Grief can be overwhelming –physically, emotionally, and mentally—when a loved one suffers a personal injury that results in wrongful death. From shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The vacuous pain a person suffers after losing a loved one leaves a void. Although time does help, it often requires more assistance to cope with this type of loss.
There are five stages of grief when suffering a loss:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Everyone must go through the journey at their own pace. And if you do go through these stages of grief, you probably won’t experience them in a concise, sequential order. But the stages cannot be ignored. Trying to ignore pain or keep it from surfacing will only make it worse in the long run. People must be reassured that feeling sad and lonely is a normal reaction to losing a loved one in wrongful death. Crying is OK and anger about what happened is not abnormal. All injuries are different.
This begs the question of how to deal with the grieving process after being a victim of wrongful death. First, the family members must acknowledge the pain by way of accepting it as being real. Sometimes seeking support from community members, other families, religious organizations, and even professionals can help move this process along. Family members gravely affected by the loss may also require medication management in order to mute the all-consuming feels of loss, despair, profound sadness, guilt, anger, and fear of being left alone.
Separate from the emotional symptoms, medical treatment may be necessary due to a physical reaction to a loss. Family members stricken with grief can get insomnia, nausea, weight loss, and physical pain associated with their emotional losses. If the symptoms persist, it can lead to further medical complications including drug and alcohol abuse, or even suicide. This is why it is important to seek guidance immediately after suffering a wrongful death of a family member. The burden of grief is easier to carry if carried by more than one person.
The Injury Law Firm is extremely familiar with the significant loss that is suffered when a family member losses a loved one due to someone else’s mistake. In addition to turning to friends and family for support, the sophisticated legal team at The Injury Law Firm can help with additional resources to research legal theories and make sure the adverse party is held accountable and give family members a sense of justice and closure. At The Injury Law Firm, our attorneys are prepared to explain the process to you and listen to your story with compassion. We have handled thousands of wrongful death cases involving many different scenarios—from car accidents to truck accidents to product defects. We push to help a family move forward after death and into a better position after such a tragic loss. Call us to see how we can help.