Your loved one has died.
That is the essential fact of a wrongful death case. You lost someone close to you, usually quite suddenly. That loss was the result of someone else’s actions. You are grieving, and in that process you consider litigation. That’s where we come in.
Unfortunately, nothing we do can bring back your loved one, or undo the pain that their loss has caused you. But we can help you make sure that the appropriate person or people are held responsible for that loss, and help you to gain back what the law allows.
All wrongful death cases are different.
Every case is unique and defined by its specific facts, and those facts will make or break your potential case. At Burgess law, we can help walk you through the different factors that may have an impact on how your case is valued, or indeed, whether it is worth bringing a case at all. Those factors include:
Standing
The first hurdle to clear in any case is to decide whether you have the right to bring an action on behalf of your loved one who has died. Every state has its own rules about who is allowed to bring suit in wrongful death cases. In general, a spouse can bring a claim for the death of their partner. A child can bring a claim for the death of their parent. A sibling may be able to bring a claim for the death of a sibling. A parent may be able to bring a claim on behalf of a child, though it often depends on the child’s age. Generally, a boyfriend or girlfriend is not allowed to bring a claim for the death of their significant other.
Similarly, the law also dictates who you are allowed to bring a claim against. If the person or entity responsible for your loved one’s death is affiliated with the local, state, or federal government, then there are additional hurdles to bringing a claim. Some states require that notice be given before a claim can be made, and set strict time limits that govern how long after the death you must bring suit.
At Burgess Law, LLC, we can walk you through these difficult issues and make sure that you are filing the right kind of suit against the right person or people.
Causes of Action
Courts require that litigants select the appropriate “cause of action” when bringing suit. This means it is not enough to merely assert that someone’s actions have caused the death of a loved one—you must specify how they did, using the correct legal language. Some of the potential causes of action in wrongful death include:
Automobile accident
Medical malpractice
Assault
Product defect
Workplace accident
At Burgess Law, LLC, we can help you assess which cause of action makes sense for your case, to give you the best chances going forward.
Damages
The sad truth of wrongful death cases is that they ask a jury of twelve individuals to put a price on a lost human life. There are many factors that jurors must evaluate when making that determination, including the decedent’s age, health, job, salary, future earning potential, family relationships, and character.
Defendants in wrongful death cases will do whatever they can to drive down a potential jury award. They will argue that your loved one didn’t earn much money, that their health was bad, that they would have died soon anyway. That’s why we will help you marshal the evidence needed to make the case that your loved one’s life was valuable, no matter what the other side may argue.
Contact us for a free consultation
If you believe that you have a wrongful death case worth pursuing, and that Burgess Law, LLC can help you with that case, please contact us today. If we are successful in proving your flaim, you may be entitled to monetary damages to compensate you for the loss of your loved one.