Common Causes of Wrongful Death in the U.S.

Wrongful death is a legal term used in the civil justice system. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 30-809, a wrongful death occurs when a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another, in circumstances where the person could have brought an injury claim had they survived. In the event of a wrongful death, Nebraska law allows a claim on behalf of the surviving spouse and next of kin for the financial and personal losses the death has caused them.

No legal claim can undo a loss like this, and many families are not ready to think about one in the first weeks. For those who later want to understand how a death happened and whether someone should be held accountable, it can help to know which kinds of incidents most often lead to these claims. The national data below comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and each section explains how that type of death is handled under Nebraska law.

What the National Data Shows About Preventable Deaths

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unintentional injuries were the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2024, behind heart disease and cancer, accounting for 197,449 deaths. The CDC’s unintentional injury data shows that the largest categories that year were unintentional poisoning, with 75,761 deaths, unintentional falls, with 48,308 deaths, and motor vehicle traffic crashes, with 41,241 deaths.

Not every one of these deaths involves negligence. Many falls and most overdose deaths, for example, do not give rise to a legal claim. But the categories that recur most often in wrongful death cases, including crashes, workplace incidents, unsafe property, defective products, and medical errors, all fall within or alongside these numbers, and each is covered below.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Traffic crashes are among the most common sources of wrongful death claims because they so often involve another driver’s choices. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s final 2023 data counted 40,901 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide, and the agency’s early estimate for 2024 was 39,345. The CDC’s figure differs somewhat because the two agencies count traffic deaths using different methods, but both point to roughly 40,000 deaths a year.

Car accidents can involve two or more motor vehicles, as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, and the most common type of claim in this category arises from a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver’s negligence. Reckless driver behaviors increase the odds of a fatal car accident, such as excessive speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving. When a death results, the at-fault driver’s liability coverage is often the first source of recovery, although uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and claims against employers of on-duty drivers may also be involved.

Commercial truck accidents are also a significant cause of wrongful death, typically to the occupants of the smaller passenger vehicle. These cases can involve the driver, the trucking company, and federal safety rules on driver hours and vehicle maintenance, which can make preserving evidence early especially important.

Workplace Disasters

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, a rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, or about one worker death every 104 minutes. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event, accounting for 1,937 deaths, and falls, slips, and trips accounted for another 844. Transportation and material moving occupations had the most fatalities of any occupational group, followed by construction and extraction.

When a worker dies on the job in Nebraska, the workers’ compensation system generally provides death benefits to dependents and limits lawsuits against the employer itself. A wrongful death claim may still be possible against a third party whose negligence contributed to the death, such as another driver in a work-related crash, a separate contractor on a construction site, or the manufacturer of defective equipment. Sorting out which claims are available usually requires a close look at who controlled the work site and what caused the incident.

Premises Liability Accidents

A dangerous premises could result in the death of a customer, visitor, social guest, contractor, or child. Property owners and those who control a property have a legal duty to use reasonable care in maintaining it and warning of hazards they know about or should have discovered. When an owner falls short of that duty and someone dies as a result, the family may have a claim.

Examples of potentially deadly premises liability accidents are slip and fall accidents, staircase accidents, swimming pool accidents, dog attacks, fires, carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly maintained equipment, and acts of violence made possible by inadequate security. Whether a claim exists often depends on what the owner knew about the hazard and how long it had been present.

Defective Products

A consumer product or good could contain a manufacturing, marketing, or design defect that makes the item unreasonably dangerous for use. In the most severe cases, a defective product could cause the death of the user or someone nearby.

Examples of fatal defects can include defective vehicles and vehicle parts, exploding batteries, dangerous children’s toys, and household appliances. In Nebraska, a manufacturer can be held strictly liable for a defective product that causes harm. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 25-21,181, however, a strict liability claim generally cannot be brought against a seller or distributor that did not also manufacture the product or the defective part, although other legal theories may still apply to them.

Medical Malpractice

Medical errors are among the most debated categories of preventable death. One widely cited 2016 Johns Hopkins analysis estimated that medical errors could rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States, though other researchers have questioned that estimate and the methods used to reach it. What is not in dispute is that some deaths are caused by care that falls below accepted medical standards.

Medical malpractice is the failure of a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other provider to deliver the level of care a reasonably careful provider would have given in the same situation. Examples include a missed or delayed diagnosis, a surgical error, a medication error, or a preventable birth injury. Nebraska applies additional procedural rules and deadlines to claims against health care providers, so families who suspect a medical error should seek legal guidance early.

How Wrongful Death Claims Work in Nebraska

In Nebraska, a wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin, under Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 30-810. The action generally must be filed within two years after the date of death. Damages are based on the financial losses the surviving family members have suffered, which Nebraska courts have recognized can include the loss of the person’s support, services, and companionship, and any recovery is divided among them in proportion to each person’s loss.

Any settlement reached by the personal representative must be approved by the court that appointed them. Our articles on filing a wrongful death claim in Nebraska, the wrongful death process, how a wrongful death settlement is divided, and how long a wrongful death case can take explain each of these steps in more detail.

Talk With Our Firm About Your Family’s Options

Knowles Law Firm is a family-owned firm that has represented Nebraska families since 1967. We understand that conversations about a wrongful death claim often come at one of the hardest times in a family’s life, and we try to make them as clear and unhurried as possible. We can explain how Nebraska law may apply to your situation, who would need to bring the claim, and what deadlines matter, without pressure to make a decision before you are ready.

To discuss your family’s financial recovery options after the death of a family member in Nebraska, you can reach an Omaha wrongful death lawyer at our firm through our contact form for a free consultation. These cases can be emotional and complex, but you do not have to sort through the legal process alone.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death Claims