Are you liable for a death if your lying caused the death?

Answer 1

That would depend on what you lied about and how it caused the death. If you lied about a cars brakes and someone drove it and crashed then possiblly. If you told someone it was a glass of water and it was in fact acid and that could be proven, you would be liable. There are lots of cases where you would be liable. I would think it would have to be proven that you knew you were lying and that the persons death could be expected or shown to be likely as a result of the lie. SOME TIMES ALSO IF YOU CAUSED A SUICID AND THEY HAVE PROOF THAT PERSON KILLED THEMSELF BECAUSE SOMETHING YOU DID THEY CAN GET YOU FOR HARASEMENT AND FOR A FORM OF SECONDARY MURDER.

The laws on wrongful death lawsuits vary from state to state in the U.S. However, a GENERAL rule is "it must be proven that the acts or omissions of the defendant were the proximate cause of the decedent's injuries and death. This means that the defendant's wrongful conduct must have created a natural, direct series of events that led to the injury." As noted above, lying about a danger that results in a person doing an act that results in injury, that s/he would have avoided had s/he been informed about that danger, would probably result in a jury verdict of negligence. Indeed, juries have found defendents liable not because the defendent deliberately lied, or even failed to say anything, but because the defendent SHOULD have known of a danger and given a proper warning.

Note that the U.S. standard of proof for civil suits is "preponderence of the evidence." In other words, it is NOT necessary to establish negligence beyond any reasonable doubt, but only (as one lawyer put it) "to 51% certainty."

Note also that if the lying was INTENDED to result in death or serious injury, or if death results from "extreme indifference to the value of human life," criminal liability could result.