Wrongful Death Attorney

What Is A Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Wrongful Deaths are a common type of civil lawsuit that deals with the unfortunate and fatal circumstance of a victim who died as a result of a person or corporation’s negligence or misconduct. Our offices’ impassioned team of lawyers have decades of experience navigating the difficult and emotionally profound consequences of Wrongful Death cases. We are proud experts in guiding heartbroken families towards justice.

What are Some Elements of a Wrongful Death Case?

Our Wrongful Death plaintiff attorneys usually focus on a number of important bases when fighting against the defense on behalf of the family of the victim:

  • Loss of Companionship or Loss of Consortium
  • Lost Wage Claims
  • Proving the Existence of Negligence and/or Misconduct 
  • Medical Bills, Funeral Costs, etc.  

Loss of Companionship, also known as Loss of Consortium, is an important element in a Wrongful Death case. Loss of Companionship refers to the emotional pain suffered as a result of the death of a relative, friend, family member or spouse. Proving loss of companionship can be complicated, and requires a much more methodical approach than what one might expect. In a marriage, if your spouse is the unfortunate victim of a wrongful death case, an investigation into your living situation, marital records, and testimony from those familiar with the state of the relationship might be necessary to prove the extent of companionship shared. The same logistical approach might be relevant to the unfortunate loss of a parent or sibling. If our lawyers can prove that the loss of this individual has impacted the balance and affection of a family, the loss of consortium value rises, thus increasing the compensation provided by jurors or a settlement in a Wrongful Death case. 

The ‘Lost Wage claim’ is a pillar of any personal injury, medical malpractice or wrongful death case. Lost Wage claims in regards to Wrongful Death cases are diverse and can encompass a variety of different factors. If the victim of a wrongful death case was hospitalized before their eventual passing, families may claim the time lost from work as part of the damages. The decedent’s lost time at work even after their passing might also qualify for a lost wage claim. 

Another important part of a Wrongful Death case lies in proving that the decedent was the victim of negligence, misconduct, or intentional killing. Negligence, which is a widespread and prevalent component of many types of civil lawsuits, can make or break a wrongful death claim. Proving negligence sometimes requires a meticulous  understanding of the time of the incident, as well as the events which preceded the fatality. If a company or individual acted irresponsibly, or created a dangerous and unreasonably unsafe environment for the decedent, then negligence can be proven. 

Pecuniary damages, or money lost as a result of a wrongful death case, are also part of the legal process in bringing just compensation to the family of the victim. These costs include medical bills and funeral costs. Medical bills are universally recognized as extremely expensive and difficult to handle. Families of the victim of a wrongful death might be left with expenses ranging from $10,000-500,000 or more. Funerary expenses also pose a large economic hurdle, and according to The National Funeral Directors Association the average cost of a burial in the United States is $7,500. 

How Does a Wrongful Death Take Place?
Wrongful death cases, however common, are never all quite the same, and take many different shapes and sizes depending on the type of accident and relevant factors. Typical Wrongful Death incidents include:

According to the Institute of Medicine, an estimated “98,000 Americans die annually due to preventable medical errors.” Fatal medical errors are traumatic and disastrous situations that often leave the victim’s family in a state of confusion, frustration, and pain. Medical personnel are supposed to save lives, but sometimes, either as a result of negligence or malpractice, the opposite takes place. One of the main causes of fatal medical malpractice has to do with miscommunication. When a doctor has to communicate with a nurse, write down and document injuries, or a confusing dialogue takes place between lab technicians and other medical professionals, the relevant and vital messages which need to be exchanged for the sake of a patient’s health might be miscommunicated or improperly delivered. Miscommunications can result in wrong-site surgeries, dose miscalculations, and incorrect diagnoses. 

A Mayo Clinic Survey found that only 28% of hospital patients could list all their medications, and only 14% of discharged patients could identify their prescribed drugs’ most common side effects. This illustrates an important problem in the medical care world, as information improperly or incompletely delivered to patients can result in wrongful death cases, forever changing the lives of those close to the victim. 

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were “35,766 fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2020, in which 38,824 deaths occurred.” In Florida alone, there were 3,331 deaths in 2020. Auto accidents are one of the leading causes of death around the world, and a large percentage of fatal crashes ultimately become wrongful death claims. 

What Should I Do If Somebody I Love Has Been Involved in a Wrongful Death Case?

It goes without saying that the victims of a wrongful death case go beyond just those directly involved in the accident. The death of a loved one is a painful experience which permeates into all facets of life, and can be an exceptionally difficult legal situation to handle because of all the emotionally charged factors involved. 

If somebody you know or love has been involved in a wrongful death lawsuit, contact our offices today so we can begin our fight towards compensation and justice. Aronfeld Trial Lawyers has been dedicated to exposing the negligence and misconduct of individuals and corporations for decades, and most importantly in bringing the victim of a wrongful death cases’ family the compensation they deserve. 

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Miami Wrongful Death Attorney

Aronfeld Trial Lawyers has assembled a comprehensive network of over 1,000 experienced expert consultants and witnesses who are qualified to assist us in representing families who have lost members due to the carelessness of others. We understand that families are literally destroyed in wrongful death cases. Our team of lawyers, nurses, paralegals, private investigators, experts consultants and videographers are devoted to helping survivors.

We strive to ensure that families are cared for to the maximum extent of the law. We will help navigate the family through the legal process with compassion while relentlessly protecting their rights utilizing our decades of experience and resources. Wrongful death lawsuits are actions, based on the Florida’s Statute §768.21and only allows certain close relatives of a person who was injured and died as a result of a wrongful act to recover for lost financial and emotional support. There are limited legal rights that victims have in these circumstances and immediate legal consultation is critical in order to obtain justice.

Persons who can obtain a recovery in Florida are called potential beneficiaries or survivors. Survivors are entitled to recover for what is considered to be , the value of lost support and services from the date of the decedent’s injury to her or his death, with interest, and the future loss of support and services from the date of death. Both amounts have to be reduced to present value. In those cases we utilize the assistance of economist and accountants to help value the economic loss based on the decedent’s probable net income as well as the the replacement value of the decedent’s services to the survivor.

When calculating the future losses, both the life expectancies of the survivor and the decedent are considered.

In Florida, the surviving spouse may also recover for loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. Unfortunately, only minor children of the decedent, and all children of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse, may also recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury.

If both spouses die within 30 days of one another as a result of the same wrongful act each spouse is considered to have been predeceased by the other.

Parents of a deceased minor child are entitled to make a claim for their mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. Each parent of an adult child may also recover for mental pain and suffering if there are no other legal survivors.

In a Florida wrongful death law suit, both medical and funeral expenses due to the decedent’s injury or death are recoverable if paid by a survivor.

The decedent will also have an Estate and will require the appointment of a Personal Representative to act on behalf of the Estate. The Estate can recover the loss of earnings from the date of injury to the date of death, less lost support of survivors excluding contributions in kind, with interest.

Florida utilizes a concept called net accumulations to calculate the economic loss of an Estate. This amount is considered to be that which might reasonably have been expected to have been accumulated during the life of the decedent had he or she not been killed, reduced again to the present money value.

If the surviving spouse remarries, that evidence would be admissible at trial.

The wrongful act may be negligent (such as careless driving), reckless, or deliberate (such as an intentional murder or when a hospital or doctor makes a mistake). The prosecution of the alleged wrongdoer under a criminal statute for a wrongful death does not preclude a private, wrongful death suit in most cases.

If you think a loved one or family member is the victim of an accident or medical mistake, please contact our experienced Florida wrongful death lawyers for a confidential evaluation.