When someone you care about dies due to another individual’s deliberate actions, recklessness, or negligent conduct, this unexpected passing can leave you with an emotional loss and suffering from significant financial difficulties. If this is what you are experiencing now, you may be able to seek financial compensation from the responsible party by filing a Pensacola wrongful death claim.
Despite feeling sad and overwhelmed by the loss, you need to keep in mind that there is a time limit stipulated by Florida law, after which you will not be able to pursue your wrongful death claim. Our Pensacola personal injury lawyer at Fasig Brooks has the knowledge, compassion, and expertise to help you through this painful time.
Call us today and let us hear about your personal injury case and provide you and the other surviving family members with the legal advice you need about filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Call to schedule a free consultation with our Pensacola wrongful death lawyers in our Pensacola, FL law firm. Let us explain the pertinent Florida laws, your legal options, and how you might recover damages in a civil lawsuit after your loved one’s death.
Liability in a Pensacola Wrongful Death Claim
When someone dies due to the actions of another in Pensacola, FL, there may be more than one party that can be liable for the wrongful death. If the death occurred due to a vehicular accident, for example, the responsible party could be the other driver, the company that owns the vehicle, the manufacturer, or all of them.
This means that the responsible party can be an individual, an employee performing their work duties, a company, or a government agency. Your Fasig Brooks wrongful death attorneys can guide you through the legal process of filing a personal injury claim.
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Establishing a Wrongful Death Claim
For a wrongful death claim to be established, your wrongful death attorney must prove that the party responsible for this regrettable death failed to act prudently and reasonably. This means that they did not behave in the way a reasonable person would in similar circumstances and that their negligence resulted in your family member’s death. Also, there are damages that resulted from these wrongful death actions that may include medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, and in some cases, punitive damages.
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Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Pensacola, FL
There are many reasons why a wrongful death can occur due to someone else’s negligence, including the following:
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is much more common than most might imagine. What’s more, it happens so frequently that it is the third cause of death nationwide. Medical malpractice happens in many different scenarios that involve negligence.
It may happen as a result of the physician choosing improper treatment for a condition, failing to disclose important information about a treatment or procedure, failure to diagnose an illness, failing to warn a patient of the known risks of a procedure or a drug, and others.
Your Fasig Brooks Pensacola wrongful death attorneys can walk you through the legal action that may be followed to recover compensation for the death of your family member. That compensation can be used to cover all medical bills, burial expenses, lost financial and emotional support, and emotional pain.
Work Accidents
The average job does not pose much risk or danger to employees. But for the ones that do, employers should make sure that their employees never have to face a dangerous situation without wearing appropriate safety equipment.
Your Fasig Brooks Pensacola wrongful death lawyer will explain to you the legal issues regarding this wrongful death, including compensation for all financial losses and how they relate to the decedent’s estate.
Vehicular Accidents
Whether driving a car, a bus, or a truck, drivers should exercise caution and drive responsibly, mindful of other drivers and pedestrians with whom they must share the road. Drivers who are negligent and engage in activities such as texting, eating, drinking, or talking on the phone while driving, may cause an accident resulting in a person’s death.
If this happens to a loved one, the surviving family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit to receive compensation on behalf of the deceased person with the legal help of a wrongful death attorney from Fasig Brooks.
Defective Products
Defective products may include power tools, toys, vehicles, food, medication, and many others. These products may cause death if they are defective when used or consumed. If a family member has died due to a defective product, you may have a wrongful death case.
Supervised Activities
Field trips, tournaments, sports, and any other type of supervised activity may result in the unexpected death of a family member.
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Who can file a claim?
Close members of the deceased’s family, mainly those who depended on the person who died for financial or emotional support or both, may be eligible to file. These include:
- Spouses
- Children
- Parents
- Other relatives who counted on the deceased for support
A valid wrongful death claim in Florida requires that you open a probate estate and appoint a personal representative. This can be the deceased’s spouse, parent, or another appropriate individual. They will be responsible for bringing legal action on behalf of the estate and the survivors.
Your Fasig Brooks attorney can help you open the estate and appoint a representative.
Damages in a Wrongful Death
Every survivor might be entitled to receive payment for their losses. This may include the value of present and future lost services and support, medical expenses, and funeral costs. You may also add intangible losses, such as loss of companionship, mental anguish, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. Depending on the facts of the case, you may also be awarded punitive damages.
To calculate the amount of damages that may be sought, you need the legal expertise of a Fasig Brooks attorney. Set up an initial consultation today.
How a Pensacola Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Help You
Our wrongful death attorney will listen to your situation, review it and answer all your questions and doubts. Then, we will conduct a thorough investigation into wrongful death to determine the facts of your loved one’s death. Armed with this information, we will evaluate your possible claim, guide you through the legal pathways open to you, and take the time to help you make the best decision.
If you are considering filing a claim for the death of your family member, reach out to us as soon as possible. We want to build a strong case on your behalf without exceeding the timeline marked by the statute of limitations. Remember, we will not get paid unless your case is successful. Call us today.
We know what needs to be done to facilitate a fair settlement