In a personal injury case, where the goal is for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant is responsible for causing an injury or death, a death certificate could potentially be used as evidence. The admissibility of a death certificate as evidence and its role in a case will vary depending on the circumstances.
What Needs to Be Proven in a Wrongful Death Claim?
If someone gets killed because of the negligence or fault of another person or party, Nevada law allows a wrongful death claim to be filed in the civil courts. In personal injury law, “wrongful death” is a loss of life due to the wrongful act, neglect or default of another individual or entity.
A wrongful death claim seeks justice for an avoidable death in the form of financial compensation to make up for losses suffered by surviving family members and heirs. This type of case can hold one or more parties liable, or financially responsible, for causing the death.
To win a wrongful death claim in Nevada, the plaintiff or filing party needs to prove that the defendant owed the deceased person a duty of reasonable care, breached or failed to fulfill this duty, and that this caused the fatal injury or illness. These are the four elements of negligence, the legal doctrine used to file most wrongful death claims.
What Is a Death Certificate?
A death certificate is a document that is issued by a medical practitioner or government agent in Nevada that records a deceased person’s time, date, location and cause of death. It is an official legal document that can be used for many purposes, such as the administration of the deceased person’s estate, to settle their debts and bank accounts, and to collect insurance benefits. It may also be submitted as evidence in the civil justice system, in some circumstances.
How Might a Death Certificate Be Used to Support a Personal Injury Case?
A death certificate could help prove negligence in a wrongful death case by establishing the cause of death. It will record the basic facts surrounding the fatal incident, such as where the person passed away and the manner of death, as officially determined by a coroner or medical examiner. This can be used as proof regarding who is responsible for causing the death.
If an individual dies in a fatal car accident, for example, a death certificate that lists the injuries sustained by the victim in the crash as the official cause of death could serve as evidence. The death certificate in this case would connect the decedent’s death to whoever caused the car crash.
However, a death certificate alone is typically not enough evidence to win a wrongful death claim. Other supporting evidence is also needed to build a compelling case, such as medical records, an autopsy report, accident reconstruction, witness statements and police reports.
When Is a Death Certificate Admissible as Evidence?
Using a death certificate to support a personal injury or wrongful death claim is only possible if it meets Nevada’s standards of evidence admissibility.
Under Nevada Revised Statutes §48.015, evidence must be relevant to the case, meaning it must have “any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.”
To be admissible as evidence for a personal injury case, a death certificate must be relevant and free from prejudice. It must be an official legal document that has not been altered or tampered with.
For more information about potentially using your loved one’s death certificate as evidence for a wrongful death claim in Nevada, contact Koch & Brim, LLP to request a free initial case review. Our wrongful death lawyers have more than 40 years of experience.