Wrongful death cases and personal injury cases, although handled similarly, greatly differ in many respects. One of the main differences is how insurance claims proceed in a wrongful death case, as the claim is not owned by the injured party but rather by the beneficiaries of the decedent’s estate. This also means that once a case is settled, it must be approved by a court, which is not required in other types of cases.
A wrongful death case focuses on establishing the negligence of another person, but any criminal charges associated with the death would be completely separate from the case. It does not generally include intentional torts. Murder and manslaughter are criminal causes of action that are handled by the state of Missouri, while a wrongful death action is handled as a civil case by the plaintiff’s lawyers who are suing at fault parties and/or their insurance companies.