Losing a loved one in a car crash is a tragic and overwhelming experience that can affect your family in many ways. Suddenly, you no longer have the person who may have been a provider and a source of love and guidance. You may also experience trauma that you will live with for the rest of your life.
Wrongful death is a personal injury that a family suffers when a loved one perishes in a car accident that was someone else's fault.
Your family may have the legal right to a large amount of compensation when you can prove that someone else was to blame for the car crash that caused the death of your loved one.
However, you must undertake a lengthy and complex legal process before receiving money. The insurance company that represents the other driver has no other interest than protecting itself and its finances to the fullest extent possible. You may need to overcome challenges and resistance before you can get a settlement.
The first step in the legal process is contacting a Sebastian personal injury attorney to discuss your case. Your wrongful death lawyer will advise you whether you have a potential lawsuit, and after extensive research, they will tell you how much you can expect if you win your case. They will also investigate the circumstances surrounding your loved one's death, gather evidence, and build a strong case on your behalf. If you have not already hired a wrongful death lawyer, now is the time to do so.
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Who Can File a Wrongful Death Case?
Each state has laws about who can represent a family in a wrongful death case. In many states, the personal representative has this task and will do so on behalf of any family members who can receive proceeds from a settlement or award. A spouse or a specific family member may file the case in other states.
Whoever has the responsibility of filing a wrongful death claim, the family must be on the same page because you all have to work together throughout the legal process.
Conflict during this difficult time is the last thing that your family wants or needs. Any disagreement can undermine your case's strength, leading to stress and the possibility of less compensation.
Further, each state has rules about who can receive wrongful death compensation and how to divide the proceeds. A surviving spouse can expect to receive the largest share of the wrongful death proceeds. Children may also have the legal right to some of the money.
Some states cast a broader net and allow anyone who depended on the deceased person or who suffered losses from their death to receive some of the proceeds. Typically, the family will divide one pot of money, although the size of the award may depend on the aggregate of damages suffered by a group of individuals.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits Involve Proving Negligence Before Anything Else
The first part of a wrongful death case after a car accident is proving that the death was wrongful. Here, like any other personal injury case, you must demonstrate that the other driver (or someone else who played a role in the accident) was negligent.
Your family has to carry the burden of proof to show that someone else was at fault; specifically, you must demonstrate the facts of your case by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard of proof means that what you allege is more likely than not to have occurred.
Negligence is when someone has not upheld their duty of care to act reasonably under the circumstances. Some examples of things that may be negligence in a car accident case are:
- Ending up in the wrong lane and causing a head-on collision
- Traveling above the posted speed limit or at a rate that is not reasonable for the conditions
- Taking eyes off the road because of distracted driving
- Cutting off another driver in traffic
- Driving recklessly under any circumstances
The Difficulties of Proving Negligence
In a wrongful death car accident, you do not have the benefit of your loved one's side of the story.
A wrongful death lawyer will begin their investigation from scratch depending on what they believe happened. They will speak with witnesses and gather other evidence that may help prove fault.
Your loved one is also no longer around to defend themselves if the insurance company tries to blame them for the accident. Insurance companies may see this as an opportunity to make allegations about your family member's actions based on their belief or speculation.
If they succeed, they can eliminate or reduce the amount of compensation that your family may receive. Again, you need a wrongful death lawyer's efforts if your loved one faces blame for the accident.
You Must Quantify Your Damages Before You Can Seek Them
Assuming you can prove that someone else was to blame for the accident, you will proceed to the next phase of your case. A wrongful death claim should pay your family back for what you have lost when a close family member died. You have suffered various damages and have the legal right to receive compensation for all of them.
Your loved one served a valuable role in the family in many ways. If the deceased family member was of working age, chances are they were a breadwinner who provided financial support for the family.
Your wrongful death claim will recoup the money that your loved one would have made for the rest of their career. Even if the deceased person was not working, they may have had other roles in the family structure. For example, if they had provided care for children, this service would have monetary value.
The love you receive from a family member and the nature of your relationship with them can also result in financial compensation. Your wrongful death claim will quantify the relationship that you had with the deceased person in a dollar value.
It does not matter whether it was a spouse, parent, or child who died - everything in a wrongful death case is worth money, so you can receive full compensation for what you have lost.
A spouse can also receive compensation for the loss of the physical relationship they had with the deceased person. Here, you may have to delve into uncomfortable details of your personal life, but you can expect to have to answer tough questions from the insurance company paying for these losses.
Your family will likely have suffered devastating grief and trauma when you suddenly lost a loved one under tragic circumstances, and you may have your own form of emotional distress from the loss. Although emotional distress is not an independent personal injury claim, you can receive compensation as part of your overall settlement.
Your wrongful death attorney can accurately assess the value of your claim, taking into account factors such as medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income, and the pain and suffering endured by the surviving family members.
You Have to Quantify What Your Loved One Meant to the Family
You may think that it is unseemly to have to think of your loved one's life in terms of a dollar value, but that is the procedure in a wrongful death case. In any personal injury claim, your losses translate into money, whether they are economic or non-economic.
In fact, a large part of your wrongful death losses should compensate you for more subjective losses. Your loved one has a specific value to you, and your challenge is to measure it. You may have difficulty attaching a dollar value to what you have lost, but that is precisely what a wrongful death attorney does when you hire them for your case.
One of the significant challenges in a wrongful death case is that your damages are entirely subjective and depend on your account of your relationship with your family member.
Like any personal injury case, you must prove and back up your story. In wrongful death claims, you should expect to have to answer an extensive set of questions about your relationship with your deceased family member. If you have filed a lawsuit, the insurance company's lawyer may ask difficult questions during a deposition.
Even if you are just in the claims process and have not taken your case to court, you still need persuasive proof of the damages you seek. Essentially, anything you say is open to challenge from the insurance company.
Your wrongful death attorney can deal with the insurance company and its lawyers, protecting your rights throughout the process.
Survival Claims After a Car Accident Death
In addition to wrongful death damages, your family can file a survival claim if your loved one did not die immediately from their accident injuries.
A survival claim will accompany the wrongful death case because it arises out of the same facts. The personal representative is usually the one who will file this lawsuit, and they will divide the proceeds under the terms of the deceased person's will.
Survival action damages can include the following:
- The medical expenses necessary to treat your loved one before they died
- The earnings that the accident victim would have earned between the time of the accident and their death
- The pain and suffering that your family member lived through before their death
- Any emotional distress as a result of the accident, including the realization that they were about to be in a serious crash
Wrongful Death Cases Are Difficult But Necessary
A wrongful death case is your family's one chance to seek compensation for the loss of a loved one, and you must get everything right for your family's well-being. Any mistakes can cost your family the money you will need as you try to get by without your loved one.
One of the most significant errors is accepting too little for your case. Thus, the key is to know exactly how much your claim or lawsuit is worth before you file it. A wrongful death lawyer will study your case extensively before they come up with a valuation of your losses.
Then, you must either negotiate extensively to get the money you deserve or persuade a jury to award you what you seek. You will likely begin settlement negotiations far apart from the insurance company.
Your wrongful death attorney will reject any settlement offer that does not fully pay your family since you are signing away your legal rights when you accept the insurance company's money. It can take considerable time to get your money, and you may even need to go through some or all of the court process.
As much as your family wants to put this painful experience behind them and begin to move on, you cannot do so until you get all the money you deserve. You should never accept a premature settlement that does not fully pay you.
Hire a Wrongful Death Lawyer to Represent You
While it may be tempting to try handling a wrongful death claim on your own, doing so may lead to costly mistakes and a lower settlement offer. Insurance companies, whose primary goal is to minimize payouts, have teams of highly skilled lawyers working on their behalf.
To level the playing field and ensure that insurance companies take your claim seriously, you need the knowledge of a legal professional who understands wrongful death laws and has a track record of success in handling similar cases.
If you have lost a loved one in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, it is in your best interest to consult with a lawyer. They will provide the guidance, support, and legal experience to handle a wrongful death claim.
By enlisting their help, you can focus on healing and rebuilding your life while they work to pursue justice on your behalf. Remember, you do not have to face this challenging journey alone—reach out to a trusted attorney today.