Wrongful Death Lawyers
When you’re mourning the loss of a loved one, you may not be thinking about wrongful death lawyers. However, whether a passing is caused by a delayed diagnosis, a car accident, or any other situation, you may have a claim. Thinking about your household’s financial future can be an important step towards making sure you can move forward.
If you suspect a loved one’s death was caused by negligence or a wrongful act, contact the wrongful death lawyers at Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation. We can help you understand what you can do next to protect your future.
What Qualifies as Wrongful Death?
The loss of a loved one is always painful, but it can be even more so when that loss is due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct. Wrongful death claims are legal actions designed to seek compensation for families who have lost a member under such circumstances.
The law defines a passing as a wrongful death as one where a deliberate act or negligence caused a fatality. If you’re not sure whether your family member’s passing qualifies, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation to get answers. When you suffer a loss, contact us for a consultation.
Knowing Your Rights as a Surviving Family Member
Typically, immediate family members such as spouses, children, or parents have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The specific eligibility can vary by state, but generally, those closest to the deceased are entitled to bring a claim.
If you are eligible to pursue a claim, you can pursue damages that may include compensation for funeral expenses, medical bills incurred before death, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship or emotional support.
As part of the process of securing compensation, you have the right to be actively involved in the case, which might include providing testimony, reviewing evidence, and making decisions about settlement offers. Alternatively, you may find the process too painful and can choose to have your attorney represent your best interests and take care of most of the details.
If a settlement offer is made, you have the right to review and negotiate it. Your attorney should help you assess whether the offer adequately compensates for your loss or if further action is necessary.
You are entitled to have a lawyer represent you throughout the wrongful death process. While you can also attempt to file yourself, the legal system in all states is complex and the process is much easier with an attorney assisting you.
What Damages Are Available in a Wrongful Death Claim?
In a wrongful death claim, you aren’t guaranteed any outcome. However, you can seek the following damages:
- Costs related to the funeral, burial, or cremation, which can be a significant financial burden for the family.
- Medical costs incurred before the person’s death, such as emergency room charges, hospital stays, and more.
- Damages for the income the deceased would have likely earned if they had lived, which covers lost wages, benefits, and potential future earnings.
- Compensation for the emotional distress and loss of the deceased’s presence and companionship.
- If the deceased provided important household services, such as childcare, cooking, or household tasks, you might be able to recover damages for the cost of replacing these services.
- Damages for the emotional pain and suffering experienced by the family due to the loss.
- For children or other dependents, damages can address the loss of guidance, mentorship, and emotional support that the deceased would have provided.
- Compensation for the loss of the relationship and intimacy that the surviving spouse or partner experienced with the deceased.
How much your damages will be will depend on the state where you are filing, the age of the person who has passed, and other factors. For example, if your family member was young and contributed to half the household income, you can expect to seek more in damages than if you have lost an elderly parent you were supporting.
Figuring out how much your case is worth is not easy, which is why consulting with wrongful death lawyers can help. Experienced attorneys have calculated many damages and can usually accurately estimate your likely compensation.
What If My Relative Lives for a Period of Time After the Incident and Then Dies?
You might still have a wrongful death claim. The key factor is whether the incident directly contributed to their death. In legal terms, you can pursue a wrongful death claim if you can establish that the incident was a substantial factor in causing their death, even if it wasn’t immediate.
You’ll need to show that the injuries or conditions resulting from the incident were a significant cause of your relative’s eventual death. This often involves demonstrating that the initial injury or its complications played a critical role in their decline and passing.
The insurance company and defendant may claim that the initial incident was not fatal and that the passing happened because of an unexpected complication or another cause. Medical records can help prove your claim.
In this situation, you may also have grounds for a separate personal injury claim for the period your relative lived after the incident, addressing pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other related damages. The wrongful death claim would then focus on the damages arising from the death itself.
An experienced wrongful death attorney can help clarify your legal options and help you file the right claim at the right time to maximize your compensation.
What If the Deceased Was Partially At Fault In Causing Their Own Death?
In many cases, the fact that the decedent shared some fault doesn’t automatically bar a claim. However, how much fault they bear can impact the compensation you may receive.
In states that follow comparative fault rules, a wrongful death claim can proceed as long as the deceased was not entirely responsible for the incident. The compensation you can recover might be reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased.
In states without such laws, your ability to seek compensation may be limited if your family member was partly at fault for their injuries.
In these cases, it’s crucial to work with an experienced attorney who can help establish the degree of fault. Even if an insurance company or a doctor tells you that your family member’s actions contributed to their death, an attorney has resources to investigate the injury in depth. Your attorney may be able to find evidence to the contrary of the official narrative. Even if your loved one did contribute to their fatal injuries, an attorney’s investigation can uncover all liable parties so you can pursue them.
How Much Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Worth?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, as wrongful death claims can vary from a few thousand dollars to millions. One of the big factors to consider are the economic losses. Calculating the deceased’s earning potential and the financial support they would have contributed as well as the funeral expenses and burial costs can give you a starting figure.
Non-economic damages are more subjective and include compensation for emotional pain, suffering, and the loss of companionship. The value of these damages can vary based on the relationship between the deceased and the survivors, as well as the impact of the loss on their lives. If young children are involved and they relied heavily on the deceased, you may be able to seek more compensation.
You also need to consider the final medical expenses, state laws, the liability of the responsible parties, and any insurance coverage available. These can also affect the potential settlement or award.
Your attorney can also play a role. Your lawyer’s experience and reputation can determine whether an insurance company or defendant is willing to offer a fairer settlement. If your lawyer is willing to take your case all the way to court or knows negotiation and trial strategies, you may be able to secure fairer compensation.
Consulting with an experienced wrongful death attorney can help you reach a solid number or at least a range of numbers that helps you understand how much your claim may be worth. While no honest attorney will promise you an outcome, a wrongful death lawyer can give you an idea of what to expect and can explain the strength of your case. With this information, you can decide whether you want to pursue the claim.
Wrongful Death Statute Of Limitations
The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is the timeframe within which you must file your lawsuit after a loved one has died. This period varies depending on where the incident occurred.
In many states, the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases ranges from one to three years from the date of the deceased’s death. The clock usually starts ticking on the day the deceased passes away, not the date of the incident that caused the death. This is because the claim is based on the impact of the death, rather than the injury itself.
There are exceptions to the timeframe. For example, if the cause of death was not immediately apparent or if the responsible party is a government entity, you may have more time or less time to file your claim.
Consult with a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible to understand the specific deadlines applicable to your case. Missing any filing dates can mean you lose out on your chance to seek compensation.
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Common Accidents That Result in Wrongful Death
Wrongful death occurs when someone dies due to the reckless or intentional actions of another party. Several scenarios can qualify as wrongful death:
- Careless behavior, such as a fatal car crash resulting from distracted driving or a slip-and-fall incident due to poorly maintained property.
- Traffic accidents, including fatal truck accidents and motorcycle accidents, are common causes of wrongful death claims.
- If a healthcare provider’s mistake or substandard care leads to a patient’s death, it may be considered wrongful death. This could involve surgical errors, misdiagnosis, or failure to provide appropriate treatment.
- If a defective product causes a fatal accident, such as a malfunctioning car part or unsafe consumer product, the manufacturer or seller might be held liable for wrongful death.
- Fatalities resulting from unsafe working conditions or negligence on a construction site or other job environments can qualify as wrongful death.
- If someone dies as a result of intentional harm, such as assault or a violent crime, the perpetrator may be held liable in a wrongful death claim.
- Fatal accidents occurring due to hazardous conditions on someone’s property, like a lack of safety measures or proper warnings, can be grounds for a wrongful death claim.
In wrongful death cases, the surviving family members—such as spouses, children, or parents—can seek compensation for their loss, which may cover funeral expenses, lost financial support, and emotional suffering. If you believe you may have a wrongful death claim, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation. Our team works on motorcycle accident cases, boating accident, birth injury claims, landlord-tenant disputes, and many other personal injury claims. Our father-son attorney team has years of experience at the negotiating table and in the courtroom and our founder worked for the insurance industry before dedicating his life to the law, so he knows exactly how insurance companies can try to minimize your claim–and how we can fight back.
Most of all, the family-based team at Flaxman Law Group genuinely cares. We know this is a hard time and we lead with compassion. We give you our personal cell phone numbers and treat you with care, rather than just pursuing compensation.
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