Any time someone causes an accident due to negligence or recklessness, there is the ability for a victim to initiate a personal injury claim to recover a range of damages. If the accident is fatal, there are a number of people legally entitled to seek compensation in a wrongful death case.
However, the aftermath of a tragic death of a loved one is often extremely difficult for the surviving family members, and the mere thought of going through a contentious legal process is enough to turn many people away from seeking financial support. Fortunately, working with wrongful death lawyers is one of the best ways to ensure that you get the money you deserve through protections provided under Florida law.
Contact 1-800-Injured To Connect With Florida Wrongful Death Attorneys Now
1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. Regardless of the situation, whether a wrongful death case, car accident, or any other personal injury situation, we can connect you with a proven attorney in West Palm Beach who is ready to take your case today. Instead of taking your time to track down a West Palm Beach wrongful death law firm, request a consultation, and find an attorney who is available and willing to take your case, we can connect you with a lawyer today. You have important things on your mind, and we are happy to make this process as simple as possible.
Read more below about wrongful death cases in West Palm Beach, FL, and contact us as soon as possible to be connected with an experienced West Palm Beach personal injury attorney who is ready to file a wrongful death claim and guide you through this difficult process right away.
What Makes a Wrongful Death Case?
Before you are able to file a wrongful death claim, you must first establish that the necessary factors were all present for a tort to have occurred. A tort is a wrongful act that allows for civil action on behalf of the victim. No two torts are the same, but you can consider the four necessary factors while trying to determine whether or not your situation qualifies for a Florida wrongful death lawsuit.
Remember: the easiest way to determine whether or not you have a case is to go through a free consultation with a Florida law professional. 1-800-Injured is ready to connect you with a West Palm Beach wrongful death law firm as soon as possible, so contact us now and get started on your case today.
The Defendant Owed the Victim a Duty of Care
A duty of care may be either explicit or implicit depending on the situation, but simply put, any duty of care is the expectation for an individual or organization to act prudently and reasonably in order to avoid harming others in avoidable accidents (or malicious or illegal intentional acts). For a driver, this means staying sober and obeying traffic laws; for a doctor, this means providing patients with accepted care that meets the standards of reasonable professionals.
Of course, there are many other duties of care that we all carry out every day and will vary depending on your unique situation in South Florida. Once a personal injury attorney has established this essential first factor, they will move on to determine whether or not a failed duty of care led to the wrongful death.
The Defendant Breached Their Duty of Care
When a driver gets behind the wheel of a car intoxicated, or a doctor writes a prescription for a patient that has a dangerous interaction with a medication they are already taking, this is a breach of their respective duties of care to act reasonably to avoid unnecessary harm to others. Again, the range of duties is innumerable, and each situation will have a specific set of duties.
There are instances where a defendant may not have been able to foresee harm to the victim or simple steps that the victim could have taken to avoid the accident even in the event that the defendant did, in fact, breach their duty. In Florida, this may invalidate a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, or may lead to a reduced settlement for the victim under Florida’s pure comparative fault law.
The Breach Led To an Accident
Often, a person may fail to uphold their duty of care, but nobody is hurt or killed. For instance: a drunk driver leaves a South Florida bar and either makes it home without incident, or is pulled over and arrested for DUI after drifting over the yellow line in front of a police officer. In both of these scenarios the driver has failed their duty to make safe and responsible decisions for the safety of all around them, but they have violated criminal law only — nobody was harmed by their reckless and dangerous decision. Since nobody was harmed in either of these circumstances, there is, fortunately, nobody who needs to file a claim or lawsuit against the driver.
If, alternately, the drunk driver crosses the yellow line and causes a head-on collision with another vehicle, this is now both a criminal violation because of the DUI, and a civil violation if there are any measurable damages for victims to seek compensation for. Car accidents are very common types of wrongful death cases in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and beyond.
The Accident Caused Measurable Damages
The final piece to a tort is the matter of damages — measurable impacts that a victim or certain relationships suffer as a result of the accident. In a wrongful death case, damages will center on a range of impacts, both financial and non-economic in nature, that survivors endure after the loss of their family member. These damages include things like the loss of financial support from the deceased family member, the cost of medical care before the person succumbed to their fatal injuries, the pain and suffering that survivors have endured, the loss of companionship, and more.
Experienced lawyers know how to identify a wide range of damages and will work to ensure that they are included in wrongful death claims to ensure that the surviving family members recover the compensation they truly deserve.
Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases in South Florida
The following are just a few of the most common causes of wrongful death in South Florida. Whether or not you see your own situation mentioned below, contact 1-800-Injured to connect with lawyers who have years of experience reviewing cases like yours and fighting for compensation on behalf of the deceased’s estate.
Car Accidents
There were a total of 176 fatal accidents and 185 deaths in West Palm Beach in 2020, and in many of these crashes, it is likely that someone caused the accident other than the victim. Under personal injury law, family members or loved ones of the deceased person may be able to seek compensation through an estate in order to recover a range of damages that both they and the victim suffered as a result of the crash.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a complex personal injury case in Florida for a number of reasons, particularly due to the fact that Florida law limits the amount of money that claimants can recover. Most medical malpractice accidents are capped at $500,000 of non-economic damages, but a death increases the damage cap to $1 million. Additionally, this $1 million is increased to $1.5 million if the liable party is a nonpractitioner, and the $1 – $1.5 million range of wrongful death caps only apply to non-economic damages. You will still be able to seek financial support for the many economic damages that this type of personal injury case seeks, as well.
Premises Liability
When you enter someone else’s property legally, you have every right to expect that the property owner has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that you do not suffer injury or death due to an avoidable hazard. There are plenty of times, though when a property owner is guilty of negligence by failing to address a hazard like a wet floor, dangerous stairway, or improper lighting. In the event that this negligence leads to a serious accident or death, then 1-800-Injured can connect you to a law firm that will help build a strong case on your behalf.
Defective Products
Product manufacturers, designers, marketers, and distributors all have some degree of responsibility for the end consumer’s safety when they purchase a product. When a user is killed due to a failure in design, manufacturing, or marketing, then the surviving family members or loved ones may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the liable party. Since the supply chain can be complicated, it is often difficult to determine who to file the wrongful death claim against, but an experienced attorney will be able to handle this process for you so that you can focus on healing through this difficult time.
Contact 1-800-Injured Today
The sooner you contact 1-800-Injured, the sooner you can partner with an experienced legal professional who will guide you through your wrongful death claim towards the compensation you deserve. We understand how difficult this time is for you, which is why we are proud to help victims connect with lawyers in their area who will help them take on the insurance companies and get the compensation they truly deserve. While no amount of money can undo this tragic situation, you and your loved ones do not need to take on the financial burden of someone else’s reckless or negligent behavior.