deceased woman’s mother apparently said that although the hit-and-run driver apologized, she is not convinced of his remorse. His conviction may help any civil action the surviving family members take against him.
While no amount of money can ever fill the void left by the unanticipated death of one’s child, restitution might ease the financial burden brought about by the tragic crash. Surviving family members may file a wrongful death claim in a British Columbia civil court. The court will consider detailed, documented claims for financial losses such as the costs of her funeral and burial along with emotional damages for inclusion in a monetary judgment once liability is formally established.
Source: news1130.com, “Sentence handed down in deadly Burnaby hit and run“, Dec. 21, 2016