Automobile accidents are sudden and life-changing events. Even a minor fender-bender can shake up a driver and his or her passengers. A real tragedy occurs when a child dies in a car crash.

A 17-year-old boy in North Carolina was riding in a car with three teenage friends when the driver, a high school classmate, rounded a curve too quickly, crossing over the centerline. In the opposite lane, their car collided with two more vehicles and went off the road, crashing into a closed gas station. The young man died at the scene and all but one of the survivors ended up in the hospital.

As the community grieves the loss of the well-liked boy, his family starts the process of learning to live without him and the promise his bright future held. No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of a loved one but, sometimes, a wrongful death action may help a family move through the grieving process.

When a person dies due to someone else's negligence, recklessness or misconduct, a wrongful death action may be filed. Such an action may also be warranted if a person has failed to act when he or she should have.

North Carolina has laws allowing wrongful death actions in a variety of situations causing fatalities, such as deaths caused by medical malpractice, exposure to toxic substances or vehicle accidents. The compensation awarded through this type of lawsuit may help the financial burden of the grieving family by paying medical and funeral expenses incurred as well as compensating for the loss of future earnings of the deceased.

Source: The Roanoke Times, Teenager's fatal crash leaves Franklin County area in shock, Amy Matzke-Fawcett and Neil Harvey, January 26, 2012