If someone is responsible for the death of your loved one, intentionally or unintentionally, our law firm will help you receive compensation.
The statistics reported in the U.S. for wrongful death are shocking considering the variety of circumstances.
For example, in Florida, medical malpractice alone is shown to cause each year over 10K deaths. Over 3 million injuries per year result from transportation accidents and an estimated number of 40K are fatal.
The sudden death of a loved one due to an accident is very difficult and it is probably the hardest loss a person can endure. The unexpected loss of a loved one or family member affects us for a long time.
Nonetheless, no amount of money can ever take the place of a loved one, but a wrongful death claim can help the affected family to get the compensation they deserve for the losses and consequences.
In Miami, when someone dies due to the negligence of another, a defective product, a criminal act, or when the victim dies before trial, few laymen and sometimes even some attorneys don’t understand how the available solutions may differ. An experienced wrongful death lawyer is crucial when you wish to file a claim.
Apart from feelings of grief, shock, and sadness, people may also face unexpected financial problems due to lost earnings of the deceased, medical bills, and even funeral expenses. If a loved one’s death was generated by the recklessness, negligence, or intentional act of another, family members can get compensated for their pain, suffering, and monetary losses by filing a wrongful death claim against the guilty person. Although money cannot bring a loved one back into your life, a wrongful death lawyer can make sure that you get compensated for the financial consequences and for your endless pain and suffering.
In Florida, there is a certain statute adopted by the Legislature of the U.S. when it comes to wrongful death cases. A lawsuit for wrongful death in the state of Florida can only be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate and on the side of the survivors.
The estate. This is a legal construct, typically created after someone dies, including everything the person owned. Its contents are passed on to those determined by a will, or to those to whom Florida statutes define and determine as next in line in the absence of a will.
The estate cannot bring pain and suffering claims on behalf of the decedent in a medical malpractice claim. The damages or monetary recovery potentially available to the estate of a victim include:
Family members, known as survivors. Survivors can be part of the estate, but they are also entitled to recover different types of damages, which can often lead to more significant settlements or verdicts. The wrongful death statute in Florida defines who is a survivor, in some ways unfairly excluding those strongly affected by the death of a loved one. Family members sometimes entitled to higher damages are:
1. A surviving spouse and surviving minor children. Both the minor children and the spouse are entitled to bring a lawsuit for damages such as:
2. Surviving adult children. Children over 25 can recover funeral bills or medical bills paid by them. Also, lost support and services damages are potentially available. However, they cannot recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, guidance, and mental pain and suffering if:
3. Surviving parents. Parents are not entitled to recover for their mental pain and suffering if:
Therefore, parents of a deceased minor child may recover:
4. Blood relatives, including adoptive brothers and sisters, when they were at least partially dependent on the decedent for support or services.
The wrongful death statute in Florida has complex rules with several exceptions and exclusions.
Many different types of fatal accidents are eligible for a wrongful death claim. The legal rights for family members to recover damages vary because different Florida laws apply depending on the type of accident. Cases involving incidents leading to wrongful death include but are not limited to:
Survivors may be entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages:
Economic Damages
Non-economic Damages
The estate may recover damages only for:
Wrongful death claims in Miami can be brought against a wide variety of companies, individuals, and government agencies. In many instances, more than one person or entity may be at fault for the death of a family member.
Wrongful death claims may be filed after death occurred due to the negligence of another individual or product or work equipment. Incidents of wrongful death are accidental. However, someone is responsible for the damages, injuries, and deaths that occur due to carelessness.
Almost 200K people die from fatal injuries annually, the equivalent of about one person every three minutes. Many of them, about 37K each year and nearly 101 people every day of the year are traffic fatalities.
In Miami, almost 300 people die in car accidents each year, about 50 victims being pedestrian fatalities and 10 being bicycle fatalities. The persons or entities stated in your claim will rely upon the details of your case.
For example, if a loved one was killed in a car accident when a drunk driver struck him or her, possible defendants in your wrongful death claim might include:
Statistics regarding traffic accidents where a big rig is involved portray a harsh image of victims of collisions. The U.S. Department of Transportation informs that more than a half-million truck accidents occur each year.
These accidents cause around 5K deaths annually, which represent 12% of all traffic-related deaths. Florida's roads saw more than 4.4K fatal traffic accidents annually in recent years, with an average of nearly 350 involving trucks.
These studies also revealed an aspect that is even more startling: 98% of truck accident victims are drivers and occupants of cars.
In other words, most of the time trucking crashes injure other travelers-not the truck driver.
Drivers are directly liable for the crashes they cause. However, when truck crashes occur, depending on the details of the case, there may be more than just the drivers who are held accountable for being at fault.
Liability might also apply to:
In some cases, truck drivers travel in teams. One person drives the truck while the other person rests and then they switch. When a truck crash involves a co-driver, this person may also be able to sue the driver and the trucking company, if he or she was injured in the accident.
Medical malpractice is a broad category of types of legal action including misdiagnosis, surgical, care and medication errors, etc. Medical malpractice cases are lengthy and complex processes, with long investigations and complicated proofs.
Studies conducted by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) show that one in five medical errors are potentially serious or even fatal.
In the United States, medical errors are the third cause of death, leading to at least 250K deaths every year. In a medical malpractice claim, the following parties may be possible defendants liable for causing the death:
Reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in Florida almost 300 people suffer each year fatal occupational injuries.
The highest rates of workplace fatalities keep natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations atop the list of America's most dangerous jobs with an estimated one in every five worker deaths being in construction.
In the construction industry, the leading causes of worker deaths are slips and falls, followed by struck by an object, electrocution, and caught-in/between.
If a death occurs due to a workplace accident and a third party other than the employer was to blame, you may file a wrongful death action against that party.
Examples of potentially liable parties in a wrongful death claim following a workplace accident include:
According to CPSC statistics, dangerous or defective products, from malfunctioning auto parts to faulty medical devices, resulting in nearly 3 million injuries and 22K fatalities every year in the US.
Any type of manufactured product on the market can be dangerous or defective including foods, cosmetics, toys, and more.
In product liability cases, compensation may be recovered from either the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer. Anyone in a product’s chain of distribution could potentially be liable for an injury. A chain of distribution is anyone who has handled a product from the time it left the manufacturer’s warehouse to the time in which it was stocked.
Our law firm is experienced in helping grieving families determine if negligence caused the death of their loved ones.
With our highly regarded Miami wrongful death lawyer, we aggressively defend a victim's legal rights while treating the surviving family with the utmost respect and compassion.
When pursuing an action for wrongful death, selecting a skilled lawyer is often essential.
The most successful attorneys are those that work to achieve a common goal, protecting your rights and providing proper representation by building a solid case to prove your claim. We, at The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary, have a unique ability to do so.
We only charge contingency fees, meaning we only charge after the case is closed. These fees range from 34%-40% and are charged from the total amount.