District of Columbia residents may be interested to know that a law firm representing the family of a 20-year-old who died in Florida in Oct. 17 is filing a $5 million wrongful death suit on account of the incident. The man was killed after being shot at ZombiCon, a zombie themed charity event in Fort Myers. Event organizer Pushing Daizies and security company Southwest Florida Security and Investigations are named as defendants in the case.
According to a statement by the family’s attorney, security at the event was not properly trained or equipped to handle the number of people who attended. The statement claimed that there were more than 20,000 people there, many of whom were drinking and carrying weapons. The law firm said that it was also considering taking legal action against the City of Fort Myers and the Fort Myers Police Department.
When an individual is killed because of the negligent actions of another person or entity, the family of the victim may wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Such a lawsuit may make it possible for the family to obtain compensation for final funeral and burial expenses and other amounts permitted by statute .
The question of who is entitled to bring an action for wrongful death is usually addressed by the applicable statute of the state in question. In some cases, the nominal plaintiff is the executor under the decedent’s will or the personal representative of his or her estate, while in others it is brought by a surviving spouse or other next of kin. An attorney can advise family members of the procedures involved as well as the types of damages that can be sought.