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How to Hold a Company Accountable for a Wrongful Death in Mississippi

'Maggio Law

It’s impossible to replace the loss of a beloved family member who was suddenly taken from you, and if that happens, you’re left vulnerable and nearly defenseless. Families are left financially and emotionally flattened. If your family member’s death was caused by a company or an employee of a company, Mississippi wrongful death laws allow you to seek compensation for the damages that you’ve suffered. These types of cases are legally complex, and in order to maximize the compensation that your family might receive for the loss of a loved one, the services of a quality and effective Mississippi wrongful death law firm will be needed.

Mississippi’s Wrongful Death Act

The right to bring a wrongful death action in Mississippi is statutory. Mississippi’s wrongful death statute is found at MS Code section 11-7-13. Most wrongful death cases are brought under the law of negligence. If a person is careless and negligent and causes the death of somebody else, Mississippi’s wrongful death statute allows the family of that decedent to seek damages for the loss of their loved one.

Respondeat Superior

It’s probably safe to say that about 50 percent of all wrongful death cases filed in Mississippi involve motor vehicle crashes. Sometimes those crashes are caused by an employee of a corporation who was engaged in the course and scope of his or her employment. What comes to issue is whether that person’s corporate employer can be sued too. Resolution of that issue is found in the law of respondeat superior.

Vicarious Liability

As per the law of respondeat superior, so long as the employee was acting in the course and scope of their employment, the master must answer for the employee’s wrongful acts. That’s what’s known as vicarious liability. Simply put, vicarious liability is a cost of doing business. Here’s an example of vicarious liability. An appliance store has a service technician who drives a company van during working hours. While on his way to a customer’s home to repair a dishwasher, the employee hits and kills a pedestrian who was lawfully crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. It’s highly likely that the appliance store will ultimately be held liable for the wrongful death of the pedestrian. If that employee wrongfully took the company van after working hours to move some furniture and hit and killed a pedestrian, it’s unlikely that the employer would be vicariously liable.

A corporation can be held liable for a wrongful death. It must be included as a defendant in any such lawsuit. If you were injured or lost a family member as a result of the carelessness and negligence of a corporation’s employee, don’t hesitate to contact us and arrange for a free consultation and case review. We’ll listen to you carefully, answer your questions and discuss your legal options. You don’t need a penny to retain us either. That’s because we don’t charge any legal fees at all unless we obtain a settlement or verdict for you.

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