A wrongful death lawsuit falls under the area of law known as tort law. A “tort” is defined as an action or inaction (commonly referred to as negligence) that causes injury to another party. Tort law covers a wide range of personal injury statutes, including wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death lawsuit is possible when a person has died as a result of an injury caused by the actions or negligence of another party.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil suit that is brought against the party responsible for the decedent's death in order to recover damages associated with his or her injuries and death. The dependants or beneficiaries of a decedent are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the deceased. In a wrongful death lawsuit, these survivors are eligible to seek restitution for the medical expenses related to the injury and death in question, the loss of income caused by the injury and future loss of income, and compensation for pain and suffering.

Wrongful death lawsuit can be filed when a person is killed because of work related injuries, defective drugs or products, dog bite injuries, nursing home abuses, medical malpractice, automobile accidents, exposure to toxic or dangerous materials, and a number of other personal injury situations.

The person who brings wrongful death lawsuit is usually called a "trustee." He or she is appointed by a judge to bring the wrongful death claim on behalf of all of the heirs (spouse and blood relatives) of the person who died.

A wrongful death lawsuit is brought against the person or company whose fault caused the wrongful death. The law in most states requires the trustee (through his or her lawyer) to prove the fault of the defendant (the person being sued) is greater than the fault of the deceased person.

A wrongful death lawsuit is not a criminal prosecution. Only state or federal prosecutors can bring criminal charges. The sole reason for a wrongful death claim is to compensate the heirs of the decedent for their loss.

Each state has different laws about the type of losses for which wrongful death compensation is allowed. All states allow for the recovery of lost income the decedent would have provided his loved ones. Most states do not allow recovery for grief or anger suffered by the surviving heirs, but do allow money damages for the loss of advice, care, comfort and companionship the deceased would have provided had he or she lived. Some states also allow money damages for the pain and suffering of the deceased person prior to death.

Wrongful death lawsuit are typically pursued in cases involving automobile accidents, medical malpractice, product liability and any other situations in which the fault of someone other than an employer caused the death (in most states wrongful death lawsuit are not allowed if the death was caused solely by the fault of the deceased worker, the employer or a co-worker).