Wrongful Death Lawyer in Big Pine Key

Wrongful death can happen almost anywhere. All it takes is one careless action or long-term negligent behavior to finally result in fatal harm. It is impossible to predict exactly when or where a wrongful death will occur, but there are some situations that more commonly result in wrongful deaths.

Careless Driving

Almost everyone makes mistakes while driving. Most of these mistakes result in close calls but don’t cause accidents. Just because somebody is careless while driving, that doesn’t mean their action is criminal. But it will usually mean that they are liable for any harm caused by that carelessness.

If the carelessness of another driver resulted in a car accident where a loved one was killed, you can receive compensation for that wrongful death. 

In cases like this, wrongful death lawyers in Big Pine Key will need to prove that the other driver was responsible for the death of your loved one. Typically, the insurance company for the other driver will pay any compensation for the wrongful death.

When the driver that caused a wrongful death was driving a commercial vehicle, your case may take a little longer to complete. Because the driver was working when the accident occurred, the employer of the driver may also have liability for the death of your loved one. 

Experienced attorneys know how to deal with this type of situation, but the case will likely take longer due to extra bureaucracy.

Unsafe Working Conditions

Employers are required by law to create a safe working environment for employees. This means that proper safety equipment must be provided for all workers, safety procedures must be taught and followed by everyone, and all equipment must be maintained and safe to use. 

If an employer fails to maintain a safe working environment, the employer is responsible for any harm that comes to an employee, including death.

There are many ways a work environment can be unsafe. A few examples of unsafe working conditions are:

• Work vehicles that aren’t regularly inspected or maintained
• Equipment that gets hot without any warning signs
• Sharp knives left in unsafe places in a restaurant kitchen
• A lack of hard hats at a construction site
• Failure to instruct employees on new safety procedures
• Failure to implement safety procedures required by law
• Slippery floors near a flight of stairs

Any of these situations can result in a fatal accident at work. When that happens, you may receive a quick settlement offer in return for a non-disclosure agreement. 

Rather than take this offer, you should speak with wrongful death lawyers in Big Pine Key from Morgan and Morgan. We will keep you from signing away your rights for a lowball offer.

Nursing Home Negligence

Possibly one of the saddest types of wrongful death is when a loved one dies in a nursing home due to the negligence of staff. 

The reason you move a loved one to a nursing home is to protect them in their old age when they are less able to protect themselves. The last thing you expect is for someone working at the nursing home to directly cause the death of your loved one.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and negligence are far too common. Too many staff members refuse to take their responsibilities seriously. And when a nurse stops providing appropriate supportive care to an elderly person, there is a good chance that person will die.

If a loved one has died in a nursing home, you shouldn’t immediately assume it was due to old age or that the death wasn’t preventable. Instead, let an investigator from Morgan & Morgan look into the death. 

If we discover that there were any signs of abuse or negligence, we will immediately press the nursing home to provide compensation for the loss of your family member.

Defective Products

Maybe the most unexpected deaths are those caused by defective products. 

Most people understand that driving can be dangerous and that loved ones will eventually die in a nursing home. Even the risk of workplace death may be acknowledged if a loved one works in a dangerous profession. But almost nobody sees death from a defective product coming.

When a power cord catches fire in the middle of the night or the safety features on a power tool don’t work, a loved one can die without any warning. But that doesn’t mean that somebody isn’t responsible for the death.

Manufacturers are responsible for creating safe products. Both the design of the product and the manufacturing process must be safe. If either presents a danger to somebody who uses the product as directed, the manufacturer is responsible for any harm caused by the product. 

When a defect results in a death, wrongful death lawyers in Big Pine Key file a lawsuit against the manufacturer to get you compensation for the loss of your loved one.

No, your attorney may be able to negotiate a fair settlement without going to trial. However, if your attorney isn’t able to negotiate a fair settlement, the typical next step will be to file a lawsuit. 

Additionally, if you file a lawsuit against an insurance company, sometimes that will be the encouragement the insurance company needs to negotiate in good faith.

Typically, in a wrongful death case, you will receive compensation for three things:

• Loss of companionship
• Emotional trauma
• Loss of income

Compensation for loss of income is particularly important if the loved one who died was the primary source of income for your family. 

For example, if you lose a spouse who was the sole source of income for your family, you can be compensated for all income that spouse would have earned throughout their life. This will ensure that the wrongful death of your spouse doesn’t result in bankruptcy or the loss of your home.

Typically, an insurance company is responsible for paying compensation in most wrongful death cases. 

In a car accident, the car insurance for the driver of the other vehicle will usually pay compensation. When a business is involved, like in a defective product case or a nursing home neglect case, the insurance company for that business pays compensation. It is rare that an individual without appropriate insurance is responsible.

Wrongful death attorneys from Morgan & Morgan work on contingency. This means that we receive payment only if we can get you compensation for your case. 

When we do get paid, we receive a percentage of your compensation, regardless of how long the case lasted. This arrangement motivates us to try to get you as much money as possible and to try to get your money quickly.

When you receive your initial free consultation and case evaluation, we will tell you exactly what the percentage will be for your case and how much we expect you will recover in damages. This lets you make an educated decision about whether you want to retain our services and how you want to progress with your case.

Morgan & Morgan has offices in every state in the country. This is a boon when you live in one state but your case will be tried in another state.

You can visit a local Morgan and Morgan office to speak to an attorney at any time and get updates about your case. At the same time, attorneys near Big Pine Key will work directly on your case. 

Investigators local to Big Pine Key will collect evidence while attorneys in the area will file documents with the court. This is the advantage you get when you are represented by a law firm that has offices throughout the country.

When a wrongful death occurs, there may be multiple people who are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Typically, if the person who died was married, their spouse files a wrongful death lawsuit. However, if the spouse is unable or unwilling to file a lawsuit, other family members may be able to file instead.

If multiple family members try to file a wrongful death lawsuit, usually their lawyers will work out an arrangement to combine the cases into a single lawsuit. 

Occasionally, the courts may have to get involved when multiple litigants can’t agree on who should be allowed to file a lawsuit or how compensation should be divided once the lawsuit is complete.

After the unexpected death of a loved one, you want to know what happened and why it happened. If the answers you find point to wrongful death, you deserve to receive compensation for the harm caused by the loss of your loved one. 

Contact the attorneys at Morgan and Morgan right away to get a free case evaluation.