Legal Death Law and Legal Definition
Legal death refers to a situation where a person is considered dead under law. A person is usually considered legally dead after a legal pronouncement by a qualified person that further medical care is not appropriate. The specific criteria used to pronounce legal death are variable and often depend on the circumstances in order to pronounce a person legally dead. Brain death is an example of a scenario in which legal death is pronounced. In the U.S., brain death is legal in every state except the states of New York and New Jersey, where the law requires that a person's lungs and heart must also have stopped before it can be declared that a person is legally dead.
Legal Definition list
Related Legal Terms
- Accelerated Death Benefit
- Accidental Death
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment [Insurance]
- Accidental Death Benefit
- Accidental Death Clause
- American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators [ABMDI]
- Angel of Death Tax Break
- Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
- Association of Legal Administrators
