If a Suicide Injures Someone Else or Causes Damage, Who Is Liable?

Someone commits suicide in the US every 13 minutes. The act is tragic and affects families and loved ones in a profound way, but what happens when a suicide attempt causes damage or injury to someone else? The question is an incredibly difficult one to answer, and it largely depends on the success of the suicide. Here are a few scenarios that may clarify the consequences of this act in the legal system:

Scenario 1: This scenario may offer the most common form of pursuing liability after a suicide. If the individual has an estate, you have a right to file a claim against that estate for your injuries or damage to your property caused by his or her negligence. Claims against a decedent’s estate are often complex and take time and legal expertise to resolve successfully. Claimants against a deceased individual’s estate are considered part of the estate’s potential debt.

Scenario 2: An individual obtains a firearm or other lethal weapon and attempts to commit suicide. During the attempt, he or she accidentally or purposefully injures or kills another person. If the individual successfully takes his or her own life after the fact, there may not be a legal remedy – particularly if the individual legally owned the lethal weapon. However, if the individual survives the attempt, he or she could face both criminal and civil charges. The courts may consider the act murder or attempted murder.

Scenario 3: An individual at a party decides to commit suicide while at someone else’s home. He or she jumps from an upper story window, causing significant property damage. If the individual was the guest of another invitee, it is possible that the homeowner may try to hold the invitee responsible for the damage. However, unless the homeowner can prove the invitee reasonably knew about the suicidal nature of the guest, this claim will not likely stand in court.

Scenario 4: A bully at school relentlessly tortures somebody online and in-person. Over time, the emotional trauma of the harassment takes its toll. He or she tries to commit suicide but injures someone else in the process. That individual suffers serious long-term effects as a result of the incident. The injured party may try to hold the bully accountable for the event. Courts have held 3 ^rd parties responsible for suicides in the past, presenting the possibility of a successful outcome if the injured individual decides to sue.

Every suicide case is different, and not many result in civil actions because of injury or harm caused by the suicide. However, that does not mean it is impossible to hold someone else responsible for the damage. In any injury or damage claim, the plaintiff must prove someone owed a reasonable duty of care in his or her behavior, that he or she failed to do so, and that the failure caused injury. It stands to reason, then, that giving a suicidal person a gun could constitute an act of negligence in some cases.

Proving negligence is the key to successfully obtaining compensation after experiencing an emotionally traumatic and physically injurious or damaging suicide. Contacting an attorney who specializes in posthumous injury or property damage claims can help you determine how to pursue a case. These assertions require extensive independent investigations during an often passionately difficult time for friends and family members.

If you or someone you know has experienced an adverse outcome in someone else’s suicide, let us know. The team at Gordon, Elias & Seely will help you determine who, if anyone, you can hold responsible for your injury or property damage. Contact our team in Houston today.

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