The loss of a beloved family member in an accident is always a tragedy. The situation becomes even tougher when the accident results in the family member’s death because of the negligent actions of someone else. The family has to deal with grief and the difficult process of seeking justice. Understanding the process involved in wrongful death cases by attorneys can help the family in such situations.
What does an attorney do first in a wrongful death claim?
The first stages provide the basis on which the rest is built. In most cases, lawyers offer a consultation in order to determine whether you have a legal claim. During the consultation, they hear your story and collect information regarding the passing.
Your wrongful death lawyer can tell you who has the legal right to file the lawsuit. Under Nevada law, specific people are permitted to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Spouses and children come first. Next are the parents. Siblings have the right in the absence of the other relatives. In some cases, the personal representative takes up the lawsuit on behalf of the family.
Time becomes an important factor in such cases. In Las Vegas and the entire state of Nevada, the family has two years after the death to file the lawsuit. Once the time elapses, they lose their rights and the chance to collect the money in almost all cases. Your lawyer monitors all the deadlines and ensures all the papers are filed on time.
In the first few weeks, your lawyer also determines all the responsible parties. In a car accident, the responsible party could simply be the driver. In other cases, the driver and the company he works for might be liable since the accident happened when the driver was on the job. In defective product claims, the responsible parties could include the makers, distributors, and retailers.
How do lawyers prove that someone else was the cause, or contributing factor, in the death of my family member?
In order for liability to be proven, there must be proof of negligence. There are four factors that must be proven in a claim related to negligence. First, the defendant owed your family member a duty of care. Second, the defendant breached that duty through their actions or failure to act. Third, this breach directly caused your loved one’s death. Fourth, your family suffered measurable damages as a result.
The standard of proof in wrongful deaths is lower compared to the trial in criminal cases. In criminal cases, the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard applies. In civil cases involving wrongful deaths, the preponderance of evidence applies. This means there must be evidence that the act was more likely than not carried out by the defendant and led to the wrongful death, even when the criminal charges were dismissed and there was an acquittal.
Your lawyer gets the process underway. Your lawyer demands the police file, which contains witness statements and the investigative findings. The medical and autopsy reports identify the cause and connect it to the actions of the defendant. The death certificate is needed in the claim.
Expert witnesses can be an important part of the trial. Specialist witnesses include medical, accident reconstruction, and economic experts. Medical experts are able to explain intricate injuries and testify to the cause of death. Accident reconstruction experts examine the circumstances under which the accident occurred. Economic experts put a value on the lost wages.
How do attorneys determine the value of our wrongful death claim?
Calculating the value of a wrongful death claim affects the entire lawsuit process. The process must tally the economic and non-economic aspects. There are two types of claims in the wrongful death act in Nevada.
The estate can recover the following special damages: medical expenses your deceased relative accumulated before passing and funerary expenses. The estate can also recover the compensatory and punitive damages the deceased would have received had he lived. These damages are distributed through the terms of the deceased’s will or the intestate laws in Nevada.
Family members can claim damages in their own right. These include pain and suffering, loss of prospective support, loss of companionship and comfort, and pain and suffering prior to death suffered by the deceased. There are a number of factors that the courts in Nevada use in arriving at the value.
Your relationship with the deceased, and their age and health, play an important role. The economic damage causally linked to the deceased would logically be much higher in the case of a young individual who has several decades of productive working life remaining. The relationship between the deceased and the claimants also has some importance.
Attorneys examine the work records of the deceased in order to make projections regarding the future lifetime wage and benefit loss. Attorneys examine the deceased’s taxes and proof of wages. Attorneys consult experts in relation to the lifetime and future wages the deceased was supposed to earn. In the case of stay at home mothers and retirees, attorneys put a figure on the services offered.
What evidence do lawyers need in order to prove a wrongful death lawsuit?
Good cases are built on extensive documentation. Attorneys gather medical evidence illustrating all the treatments your family member has undergone. The medical evidence determines the injuries suffered and traces them directly back to the accident. The legal document certifying the cause and manner of your family member’s death becomes essential in proving causation.
Scene documentation is an incredibly useful resource. Photographs and videos of the scene where the accident occurred are helpful in piecing together what transpired. Attorneys make it a point to travel out and take their own photos. Weather, road condition, and lighting are essential factors. In the case of car accidents, analyzing the cars involved in the accident can be important.
Testimony from witnesses provides important insight. Anyone who was present during the event has personal experience. Co-workers can testify about violations in the workplace. Testimony from friends and family members includes your loved one’s health and what they contributed. Your attorney will take legal depositions. These are statements given under oath in front of a court reporter.
Economic records document economic losses. Pay stubs, taxes, and work contracts illustrate wages. Bank statements could show ongoing economic support provided by the deceased. Bills related to medical and funeral services document direct economic costs. Insurance and benefit information assist in determining the total value of the income and economic benefits.
Expert reports help strengthen the technical issues in the lawsuit. Medical examiners and pathologists can examine the autopsy and form opinions on cause of death. Safety engineers evaluate whether there are dangerous conditions and violations of the codes. Economic experts create detailed reports on present value and future lifetime earning projections.
What are the ways in which attorneys negotiate with insurance companies in cases related to wrongful deaths?
In most cases, the wrongful death claim also has an insurance company involved, and dealing with negotiations demands experience. The lawyer writes a formal demand letter in which they explain the circumstances, prove liability, and demand sums. The letter contains evidence such as medical records.
The insurance adjusters usually start by making an offer that has little, if anything, to do with the value of the claim. They can dispute liability, claim the deceased was partly responsible, and contest the cost calculations. Your lawyer is prepared for all these and has an argument against each. Nevada operates on a comparative negligence principle. This means that you can still collect your damages, although your loved one was partly responsible.
The discovery process offers leverage in the negotiation process. Each party has to share evidence and respond under oath to questions. As your lawyer discovers negative evidence about the actions perpetrated by the defense, the settlement offer rises. The insurance company understands the risks and costs involved in a trial, and so they offer settlements when the evidence against them is quite compelling.
Mediation takes place even before the trial. Mediation enables the use of creativity in finding a solution and the issue always remains private. Many wrongful death cases settle through mediation where the involved parties use the process in reaching an agreement.
Your lawyer shields you from settling for less. Insurance firms may hurry you into settling the claim before the extent of the damage has been determined. Working with legal help ensures you evaluate the value of your claim and don’t take less than your claim is worth. Your lawyer also sets up the terms of your settlement in relation to taxes and government benefits.
Are wrongful death lawsuits typically settled out of court or tried?
In most cases, the result of a wrongful death lawsuit takes the form of a settlement. There are several advantages that come with settlements. These include the fact that settlements are arrived at much faster compared to the trial process, in some cases in a matter of months rather than a couple of years. With settlements, there is an assurance of the amount one receives.
Trials become necessary when there are settlement talks that don’t work. The reason may be that the defendant denies guilt, the issue is in dispute over who was liable, or the compensation offered appears too insignificant. Cases where the guilt appears straightforward and cases in dispute may be better resolved through settlement talks.
There’s extensive prep work involved in the trial. Your lawyer files complaints in court and hands them over to the defendant. Trial attorneys on both ends initiate discovery, where they exchange all relevant documents and even hold deposition interviews. Depending on the trial complexity, all this takes six months to a year. Attorneys also work on witness prep, trial strategy, and mock trial simulations.
Liability and damages are usually determined in trial cases by the jury. The evidence in trial cases is presented in court by the plaintiff through witnesses, papers, and experts. The defense usually disputes all the claims presented in court. The length of time in court cases can range from a few days to several weeks. The jury usually awards higher damages than settlement offers in cases where they find the other party liable.
Appeals could extend the process considerably. Either side could appeal adverse verdicts, and this could take months or even years to resolve. However, appellate courts generally defer to the jury verdict rather than reverse it, except when there appear to be legal mistakes. New evidence could trigger appeals, but the side appealing would have a long way to go in overturning the verdict.
The entire process in a wrongful death claim may take one to three years. Cases with straightforward liability may end in settlements in months. In cases where there are multiple defendants, disputed issues, and high damages, the process takes longer. Your lawyer will provide you with an indication of the time needed in your situation.
During this tough process, skilled attorneys deal with the legal issues, and you deal with the healing process with your family. The attorneys investigate the circumstances, build the evidence of liability, determine the value of the claim, negotiate the claim with the insurance companies, and, when necessary, litigate the claim in court. All these enable the family to hold the liable persons responsible and obtain the needed financial assistance.
