When someone dies as a result of another person’s negligence, recklessness or carelessness, the death becomes more tragic, as it could have been avoided.
When a loved one dies an untimely death in an unexpected accident resulting directly from someone else’s failure to behave appropriately, the family members may have the legal right to pursue a wrongful death claim. While no amount of money will ever bring a loved one back, you may have financial losses and non-economic losses as a result of your family member’s death.
The experienced wrongful death attorneys at Cain Injury Law can help you through this difficult process, and help your family pursue the justice you deserve. Contact a Lawrenceville wrongful death attorney at Cain Injury Law today by phone or online to have our legal team answer your questions and discuss your legal options for free.
Understanding Wrongful Death Laws in Lawrenceville
If a person suffers any kind of injury or loss as a result of someone else’s negligence, they have the legal right to pursue compensation for those injuries and losses through a personal injury claim. However, if a victim dies as a result of an accident or incident resulting from someone else’s recklessness or carelessness, they are no longer able to file a personal injury claim. Instead, the surviving family of the victim has the legal right to bring a wrongful death claim under Georgia law in order to seek justice on behalf of their loved one, and pursue compensation for the injuries as well as current and future losses to the family.
There are two types of damages that family victims have the legal right to pursue in Lawrenceville, Georgia under the law. A wrongful death claim allows a family to pursue the “full value” of the life of their loved one who died. While no person can place a monetary value on someone else’s life, the courts attempt to compensate the family for their loss through the legal system. While no amount of money will ever replace the love and life of a family member, the court will look to how the family member had both economic and non-economic value to their family.
How a Lawyer Can Help with Your Lawrenceville Wrongful Death Claim
If you are considering a wrongful death claim, you may be overcome with grief, loss, devastation, and emotion. It is understandable that you may not want to pursue a complex legal challenge on your own. A wrongful death lawyer can help you and your family after your loved one’s death in several ways including the following:
- Developing a solid and strong wrongful death case through an independent investigation into the accident or incident that caused your loved one’s death
- Issuing spoliation letters to all parties in order to preserve any significant evidence for your case
- Reaching out to witnesses or other parties involved in the accident in order to receive answers to questions regarding the events of the accident or incident
- Hiring expert witnesses such as accident reconstruction specialists or medical professionals in order to provide additional verification and testimony for your wrongful death claim
- Handling all conversations and negotiations with insurance companies, the defendant’s legal team, and other parties on your behalf
- Calculating the appropriate amount of compensation for both economic and non-economic losses for your wrongful death claim in order to ensure your family can pursue the full amount of compensation available under the laws of Georgia
- Developing a case for trial and representing your family at trial if a full and fair settlement is not provided by the insurance company or defendant during settlement negotiations
Having a wrongful death attorney from Cain Injury Law by your side representing your legal interests can give you peace of mind that you do not have to handle the process alone. Our compassionate wrongful death attorneys will work to ensure that your legal rights remain protected.
Filing a Wrongful Death Claim in Lawrenceville, GA
In many cases, victims’ families have the ability to receive full and fair settlements from an insurance company or from the negligent party who caused their loved one’s death. However, in some cases, the negligent party or the insurance company simply refuses to fully compensate the families of someone who died as a result of carelessness or recklessness.
Georgia has a deadline that families of victims must meet in order to file a wrongful death claim. This deadline is called a statute of limitations. Georgia state law indicates that a wrongful death claim must be filed no later than two years following the death of the victim.
Additionally, only certain family members have the legal right to bring a wrongful death claim according to the Official Code of Georgia Annotate Section 51-4-2. Visiting with a Lawrenceville wrongful death attorney can help ensure that you do not miss this statute of limitations deadline, and lose your ability to file a wrongful death claim.
Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Lawrenceville
There are many instances in which a family would have the legal right to pursue a claim for wrongful death in Georgia. While every situation has its own facts and circumstances, some of the common causes of wrongful death include the following examples.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals are held to a high standard in order to ensure that they provide proper medical evaluation, diagnosis, and care to their patients. When a doctor, nurse, hospital, medical provider, dentist, chiropractor, or another medical professional either fails to diagnose a condition correctly or treat a medical condition appropriately, the family of a loved one who dies as a result of this negligence can bring a wrongful death claim on the basis of medical malpractice.
Car Accident
Unfortunately, serious car accidents often result in fatalities. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 36,000 victims lost their lives as a result of motor vehicle accidents in the United States in a single recent year. Family members of a victim who died as a result of another person’s negligence in a car accident may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim against the reckless or careless driver.
Other Examples of Wrongful Death Claim
Any time a person dies as a direct result of another entity’s or person’s negligence, the family members of the victim may have the legal right to bring a wrongful death claim. Some other examples of wrongful death claims include:
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Dangerous and/or defective products (for example, defective medical devices, unsafe prescription medications, home appliances, vehicle defects, etc.)
- Improper or illegal service of alcohol
- Hazardous conditions on business or personal property (premises liability)
- A dog bite or dog attacks
- Boating accidents
- Trucking accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Child care or daycare abuse and neglect
- Intentional killing (Even if the defendant does not receive a conviction in the criminal case, they may be tried in a civil case through a wrongful death claim, which has a lower burden of proof.)
There are many different examples of instances where the negligence of another person could result in a victim’s death. Visiting an experienced wrongful death lawyer in Lawrenceville can help you understand your legal rights.
Types of Compensation for Lawrenceville Wrongful Death
Family members who make the decision to file a wrongful death claim may pursue compensation for both economic and non-economic losses. Every wrongful death claim will have its own set of facts and circumstances. The amount of compensation will depend on the events surrounding the death, the egregious or reckless actions of the defendant, the remaining financial costs and burdens to the family, and the overall impact the death had on remaining family members.
Compensation in wrongful death cases is often challenging and legally complex. The two types of compensation family members of a victim may pursue in a wrongful death claim may include the following:
Economic losses included in a wrongful death claim can include:
- Funeral costs
- Remaining financial losses resulting from a loved one’s death
- Loss of wages
- Future loss of wages that the victim would have provided to the family over their lifetime
- Lost employee benefits
- Lost earnings/income on business investments, savings over time, and real estate investments
Non-economic losses included in a wrongful death claim can include:
- Intangible connections that the family member would have experienced if they had not died loss of companionship to a spouse
- Loss of guidance to a child
- Emotional losses their death causes the family
All aspects of the deceased’s life will be considered. Even if the deceased did not have a job and stayed at home to raise the family, every aspect of their contribution and loss to the surviving family members will be considered.
Visiting with a wrongful death attorney at Cain Injury Law can help you better understand all of the different types of ways you may have the legal right to pursue compensation for your wrongful death case.
Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Lawrenceville
We would like to convey our most sincere condolences regarding the loss of your loved one. While no amount of compensation will ever return your loved one to your life, you may have the right to pursue justice and receive compensation for your financial losses that resulted from your family member’s untimely death.
Our compassionate wrongful death lawyers at Cain Injury Law would welcome the opportunity to visit with you, help answer all of your questions, and ensure your legal rights remain protected during this difficult time.
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