Wrongful Death Lawyer in Alpharetta

It may be a little time-consuming, but you should always look into the background of any wrongful death lawyer before hiring them to handle your case. Although we know this time for you is very hard, and emotions may be clouding your judgment, you must take the same care researching a lawyer as you would with anyone you’re looking to hire to provide a service.

You should be asking yourself if the lawyer has a reputation for success and see if they have past client reviews available. While experience in handling wrongful death cases is crucial, you should also see if they have the resources and support staff to help build your case. Let’s take a look at some other questions you should ask a wrongful death attorney before hiring them.

• How many years have you practiced personal injury law?
• How much of that experience has been focussed on wrongful death claims?
• What’s your track record of settlements and verdicts?
• How many wrongful death claims do you handle every year?
• How many claims were settled, and how many went to trial?
• How frequently have you handled cases similar to mine?
• How long have you served the residents of Alpharetta?
• Are you a member of any bar associations or legal professional organizations?
• Will you have support staff to help with my claim?
• Do you have access to investigators or expert witnesses that can help my claim?

A wrongful death occurs when someone dies due to negligence, a willful or wrongful act, or omission or fault of another person or entity. Wrongful death claims are designed to compensate the family members left behind after the death of a loved one from a fatal accident. Family members are also harmed if they relied on the deceased for financial and emotional support. A wrongful death may have occurred as a result of a careless or negligent act or a willful act such as murder, medical malpractice, reckless driving, among many other causes, which we will detail more.

• Car accidents are a leading cause of wrongful death in the US, with an average of 38,000 fatalities every year. Car accidents are typically caused by distracted, drunken, or impaired driving and aggressive driving. Road construction and road conditions also cause car accidents.
• Medical malpractice is another top cause of wrongful deaths. Medical malpractice happens when a doctor or hospital fails in its duty to rise to the accepted standard of care. A healthcare provider or hospital is expected to perform their professional duties to ensure the patient receives the proper diagnosis and treatment and the correct medication. In some instances, mistakes are made that lead to the death of a patient. This could be improper medication or the wrong dosage, or a mistake in diagnosis. Medical malpractice can also take place while the patient is administered anesthesia or during a surgical accident. Some other causes of medical malpractices are birth injury, defective medical devices, and abuse or neglect.
• Airplane accidents are a cause of wrongful death; however, rarely this type of accident happens. An airplane can crash for a variety of reasons, such as faulty parts of the plane, pilot negligence, air traffic control negligence, or faulty plane design. These types of wrongful death claims are highly complicated because of how liability is assigned. It may be the airline or a plane parts manufacturer, or both.
• Workplace accidents can cause wrongful death through improper training of staff on the use of machines, equipment malfunction, illness from exposure to hazardous chemicals or products, falling debris, unsafe working conditions, fires, and explosions, among others.
• Defective products can cause a wrongful death if there is a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or improperly identified warnings on the use of the product. These kinds of wrongful death claims are for product liability.
• Nursing homes can cause a wrongful death if staff is negligent in the care of the resident. For example, the resident was given the wrong medication, or a caregiver failed to keep the resident from falling.

To establish liability in a wrongful death claim, your lawyer will need to establish the four elements of negligence. The first is that the person or entity responsible for your loved one’s death had a duty of care to them, such as a physician owes their patient. Then, it must be established that the duty of care was breached. Next, that the breach of this duty caused harm. And finally, the damages. Damages can be the deceased's pain and suffering, medical treatment costs, funeral and burial expenses, loss of the deceased income, and loss of emotional support. Harm or causation and damages are closely linked.

If one of these four elements, the duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages, are not established, you don’t have a case. That’s why it’s crucial to hire the best wrongful death lawyers in Alpharetta to ensure your claim doesn’t fail to meet these requirements.

The level of difficulty in proving wrongful death is unique in every case because, of course, every case is different. Some cases are well-defined and obvious, while others may require an in-depth investigation, witness statements, expert evaluations, and other various evidence to provide support to your claim. Most importantly, the four legal elements mentioned previously must be established to secure financial compensation.

Wrongful death claims average from $500,000 to over $1 million, depending on the circumstances of your case. Any wrongful death claim will have unique factors that will determine the value of the claim. Some of these factors may include the needs of the surviving dependents, the age and health of the deceased, the level of support, financial and emotional, the deceased would have provided the family had they not died, and any last expenses the deceased had from medical expenses and final arrangements for burial.

Every wrongful death is a matter of great consequence to the remaining family. It deserves to be handled in a manner that will bring a level of dignity to the memory of your loved one and financial restitution.

As with any type of legal claim, the time it takes to reach a settlement or verdict depends on the factors of the case, including how and when the deceased met their demise. A wrongful death lawsuit can take months or years to resolve. 

Insurance companies will often offer a settlement that undervalues your damages because they know you’re grieving and may possibly be worrying about how to handle your financial obligations. While it may be tempting to accept their first offer so you can pay some bills and move on, it’s not always in your best interest to do so. 

As a relative or dependant of the deceased, you may not even understand what you are entitled to, so that’s why it’s critical to hire the best wrongful death lawyers in Alpharetta to protect your interests and provide good counsel during this time.

You may not see the long-term financial ramifications like lost income of the deceased and noneconomic damages such as loss of companionship and affection. While assigning a dollar value to the loss of emotional support seems unquantifiable, it’s practical under the law when holding a wrongdoer liable for their actions.

The wrongful death lawyers at Morgan & Morgan have the experience, expertise, and resources you need to prove your claim. Our law firm has a strong reputation of being “for the people” and fighting and winning for families just like yours. 

With over 35 years in the business and one of the highest success rates in the country, our compassionate lawyers bring results for grieving families. Morgan & Morgan has over 1,000 trial-ready lawyers and an immense support system that includes staff, advanced technologies, and access to expert witnesses that can be used to bolster your claim.

We understand how important it is to you to hold someone accountable for the death of your loved one, even if it was an accident. You can and should be compensated for your losses if your loved one died from the negligence of another party. Now is not the time to worry about incurring further bills from a lawyer. That’s why our lawyers work on a contingency basis, meaning we don’t make a dime until your case is settled or a favorable verdict is returned. You incur no out-of-pocket expenses. Instead, our attorneys receive compensation for their work on your behalf by taking a percentage of the award only if successful. 

If you’ve been the victim of wrongful death, contact the expert attorneys at Morgan & Morgan for a free case evaluation. It’s confidential, and we promise to handle your case with care and compassion.