Sean Heldt's Death Still Considered a
11/19/2007
Sean Heldt had been in a coma for almost six months at Harborview Medical Center before he passed away on Wednesday, November 7th, a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday. Heldt died following a May 25, 2007 accident on Interstate-90 when the car he was driving was hit head-on by a man with a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit.
The intoxicated driver and his 2-year old son were killed instantly. Hedt's girlfriend, Christina Grimsley, 26, was also killed instantly. The only survivor of the crash was Grimsley's infant daughter, who was in a car seat during the crash.
Have you or someone you know been the victim of a drunk driver? If so, consider contacting an attorney today.
When a person is killed as a result of an accident the ensuing claim is characterized under Washington law as "wrongful death". Even though a substantial amount of time passed between the time Sean Heldt was injured and the time he died, the claim against the estate of the at-fault driver would continue to be characterized as a wrongful death claim. Under Washington law wrongful death claims have dramatically different values depending on a number of factors. One of the biggest factors is whether the person who died has statutory beneficiaries. Statutory beneficiaries can include spouses, children and parents that were dependent financially on the deceased person.
