A wrongful death claim is your family’s own personal injury action when you have lost a loved one in a car accident. Here, the death of your family member is your own unique personal injury. If you can prove that someone else’s negligence caused the death of your loved one, your family may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. First, you should contact a wrongful death lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
Proving Negligence in a Wrongful Death Car Accident Case
Like any type of personal injury case, you need to prove that a third party was responsible for the death of your family member. Here, the predicate for personal injury compensation is that someone else was negligent. You must prove the following four things to establish negligence in a car accident case:
- Someone else owed your loved one the duty of care
- They breached their duty by doing something unreasonable under the circumstances
- Your loved one suffered an injury
- They would not have suffered an injury had it not been for the actions or omissions of the other driver
Your family is the one who has the burden of proof to show that the other driver was negligent. You must prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning that it is more likely than not that the facts you allege actually occurred. If you can meet this burden, you can establish liability and then proceed to negotiate your financial compensation for your losses.
How to Measure the Value of a Car Accident Wrongful Death Case
A car accident wrongful death claim measures the value of your loved one’s life in terms of what they meant to the family. While it may seem awkward and difficult to talk about your loved one in terms of dollars and cents, that is the exact fundamental nature of a wrongful death claim. Since your family is the personal injury victim here, the case is meant to compensate you for what you have lost.
Your loved one may have been valuable to the family in different ways. They may have been a breadwinner along with a source of support and guidance. Your case is quantified both in terms of the actual economic losses you have suffered and the more intangible non-economic losses your family sustained.
Accordingly, your wrongful death compensation may include the following:
- The income that the deceased person would have earned over the course of the rest of their working career (including any raises or promotions that they would have earned)
- The loss of the guidance and support that they provided to individual family members
- The loss of the close and loving relationship that family members had with the deceased person
- The emotional distress and grief that your individual family members suffered from the sudden and untimely passing of a loved one
- The loss of the physical relationship that the deceased person had with their spouse
- The funeral and burial expenses that your family incurred
Survival Actions for Car Accident Deaths
In addition, in many states, your family may file a survival action at the same time if your loved one did not die immediately from their injuries. Then, your loved one may have sustained their own damages that can be payable to the estate. For example, they may have suffered their own emotional distress and damages, such as the medical expenses incurred to treat their injuries. This can be another source of compensation for your injuries.
How a Wrongful Death Lawyer Helps Your Case
Your wrongful death attorney will help your case in a number of ways. First, you need to have the evidence necessary to prove your case. This task is not something that your family can do in a time of grief and crisis. Your loved one is no longer here to testify about what happened to them.
Your wrongful death lawyer can also perform a valuable task by estimating the value of your case. Different lives have different values to a family. Many subjective elements to a wrongful death claim may be difficult to value in legal terms. Your wrongful death case is the one chance that your family has to obtain compensation for the loss of a loved one.
Your Wrongful Death Lawyer Fights for Your Family
The insurance company is going to do everything that it can to take advantage of your family. They may be very stringent about the proof of liability they are willing to accept. The insurance company can even try to blame your loved one, knowing full well that they are no longer alive to testify in their own defense. Your wrongful death lawyer will speak up for your loved one and your family.
Then, a wrongful death lawyer can fight for your family to get all the compensation you deserve. Even if the insurance company tries to make you a settlement offer, it will be both delayed and inadequate. Your wrongful death attorney will review any settlement offer you receive and give you their best legal advice about whether you should accept or reject it. In all likelihood, you need to go through several rounds of offers and counteroffers over many months. The insurance company only makes offers that more reasonably reflect your reality when they know that there is a wrongful death lawyer who can take your family’s case to court if it is necessary. You can expect a lengthy legal process before receiving a settlement check.
The time to contact a wrongful death lawyer is now. You do not have to pay a wrongful death lawyer from your own pocket. You do not have to come up with any money right off the bat to pay for a retainer or hourly charges. Thus, your family has everything to gain and nothing to lose from getting help from a wrongful death.
Consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose by discussing a possible case with a personal injury attorney in your area now.