A wrongful death lawyer helps in cases where a person loses their life due to another person’s wrongful action or negligence. They work with the victim’s family to pursue justice and ensure fair and timely compensation. Most lawyers who handle wrongful death cases in Florida are personal injury attorneys. They have excellent skills and extensive experience handling various personal injury cases. They also understand the complex legal processes involved. Thus, you can partner with one for help, support, and legal guidance if you need to file a wrongful death case. They will ensure you understand your situation and legal options and help you fight for your deserved compensation.
Who Needs the Help of a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
Wrongful death lawyers are experts in handling personal injury cases involving death. They help families that have lost loved ones in negligent acts of other people. A wrongful death occurs when a person loses their life due to the wrongful acts, default, negligence, or breach of contract of another party. Personal injury laws allow the deceased person’s immediate family or estate to recover compensation from the responsible party.
You need the assistance of a wrongful death lawyer if you have lost a loved one in an accident caused by another person’s negligence or wrongful acts. However, a mere belief that another party is to blame for your loved one’s death is insufficient to file a successful claim in court. Your lawyer’s first duty is to establish that you can seek damages through a wrongful death lawsuit against the liable party. In that case, they will study the details of your case, collect evidence, interview eyewitnesses, and seek experts’ opinions before filing a claim in court.
In establishing your eligibility for wrongful death compensation, a wrongful death lawyer will consider if the deceased would have filed a successful personal injury claim had they survived the accident. Several factors come into play in establishing these facts, including the cause of the accident, the alleged liable party’s involvement, if the liable party owed the deceased a duty of care, and how they breached that duty to cause the accident that caused the deceased’s death.
Personal injury laws in Florida allow a close family member or family representative to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. During the case hearing, you must demonstrate your eligibility to seek compensation for the deceased person’s family. Thus, you must have a close relationship with the deceased or have an appointment as a personal representative of their family. A personal representative could be the person the deceased has named in their last will. If the family does not have such a person, a court can appoint a family representative to handle the legal matters.
Once the family or court appoints a family representative, the representative will contact a wrongful death lawyer for legal advice, support, and representation. The representative and the lawyer will file a claim in civil court on behalf of the deceased person’s family, complete with all the supporting documents and evidence.
If you have lost a loved one and are their family representative, you must follow the legal guidelines for filing such cases in civil court. Your lawyer will help you develop a list of all the survivors who will benefit from the settlement. As a family representative, you will do this for the deceased’s spouse, parent, child, or close dependent. In cases like these, the primary beneficiaries are usually children and spouses. A beneficiary can also be the child of an unmarried person if the deceased was identified as the child’s parent before death and was contributing towards the child’s support.
The Crucial Role of a Wrongful Death Lawyer
Remember that a wrongful death lawyer handles cases related to the death of a person through wrongful acts or negligence of another party. Their role is complex, from establishing your suitability to file a wrongful death claim, gathering evidence, preparing and filing a claim, and fighting for a fair resolution. But before even engaging in the case, the lawyer must ensure that the case is valid. Thus, they must seek evidence that the deceased lost their life due to another party’s negligence or wrongful acts. The lawyer must establish these facts to ensure they file a successful lawsuit in court.
In that case, the lawyer will first determine the cause of the accident in which the deceased was killed. The cause of the accident will help determine who is responsible. Remember that the party responsible for the deceased’s death does not necessarily have to be criminally liable to pay for your family’s damages. The civil court judge will not require your lawyer to prove the liable party’s criminal behavior as proof of liability. For example, if your loved one lost their life in a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver, a DUI conviction for the driver could strengthen your wrongful death case. However, a sentence is not a requirement when establishing liability in a civil case.
In establishing the cause of the accident or wrongful act that caused your loved one’s death, your lawyer must investigate the accident or incident. They could revisit the accident scene, obtain the police report and the deceased’s medical report, call expert witnesses, and interview eyewitnesses to build a solid case. In some cases, lawyers cannot identify the exact liable party even after establishing the cause of an accident. Once your lawyer has possible liable parties, they can narrow them down to one or two against which they will file a claim.
Your attorney will then identify the party that owed the deceased a duty of care. For example, if your loved one lost their life in a truck accident, the truck driver and the trucking company are possibly liable parties. The two parties owed your loved one a duty of care during the accident. However, this is not enough to prove negligent or wrongful acts. Your lawyer must identify the wrongful or negligent act that the possible liable party did that caused the accident and subsequent death of your loved one. Remember that the civil court judge will expect this demonstration to determine the case.
They must demonstrate that the liable party breached the duty of care through the negligent or wrongful act. The lawyer must also prove that that breach was the direct and absolute cause of your loved one’s death. That is why you need a skilled and experienced wrongful death lawyer to file a successful claim on behalf of your family.
Here are some of the responsibilities of a wrongful death lawyer in detail:
Establishing Liability in Wrongful Death Cases
Remember that personal injury cases are usually based on negligent or wrongful acts. Your attorney has to demonstrate how the liable party was negligent in causing the accident in which your loved one was killed. In most cases, there are several possible liable parties. Your attorney has to consider all possibilities to determine the actual liable party. Once they have a suspected responsible party in mind, they have to determine how the liable party was responsible for your loved one’s death. It could be that they did something they should not have done or omitted something they should have done, causing an accident in which the deceased lost their life.
Demonstrating Reasonable Care in Wrongful Death Cases
Remember that a party becomes negligent when they breach their duty of care towards another party. Your wrongful death lawyer must also demonstrate this to compel the judge to grant you damages after the death of your loved one.
Suspecting a party to have caused an accident is usually insufficient to win a personal injury case. You must demonstrate that the person acted in a way they should not have acted or failed to act as they should have in causing an accident or incident that caused another person’s injury or death. To do that, your lawyer needs to demonstrate reasonable care or lack thereof.
For example, drivers are expected to approach a crosswalk slowly to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. Reasonable care entails acting like a reasonable person would under a particular circumstance. An inattentive, speeding, or distracted driver will not exercise reasonable care. Once your lawyer demonstrates that the alleged liable party failed to act with reasonable care and that their actions or inactions caused your loved one’s death, the judge can rule the case in your favor.
Connecting Negligence or Wrongful Acts With Injury or Death
A wrongful death lawyer must also demonstrate that the lack of reasonable care by the alleged liable party was the direct cause of the accident that resulted in your loved one’s death. They must establish a direct connection between the liable party’s actions or inactions and the accident and death. For example, your lawyer can demonstrate that, due to fatigue, the truck driver (the alleged liable party) could not operate the vehicle safely, thereby causing an accident in which your loved one was killed. They must prove that the truck driver was fatigued and eliminate other possible causes of the accident to win your case.
Preparing and Filing a Wrongful Death Case
A wrongful death lawyer helps families and representatives prepare and file wrongful death claims in civil courts. Once you contact such a lawyer for help, they will determine if your case is viable. Then, they will gather the necessary evidence and prepare all the paperwork needed for filing. Your lawyer will remove the burden of preparing and filing legal documents yourself. If you are unfamiliar with court and other legal processes, it is possible to make mistakes or omissions that could weaken or jeopardize your case. You need a skilled lawyer to help you navigate these complex processes.
Determining Damages in Wrongful Death Cases
A wrongful death claim must include all the damages the family or dependents of the deceased person are seeking compensation for. If you are unfamiliar with the legal process or it is your first time seeking compensation through a civil suit, you could face challenges determining the damages to include in your case.
Damages in wrongful death cases vary from one case to the next. You have to consider precisely what your family lost after your loved one’s death to determine the damages to include in the claim. An experienced wrongful death lawyer who has handled similar cases in the past can help you with that. Together, you can develop a list of damages and gather evidence of how you or your family incurred them to convince the judge to award them.
Fighting for a Favorable Outcome in Wrongful Death Cases
Once the case is in court and the plaintiff and defendant have presented their evidence, a wrongful death lawyer can prepare a statement to compel the judge to rule in their client’s favor. Remember that civil court judges determine cases based on the evidence they receive in court. While you prepare and table evidence as the plaintiff, the defendant will do the same. If the defendant has solid evidence against your accusations, there is usually no guarantee that the judge will favor you. A skilled wrongful death lawyer will not wait for an uncertain outcome. They will prepare a compelling statement to convince the court to favor you.
Sometimes, defendants in personal injury cases will settle the matter outside court. In that case, your attorney can negotiate for a fair settlement on your behalf. Note that out-of-court settlements save you time and money. Thus, it could benefit you in the long run. But a skilled attorney will not allow you to settle for less than you deserve.
Find a Skilled Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
Have you lost a loved one in Jacksonville in an accident or incident caused by another person’s wrongful acts or negligence?
Wrongful death claims are challenging to pursue in Florida, but our skilled wrongful death lawyers at Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney can help. We can prepare and file a compelling claim in court for compensation on your family’s behalf. First, we will establish whether your case qualifies for compensation before gathering the necessary evidence to support the claim. Then, we will interview eyewitnesses and talk to experts to build a solid case against the liable party. We will also fight alongside you for the compensation your family deserves. Call us at 904-800-7557 to learn more about our services.
