Wrongful death claims are based on the legal tort of negligence. Wrongful death negligence claims must prove four things to be successful: duty, breach, causation, and death.   The law is clear that a defendant(s) (the person(s) responsible) must breach a duty of reasonable care before an injured person can recover money damages.  Reasonable care means that degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would use under the same circumstances.  The clearest example of this is if a driver who is speeding strikes another person and causes that person to die. In this example the driver owed a duty to keep his vehicle under control, but when he did not, he breached his duty to other people on the roadway and caused the death of another person.