Losing a loved one is never easy. But to lose one suddenly due to the negligence of another is tragic and challenging to process. How can an attorney help after the loss of a loved one due to another’s negligent act? You may be dealing with a case of wrongful death. An attorney will compassionately approach your claim while guiding it through the legal process.
Contact a Winder wrongful death attorney to discuss your case and determine whether you have a valid insurance claim or civil lawsuit. You'll want to devise a plan to recover your loved one's damages from the accident and any losses you've incurred, including final arrangements and pain and suffering. Schedule a free case evaluation today.
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What Is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death is a civil cause of action brought by surviving family members, such as spouses and dependents, against individuals who negligently or intentionally cause the death of another person. These types of insurance claims and lawsuits allow beneficiaries to seek financial compensation for the losses and damages resulting from the decedent’s wrongful death.
Common Causes of Wrongful Death
Wrongful death occurs when a person suffers an injury in an accident because of another's negligent or intentional act. It can be the immediate result of an accident or begin with injuries sustained in one, declining until deceased. Common causes of wrongful death you may secure a settlement for as follows:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Rideshare collisions
- Bicycle collisions
- Pedestrian accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Premises liability
Families suffering the loss of a loved one due to wrongful death should document damages the decedent incurred from the accident, such as healthcare costs, property damages, and pain and suffering. You should also keep receipts or invoices for any out-of-pocket expenses you've sustained. An experienced wrongful death lawyer can help you recover both.
How Can an Attorney Help After the Loss of a Loved One?
An attorney can help after the loss of a loved one by providing peace of mind to grieving families. No one should have to process the loss you're experiencing. Wrongful death lawyers sympathize with these circumstances and demand liable insurers compensate families mourning their loved ones.
Most wrongful death attorneys work for contingent fees, meaning there is no upfront or out-of-pocket expense to retain their help after the loss of a loved one. Contingent fees aren’t universal. Ask your attorney to clarify their percentage.
Wrongful death lawyers only get paid if you do and will collect their contingency before issuing your settlement check. Their services include providing legal guidance, filing wrongful death claims, investigating cases, valuing damages, negotiating settlements, and proceeding to trial when liable insurers refuse to pay.
Provide Legal Guidance
An attorney can help after the loss of a loved one by explaining your legal rights and responsibilities concerning their benefits, assets, and your claim for wrongful death. State jurisdiction determines who can bring a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.
Some allow surviving family members, such as spouses, children, and parents, while others permit domestic partners and distant family to file when primary beneficiaries don’t. Still, some only allow an estate representative to file a wrongful death action. Ask a local lawyer to clarify state regulations.
File a Wrongful Death Claim
An attorney can help after the loss of a loved one by filing a wrongful death claim on your behalf with all liable insurance companies. Before filing a claim, they will thoroughly investigate your case to ensure all liable parties are identified and that they can confidently prove negligence.
Investigate Your Case
Depending on the nature of the accident, investigating wrongful death can involve many complexities. Multiple liability, insurance policy limits, and substantial evidence can require more time. An attorney will investigate your wrongful death claim by completing the following:
- Collecting Evidence: Your attorney will help gather all evidence of negligence and wrongdoing. Depending on the nature of the accident, evidence may involve police or incident reports, video footage of the accident and scene following, witness statements, photos of your loved one's injuries and accident scene, medical records, healthcare bills, and paperwork documenting other financial losses.
- Interviewing Witnesses: Eyewitness testimony can help cement liability. Your attorney will re-interview witnesses attached to the police report to confirm testimony and discover new information. They may also investigate other possible witnesses and collect statements of their accident accounts.
- Consulting Experts: Expert witness testimony is invaluable help after the loss of a loved one. It helps prove negligence and establish the extent of damages, such as calculating the future earnings a family is owed after losing a provider and breadwinner. Experts include healthcare professionals, economists, life care planners, and forensic scientists.
- Reconstructing Accidents: Accident reconstruction specialists may work with your attorney to recreate the accident resulting in wrongful death using a scientific process involving mathematics. Accident reconstructionists collect evidence from the accident scene before using technology to create detailed computer simulations and animations of the accident. These tools help establish liability, prove negligence, and illustrate complex concepts to insurers, judges, and juries.
The more evidence your attorney has demonstrating negligence and damages, the greater your chance of obtaining substantial compensation for your losses. Bring evidence of your claim to your free case evaluation to best assess the specifics of your wrongful death action.
Value Your Wrongful Death Damages
Attorneys can help after losing a loved one by valuing the damages in the family's wrongful death claim. These damages include economic and non-economic damages of both the decedent and claimant due to wrongful death, such as:
- All final arrangement costs (funeral or memorial service, burial or cremation)
- All final healthcare costs of your loved one
- All costs for repairing or replacing damaged property
- Your loved one's conscious pain and suffering from the date of their accident until death
- Your mental and emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium (companionship, intimacy)
- Loss of household services (cleaning, cooking, child-rearing)
- Loss of parental guidance
- The lost prospect of inheritance
- Income losses your loved one sustained (such as wages, overtime, bonuses, benefits)
Wrongful death attorneys and consulting experts determine the future earnings of your deceased loved one by considering age, education, occupation, current income, potential for promotions based on career trajectory, and projected industry growth rates. Your lawyer will exhaustively evaluate case damages before sending a demand letter to liable insurers.
Negotiate Your Settlement
Insurance companies start negotiations low, forcing your attorney to fight for fair compensation. Negotiations can last several rounds before all parties agree on settlement terms. You will be informed of any offers and advised before being given the option to accept or reject them.
Call Today to Schedule an Appointment With a Wrongful Death Attorney
Generally, filing a wrongful death lawsuit after losing a loved one is a last resort after liable insurance companies refuse to pay a valid claim with a fair settlement. Ask your attorney to clarify their litigation process, including changes to contingency fee arrangements. Schedule a free case evaluation with a Winder personal injury attorney to discuss the merits of your claim and your right to financial compensation.