I recently spoke to a man whose wife had died in a car accident, and eventually the question arose of how much the wrongful death action was actually going to be worth. If you’re visiting this page, there’s a chance that maybe you have lost a loved one. If you have, I’m very sorry, and you may have that same question.
What I explained to him was that the damages associated with a wrongful death case involve, really, two different things. There is the wrongful death associated with the loss of the person, and then there is what they call the survival action, which is separate and prosecuted not in the name of the family but actually in the name of the estate itself. Prosecuting a wrongful death case requires an attorney who has experience in not only litigation, but also in handling probate cases.
If you’re at home and you have suffered the loss of someone you love or know someone who has suffered a similar loss, I would urge you to find an attorney who has a significant amount of experience in representing people in wrongful death cases. These cases are different. They are more emotionally charged. They require, often, more extensive litigation. They will require, most likely, the approval of the settlement from some type of judge, whether it be a probate judge or a circuit court judge or a superior court judge. It will require going in front of a court and getting the settlement approved. You want to find an attorney who is focused on personal injury, a trial lawyer who has not only just handled general trial work but has specifically handled cases involving wrongful death.
Like I said, wrongful death cases are premised on the same ideas as any other personal injury case, but they are different because they involve the actual loss of a human being. If you or someone you know has lost someone and you have questions about possibly bringing a wrongful death claim, we would be more than happy to sit down with you and answer any and all questions that you might have.