West Palm Beach, Wrongful Death Attorneys
The West Palm Beach, Florida wrongful death lawyers at Smith & Vanture help surviving family members seek justice following the loss of a loved one due to the neglect or negligence of another person or party. The sudden death of a loved one can be incredibly devastating. When a loved one passes away suddenly in an accident, the shock can lead to complicated grief, sudden unexpected medical expenses for surviving family members, and financial challenges if you lose your family’s primary breadwinner. Wrongful death claims permit family members to bring forth a lawsuit to cover a deceased family member’s medical expenses before they passed away. Just as a person has a right to seek damages for personal injury after suffering an injury, family members of a person who passed away due to the neglect or negligence of another person or party also have the right to seek damages to cover medical expenses. Family members may have additional rights as well. Surviving families may have the right to seek damages to cover funeral and burial expenses as well as seek damages to cover lost wages. If your loved one offered caretaking in your family for children or elderly family members and now you need to seek nursing care or childcare, you and your family may also be entitled to pursue a lawsuit for these losses.
Losing a loved one can be devastating. While you might feel alone right now, please know that you don’t have to navigate the aftermath on your own. The wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida at Smith & Vanture are here for you.
Following the loss of a loved one, family members are often confused and go through life in a daze as they try to handle all of the funeral and burial plans, collect life insurance, and report the death to relevant agencies. Often they overlook the fact that wrongful death could be to blame, and they don’t take legal action until it’s too late. Our Tallahassee and West Palm Beach wrongful death attorneys are able to review the circumstances leading up to the death of your family member, and can assist you in documenting the case to show that negligent, intentional or unreasonable behavior led to the death.
By pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit, money can be recovered for medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of income and future expenses, pain and suffering prior to death, loss of companionship and consortium, and loss of benefits and inheritance. Due to Florida’s short statute of limitations regarding wrongful death claims, it’s essential that your family take legal action as soon as possible. A West Palm Beach Florida wrongful death attorney will handle your case in a way that is both compassionate and aggressive, allowing you and your family to receive the compensation which is owed to you.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
The law places restrictions on who can file a wrongful death claim. Typically, surviving spouses, parents, children, immediate family members, and a personal representative of the estate may be permitted to file a wrongful death claim. To file a wrongful death claim, surviving family members must show that they suffered a loss as a result of the person’s death, had a personal stake in the person’s estate, and that negligence of another person or party resulted in the loss.
Florida also has specific laws regarding which family members may file a claim so you need to consult with one of our lawyers to see if you’re eligible. Once we have the specific details of the case, we’ll take over and get to work, allowing you and your family to heal and focus on your emotional recovery following this traumatic life experience. We have the resources and know-how to reconstruct the situation in order to uncover facts and evidence that might otherwise go unnoticed. No amount of money will bring your loved one back to you, but we’ll work hard so that you are properly compensated for the wrongful death of your family member.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for Wrongful Death in West Palm Beach Florida?
There are many situations where a family may be entitled to bring forth a wrongful death claim. Virtually every type of accident for which a person may be entitled to bring forth a personal injury claim can also be pursued as a wrongful death claim if a person passes away as a result of negligence. This means that you may be entitled to bring forth a wrongful death claim if your loved one passed away in a tragic car accident, truck accident, or due to a defective product. The wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida handle a wide range of personal injury cases. These cases can also be pursued as wrongful death claims if a loved one passed away.
Here are some types of wrongful death cases we handle:
- Car accident wrongful death claims
- Uber & Lyft wrongful death claims
- Wrongful death due to distracted driving or texting and driving
- Wrongful death due to hit-and-run accidents
- Slip and fall wrongful death
- Truck accident wrongful death
- Bike accident wrongful death
- Food contamination wrongful death
- And more
If you lost a loved one due to a sudden and unexpected accident and believe the accident to be the fault of another person, party, or company, you may have rights. You do not have to suffer in silence. Reach out to the wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida at Smith & Vanture today. We are here to help.
What is My Wrongful Death Claim Worth?
The value of your wrongful death claim will depend upon many factors, including the extent of medical and emergency care your loved one had to endure before he or she passed away, the potential income he or she could have earned over his or her lifetime, lost inheritance, and more. Here are some key factors your wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida will consider when evaluating and estimating the value of your claim.
- Medical Expenses. If your loved one received life-saving care before he or she passed away, you may be able to include medical expenses in your wrongful death claim. The more care your loved one needs before he or she passes away, the higher your medical expenses are likely to be. The value of your wrongful death claim will likely depend highly on the extent and cost of medical care your loved one received prior to passing away.
- Pain and Suffering. If your loved one suffered as a result of his or her injuries, your family may be able to seek damages for his or her pain and suffering. Just as victims of personal injury who survive their injuries are permitted to seek damages for pain and suffering, so are family members of deceased victims permitted to seek pain and suffering damages on behalf of their loved ones. The more serious an injury, the higher the pain and suffering claims can often be. With wrongful death, these claims can often be substantial. A wrongful death lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida at Smith & Vanture can review your case and use special formulas to estimate the value of your wrongful death claim.
- Lost Wages. The potential earning capacity of your deceased family member can also impact a wrongful death claim. For example, if you are the spouse of a brain surgeon killed in an accident, you will likely be able to make a higher claim than the spouse of someone who worked in a lower-earning field. Smith & Vanture is a West Palm Beach, Florida wrongful death law firm that can review your family’s unique situation and fight to help you get the best possible settlement under the law. Many family members, for example, may earn no wages, but may still offer incredibly valuable services to their families. For example, if your loved one provided care to an elderly loved one or childcare to your children, the cost of seeking these services outside the home can be immense. The wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida at Smith & Vanture leave no stone unturned when helping families recover losses following the tragic death of a loved one.
- Other losses. Funeral and burial costs, loss of consortium and companionship, and lost inheritance are other claims families may be entitled to make. If you have lost a loved one, reach out to the West Palm Beach, Florida wrongful death lawyers at Smith & Vanture today.
These are just some of the factors that may be considered when estimating your wrongful death claim. In some cases, families may be entitled to seek punitive damages, especially in cases where the negligence was particularly egregious. If you have questions about your rights, don’t delay. Reach out to the wrongful death lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida at Smith & Vanture today.
Contact the West Palm Beach Wrongful Death Lawyers at Smith & Vanture, LLP to for compensation.