Wrongful Death Lawyer in Palm Harbor

Since a wrongful death case falls under the legal category of personal injury law, it is not surprising to learn that the three most common types of wrongful death cases concern personal injury law practices.

Vehicle Collisions

Florida records an average of 200,000 car accidents each year. Most car accidents are just that: accidents. However, far too many auto collisions involve one or more acts of negligence. Traffic violations such as speeding, failing to yield, and running through a red light all represent an act of negligence. In addition to traffic violations, a driver can assume legal liability for causing the death of another person because the driver drove while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Driver distraction is another example of negligence while operating a motor vehicle.

Defective Product

You have seen the commercials, especially late in the evening after the nightly news. The commercials inform consumers about the potential dangers of using a particular product. One of the most publicized defective product lawsuits involves the Monsanto herbicide called Roundup. Manufacturers assume responsibility for offering products that do not harm consumers. If a loved one died because of the negative health consequences associated with using a certain product, you should contact one of our Palm Harbor, FL wrongful death lawyers to schedule a free case evaluation.

Medical Malpractice

When a loved one seeks medical care, you expect your loved one to receive the highest quality of medical care provided by a healthcare provider. Unfortunately, medical malpractice is a far too common occurrence in the health care industry. Examples of medical malpractice include misdiagnosis, prescribing the wrong medication, and failing to implement the proper treatment program to treat an illness or injury. Litigating a medical malpractice case requires the gathering of an overwhelming amount of persuasive evidence, including the results of diagnostic tests and a medical examination conducted by a neutral third-party healthcare provider.

Florida legal statutes listed in Section 678.17 states surviving family members have the right to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages in cases that involve negligence, a wrongful act, or a breach of contract. If you lost a loved one because of an act of negligence, a wrongful act, or a breach of contract, you must meet several legal elements.

First, you must present a death certificate that proves you lost a loved one. Second, your loved one died because of another party’s negligence or an intentional act to commit harm. Third, the surviving family members suffered financial losses as the result of the loved one’s death, Finally, you have to appoint a representative to handle the deceased loved one’s estate.

Negligence represents a legal concept that happens when one party fails to meet specific standards of conduct. For one of our Palm Harbor, FL wrongful death lawyers to prove negligence, we have to demonstrate to the judge hearing your lawsuit that the defendant meets four standards.

Duty of Care

The first standard to meet, which is the duty of care, assumes one party is responsible for the well-being of another party. For example, a healthcare provider has a duty of care to protect the health of patients. Owners of motor vehicles have a duty of care to drive a car by following appropriate traffic laws. Manufacturers have a duty of care to ensure consumers do not get hurt or sick while using their products.

Violating the Duty of Care Doctrine

Although proving a party assumes a duty of care for the well-being of another party is not difficult to do, the same cannot be said for demonstrating the same party violated the duty of care doctrine. For a medical malpractice case, a personal injury attorney must submit convincing medical evidence that links a healthcare provider to the commission of one or more acts of negligence. For instance, if a physician failed to detect the presence of a cancerous tumor, a wrongful death attorney has to retrieve the results of diagnostic tests that clearly show the presence of a developing cancerous tumor.

Caused a Wrongful Death

Causation requires you to prove that the defendant’s violation of the duty of care doctrine caused the illness or injuries that killed a loved one. Although proving causation is often a straightforward process for a motor vehicle accident, proving causation gets more complicated for product liability and medical malpractice cases. For a product liability case such as Roundup, Monsanto can claim the company should not be held legally liable for causing a loved one to develop cancer symptoms. If you suspect medical malpractice caused the death of a loved one, the healthcare provider accused of negligence might be able to create doubt by claiming another factor caused the death.

Financial Losses

The team of Palm Harbor wrongful death lawyers at Morgan and Morgan must demonstrate you and your family sustained losses because of the negligence that led to the death of a loved one. Recovering losses comes in the form of monetary damages that take care of both tangible and intangible costs. For example, if a loved one sustained life-threatening injuries because of a car accident and the injuries eventually cost the life of your loved one, you and your family have the right to recover the cost of medical bills and the damage done to personal property.

Wrongful death cases differ from other types of personal injury cases for several reasons. One of the most significant differences concerns monetary damages. The same three types of monetary damages apply to a wrongful death case, but the emphasis on each type of monetary damages is different from other types of personal injury lawsuits.

Economic Damages

Economic damages pay for tangible costs, such as medical expenses and the repairs made to property damage. This type of compensation also covers the costs of funeral and burial expenses, which are not awarded for other types of personal injury cases. If the surviving family members depend on the financial contributions made by the deceased loved one, they are entitled to request economic damages to cover estimated future earnings.

Non-Economic Damages

The non-economic damages awarded for wrongful death cases frequently surpass the value of non-economic damages awarded for other types of personal injury cases. Pain and suffering, which encompasses wrongful death emotions such as grief, anxiety, and depression is far more substantial than it is for personal injury cases such as a car accident. Loss of companionship is another type of wrongful death non-economic damages that a plaintiff does not receive for other types of personal injury lawsuits.

Punitive Damages

If negligence is involved in a personal injury case, the judge overseeing the lawsuit typically awards more money to plaintiffs that suffered losses caused by one or more acts of negligence. For a wrongful death case, the awarding of punitive damages can be the most significant financial award approved by a civil court judge. Judges often award substantial amounts of money for wrongful death lawsuits that involve an institution, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

The deadline for filing a civil lawsuit in Florida that seeks monetary damages for a personal injury case is four years. However, Florida provides plaintiffs just two years to file a civil lawsuit concerning a wrongful death case. Because of the complexity of wrongful death cases and the shorter deadline to file a civil lawsuit, you should act with a sense of urgency by contacting one of the Palm Harbor, Florida wrongful death lawyers at Morgan and Morgan.

If you do not meet the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, you can expect the court clerk handling your case to remove the case from the court docket.

Recovering from the devastating loss of a loved one can make it difficult to move on with litigation. However, hiring one of the best Palm Harbor wrongful death lawyers can help you receive the compensation you and your family deserve.

Gather Evidence

Morgan and Morgan employs a team of experienced investigators that gathers evidence for our personal injury lawyers. Hiring an attorney prevents another party such as a healthcare provider or a product manufacturer from stonewalling you every time you request data and information. Our investigators present the evidence to your wrongful death attorney, who in turn evaluates the evidence to determine whether negligence played a role in causing the death of a loved one.

Interview Witnesses

Witnesses do not provide your wrongful death attorney with physical evidence. Nonetheless, witnesses play a vital role in building a convincing wrongful death lawsuit. Witnesses such as healthcare professionals, assembly line workers, and drivers of vehicles that saw what unfolded during an auto collision can provide the legal support your attorney needs to strengthen a wrongful death case.

Negotiate a Settlement

Civil trials, especially wrongful death cases, can take months, if not years to litigate. During this time, you and your family continue to live without a resolution that would allow everyone to move forward with their lives. An experienced wrongful death attorney at Morgan and Morgan possesses the negotiating skills to try to negotiate a settlement that prevents your wrongful death case from going to trial. The key to reaching a settlement is to make a reasonable offer for compensation.

Explain the Litigation Process

Litigating a wrongful death case involves completing a series of complex steps that often confuse and frustrate plaintiffs. The Palm Harbor wrongful death lawyers at Morgan and Morgan possess effective communication skills to break down the most complicated legal terms and processes into simple concepts for our clients to understand. We also ensure you meet important deadlines, such as the Florida statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Losing a loved one due to the negligence committed by another party can irrevocably change your life. The development of negative emotions such as grief and depression makes it impossible to sustain positive relationships with friends, family members, and professional peers. Morgan and Morgan is here to help you recover emotionally, as well as financially from the wrongful death of a loved one.
 

Schedule a free case evaluation today to devise a legal strategy that helps you and your family move forward with your lives.