A common misunderstanding is that non U.S. citizens can’t bring personal injury or wrongful death actions in the U.S.
That is simply not the case.
In the U.S., citizens of other countries have the same rights as U.S. citizens when it comes to bringing personal injury and wrongful death claims.
Take for example the fatal Duck Bus accident on the Aurora Bridge. At least four foreign citizens were killed:
- Claudia Derschmidt, 49, from Austria
- Privando Putradanto, 18, from Indonesia
- Mami Sato, 36, of Japan
- Runjie Song, 17, from China
The same remedies we discussed earlier that are available to the U.S. citizens injured or killed in the Duck Bus accident are available to the citizens of other countries also injured or killed in the crash.
It’s important for the foreign victims or families to hire an experienced local attorney, since both personal injury and wrongful death laws can vary state to state.
There’s an expression we use a lot: We don’t know what we don’t know. It sounds like it came from Yogi Berra. But it makes sense. Especially when it comes to personal injury cases. Make sure to speak with an attorney even if you think you know your rights or the law. It may turn out that there are a lot more options than you thought.