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Fort Lauderdale, FL Wrongful Death Lawyers Offering Legal Help to Clients Grieving Over a Loved One’s Death

If you’re struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, you deserve to mourn in peace without worrying about paying the bills that you may be left with. This is why you should consider filing a wrongful death case after a family member dies due to someone else’s negligent actions.

This type of lawsuit can allow you to pursue compensation to make up for any financial losses that you’re dealing with while you grieve your family member. Of course, now is probably not a good time for you to take on one more task, especially one that involves lots of legal complexities that you might not fully understand. This is why you should hire a wrongful death lawyer to handle all the legal details of your wrongful death claim in Florida.

If you’re ready to learn how pursuing a wrongful death action can help you in your time of financial need, come to Milano Legal Group, PLLC. Our wrongful death lawyers are skilled, compassionate, and prepared to help clients collect the compensation they deserve as they deal with unexpected losses. To learn more about your legal options, contact our Fort Lauderdale law firm today to schedule a free case evaluation with our experienced wrongful death attorneys.

What Are Some Types of Wrongful Death Cases?

It can be difficult to know whether you should initiate a wrongful death case, as not every sudden and unexpected death will result in compensation for family members. In Florida, a wrongful death describes a situation in which someone dies because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful act. This may occur in a variety of scenarios, such as the following:

  • Car accident
  • Workplace accident
  • Medical malpractice
  • Defective products
  • Intentional criminal act

Many wrongful death cases are brought against at-fault drivers after car accidents, as motor vehicle accidents are among the leading causes of death in many areas. Surviving family members can bring a wrongful death action against drivers and their insurance companies after a deadly drunk or distracted driving accident, for example. But that’s just one type of accident that can lead to wrongful death. Medical malpractice cases, swimming pool accidents, and workplace accidents are also common reasons for surviving family members to seek the full and fair compensation they’re entitled to in a wrongful death claim.

Regardless of the injuries, your loved one died from, you might have a wrongful death case to pursue if the death was someone else’s fault. The point of being able to file a wrongful death suit is to ensure the family that is left behind gets fair compensation while the at-fault party is held financially responsible for their wrongful actions. If you’re mourning a person’s death and you want to know if you can file a lawsuit to get financial support as you grieve, come to Milano Legal Group, PLLC today to learn what your legal options are. When you get a free case evaluation at our Florida law firm, you can talk to a trusted wrongful death lawyer about the circumstances of your case.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?

Just as with any other type of legal action, you must meet some qualifications before you can initiate a wrongful death lawsuit to pursue damages. In Florida, the only person who can file a lawsuit of this kind is the executor of the decedent’s estate, which is also known as a personal representative. This person is considered to be acting on behalf of not only the estate but also certain surviving family members.

In fact, the personal representative has to list the beneficiaries of the wrongful death claim. This is important because only some family members can recover compensation from a wrongful death lawsuit, including the following:

  • The decedent’s estate
  • The surviving spouse
  • Any surviving minor children
  • The surviving parents

There may be exceptions as far as who is eligible to benefit from the wrongful death case, as sometimes an adult child or other family members can get financial compensation. A wrongful death lawyer can let you know if you qualify for damages with this type of lawsuit. If you do, your lawyer will walk you through the steps of how to seek compensation for the fatal accident from the responsible party and their insurance company. Your wrongful death attorney will then begin investigating the case before communicating your requests for compensation to the insurance company on your behalf.

Another fact to know before starting your lawsuit is that if the deceased person died without a will or a plan for how to manage the estate and thus has no personal representatives in place, the court will appoint someone to act in this role. In many cases, the person who is appointed as the personal representative will be the surviving spouse when applicable.

If you need help determining if you can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida, come to our law firm for legal guidance. When you arrive for your free consultation, a skilled wrongful death attorney will look at the details of your case and let you know if you’ll be eligible to seek compensation for your loved one’s death. Keep in mind that you have to file your wrongful death lawsuit within the statute of limitations in this state, which is two years after the date of the death. So if you’re even considering taking legal action after losing a loved one to a wrongful death act, talk to a lawyer today to make sure you’re well within the time limit for the case.

What Kinds of Damages Can I Pursue in a Wrongful Death Case?

If you’re thinking about pursuing compensation in a wrongful death claim, you might wonder what kinds of damages you can request. To learn a specific answer for your case, you will need to make an appointment with a wrongful death lawyer and go over all the details of your situation. But in general, it’s helpful to know that compensation will be categorized as economic or noneconomic damages, and you will likely be able to pursue both types with the help of Florida law offices you can trust.

What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages can account for the money you or the estate actually spent or will spend due to a loved one’s death. Some examples of such damages include medical or funeral expenses that you may have had to pay out of pocket shortly after a negligent driver or other liable party caused the death of your loved one. This way, you’re not expected to be financially responsible for the medical bills that the deceased family member may have after doctors attempted to save their life, nor do you have to pay for their burial expenses on your own.

Apart from medical expenses and funeral expenses, you can also pursue damages for lost earnings that you will no longer get after the death of your family member. This attempts to make up for any income you were depending on before your loved one unexpectedly passed away. You will typically have to prove that you were relying on that income to pay bills, such as if your spouse was the main income earner before they died. You can also seek compensation for lost benefits, such as health insurance. Your wrongful death lawyer will let you know about any other damages you’re eligible to pursue in a wrongful death claim, as well.

What Are Noneconomic Damages?

The other type of damage you can seek is noneconomic. These damages are not easy to add up, but that doesn’t mean you won’t miss them after your loved one has died. Some examples of these damages include:

  • Mental pain and suffering
  • Loss of companionship
  • Emotional suffering
  • Loss of affection

The damages you’re eligible for will differ depending on your relationship with the deceased person. For example, if you lost a parent, you might be able to pursue compensation for the loss of parental companionship and guidance. On the other hand, if you lost a spouse, your wrongful death case might seek compensation for loss of companionship.

No amount of money can take back the horrible, unexpected death of someone you love. However, having some money set aside can assist in a few ways. First, it can allow you to take extra time off work to grieve without getting behind on your bills. It can also pay for any counseling that you and the rest of your family members might need after suffering the loss of a person you love. In general, the damages you get are supposed to help you deal with the death in any way possible, as Florida’s wrongful death law acknowledges that a family member’s death is not only devastating but also inconvenient in many ways.

Some people who deal with wrongful deaths brought on by the responsible party’s negligence might assume that money won’t help with their situation, so they don’t try to recover damages of any kind. But this is not recommended since there are always positive ways you can spend the money while trying to get used to a loved one no longer being around. For instance, you can spend your settlement on a vacation for your family members who need some joy after months of grieving, or you can use the money to pay for a larger celebration of life for the person you lost. Your wrongful death lawyer will help you recover damages that you’re entitled to, but it’s up to you to decide how you spend your settlement.

If you’re not sure if a wrongful death claim is right for you, come to our Florida law offices for a free consultation. We’ll talk to you about what your financial burdens are after your loss, how to hold the at-fault party responsible, and what to expect from the case. Contact our legal team to set up your initial consultation as soon as possible to get started.

How Will a Wrongful Death Lawyer Help You?

Now that you know the benefits of seeking compensation for wrongful death, you might wonder what your next step should be. Fortunately, it’s simple: contact an injury lawyer from Fort Lauderdale who has experience handling wrongful death cases in Florida. After all, you’re likely still dealing with too much devastation and emotional suffering to want to go back and forth with insurance companies negotiating the settlement you deserve after a negligent party caused the death of a loved one.

Insurance disputes are long, complex, and inevitable in nearly every case since insurance companies are rarely willing to pay the amount that surviving family members deserve. So if you want to receive damages that will pay at least the amount you’ve spent on costs related to the personal injury accident that killed your loved one, you need a lawyer to fight for you. Leaving the legal details to a lawyer who truly cares about the compensation you get will allow you to relax and focus entirely on grieving with your family.

While you and your family members work on keeping the deceased person’s memory alive by sharing stories about happier times, your attorney at the law offices of your choice will be working hard to build evidence for your case. You can depend on your attorney to identify the liable party whose negligent actions caused the death of your loved one and then negotiate a fair settlement with their insurance provider. If necessary, your attorney can also go to court for litigation if the insurer is not willing to agree to a settlement for you.

If you’re ready to talk to a wrongful death lawyer about your case, come to Milano Legal Group, PLLC. During your free consultation, you can meet with an experienced attorney who is eager to provide you with the legal guidance you deserve, so call our Florida law offices today at 855-545-1777.