Florida Wrongful Death Guide

The Florida Wrongful Death Guide was created by Victory Law Firm to help those who lost a loved one obtain maximum compensation. Call our lawyers for a consultation.

If you have lost a loved one in an accident that could have arguably been prevented, then you know a frustration and grief that is nearly indescribable. It isn’t fair that you and your family have to suffer through losing someone you love in such a terrible way. When you can pinpoint the person who is directly responsible for causing the incident that left you with this grief, then you are likely eligible for a wrongful death claim. The damages and injuries that you, your family and your loved one who has passed have had to suffer through can be quite substantial. Our Florida wrongful death lawyers hope to hear from you right away about setting up your free, first consultation to get to know how you can get justice. Call today.

What is Wrongful Death?

The term ‘wrongful death’ refers to the legal area of personal injury cases in which people can file a civil lawsuit as the surviving family members of someone who died in a way that was directly related to another person’s actions. These accidents come from carelessness and negligence and ultimately are completely avoidable. You and your family can receive wrongful death damages if this is how you lost your loved one. Essentially, if you are grieving a loss of someone who died because of another person’s carelessness or negligence, then our Florida wrongful death lawyers want to hear from you right away during a free consultation to let you know what your avenues to justice are.

Usually, the family of the deceased is going to be the one to file this case. Every family is different, however, so every case for wrongful death is going to look different. Essentially speaking, the end results should be the same. Justice through financial compensation is what we will be fighting for if you have a loved one who was a victim of a wrongful death. The suffering that you and your family went through is also considered in your end result.

We hope that you reach out right away. We understand that grief is all consuming but setting aside a time to call our Florida wrongful death lawyers can help you get the justice you desire.

Who Can File a Claim?

A common question that we get from most clients who come to us to meet with us for a free consultation is who is going to be the one that files the lawsuit. Of course, if there is a considerable number of family members that the deceased left behind, it’s going to become confusing as to who will be the one who files the case on behalf of the family. Generally speaking, there is a list of people who would be eligible to file a case. The following is the ordered list of who would likely be the one to file the case:

• The spouse of the deceased if they were married
• If they were unmarried, the children of the deceased if they are legal adults
• If they were unmarried but the children were minors, the legal guardian of the deceased’s children can file the case
• If they did not have a spouse or children then a parent can file the case

Of course, just like everyone’s life is different, every one’s family is going to be different, too. Our Florida wrongful death lawyers will work with you to determine who is going to be the one that filed the claim on behalf of the rest of the family to get the justice that everyone is entitled to. You just need to reach out to us right away and set up a free consultation to learn who is going to be the first person in line to file this case.

How to Get Justice

You might be wondering, if someone is responsible for my loved one’s death then why is this a civil case and not a criminal case? Yes, it is true that wrongful death cases pursue financial compensation and not criminal punishment against the liable party. That is typically because this was an accident, not a homicide.

Sometimes, wrongful death cases can be pursued if the criminal who intended to kill a loved one did not successfully get convicted of murder and you still want to pursue some sort of justice. A famous example of this was when the Goldman family filed a civil lawsuit against O.J. Simpson. In most cases, however, wrongful death is going to be simply because a liable party acted in a way that directly caused your loved ones death but did not involve intent.

We seek money damages in place of criminal penalties for these types of cases because there was no intent to kill or harm necessarily. It is a way to give the family justice for something that was oftentimes a complete accident. Just because your loved one wasn’t supposed to die because of someone else’s actions and mistakes, doesn’t mean you should be robbed from some sort of justice.

Compensation for Wrongful Death

When you receive compensation for wrongful death cases, it is mainly going to be because of two types of damages. We first look at your financial losses that you and your family have had to suffer because of the death of your loved one. Here are the particulars of these money damages:

• Cost of the funeral and burial or cremation
• Any medical bills that were incurred if there was an attempt to perform lifesaving medical care
• The wages and benefits that the your loved one would have been able to provide for your family had you not lost them in this accident
• Property damage, such as a totaled vehicle if you lost someone in an auto accident

The other types of damages that we look to receive for you and your family are meant to help you going forward and it’s designed to cover the damages that are considered non-economic, such as pain and suffering. They are harder to calculate and put a number on but they are nonetheless important. Here are some examples:

• Pain and suffering related to having to grieve the untimely death of your companion and family member
• Losing someone who played an important role in your household and family
• Any and all mental anguish you may be experiencing after this tragic loss

Because everybody’s life is completely unique and different, everyone’s wrongful death case is going to be unique and different. Comparing your potential results to results that have happened in the past isn’t necessarily an accurate way to figure out what your end results are going to be because these cases are incredibly fact-based. Our Florida wrongful death lawyers are going to be able to tell you what your case is worth after we’ve done certain amounts of research and investigation into what happened and how much it has impacted everyone’s life.

We are very passionate about providing you and your family with justice. We also want your case to be as stress-free as possible for you. We want to make this easier for you, not harder, because losing a loved one in an untimely manner is already too hard to handle. We make this a stress-free legal process and handle everything for you so you never have to worry about it and can spend your time focusing on yourself and your family.

Do Not Delay Reaching Out

When you are filing for a case, it’s very important to note that you will be held to the Florida state statute of limitations. This term statute of limitations refers to the amount of time from the accident that led to your loved one’s death to the cutoff of eligibility to file a civil claim for justice. Florida allows four years of statute of limitations. We understand that four years can sound like a long time but at the end of the day when you don’t have something on your radar and on your to-do list, then it’s easy for you to forget. We want you to reach out to us before you forget because losing out on justice because you didn’t make a phone call soon enough would be terrible. Don’t miss out on your one opportunity to get the justice you and your family deserve. Call us right away.

Frequently Asked Wrongful Death Questions

What are the available damages in Florida for a wrongful death claim?

We recently sat down with a client who had come in; unfortunately, they had lost a loved one as a result of negligence of another party. After we had been talking for some time, the issue of what the damages would be in this type of case came up. We discussed this in detail with my client. This is one of the questions that we often get with any type of loss. First and foremost, the types of damages that are available in a wrongful death case in Orlando, Florida are unique. They’re different than damages that you can get from a regular auto accident case. They’re similar in a sense, but they’re limited.

For example, in the wrongful death case, damages are often limited to certain nontangible damages such as loss of companionship, which is loss of consortium. That’s basically the loss of the relationship that you had with that loved one. For example, if your spouse passes away, the loss of your spouse will be the loss of that companionship, the loss of that love, the loss of living that life together. That’s one type of damages. That’s typically not available in your general run of the mill auto accident, unless there are certain circumstances met.

Another type of damages that you can get are the value of loss services. For example, if your loved one was providing certain services for you during a lifetime— maybe they were supporting you, maybe they were taking care of you in a sense, and now that’s gone because of their loss— then that can be compensated, as well. You can also recover for mental pain and suffering. The loss of a loved one can often be a very traumatizing event depending on the particular facts and circumstances of the case. Your recovery of past, present, and future pain and suffering is something that can be determined based on the specific facts and circumstances of each case.

Lastly, if there are fees and costs associated with the funeral, those are often recoverable in a wrongful death case. Typically, you don’t see the long-term medical expenses and things like that in a wrongful death case because obviously that’s no longer in play. Maybe leading up to the eventual passing of your loved one, then you could have these costs reimbursed. If you have any other questions about wrongful death and what damages may or may not be recoverable, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office.

How Do I Choose an Attorney for Wrongful Death?

If you’re reading this, it is likely because you have a question about finding a wrongful death attorney in Orlando, Florida. It might mean that you’ve experienced the loss of a loved one recently due to the negligence of someone else. First and foremost, you have our condolences for your loss. We’re here to help in any way that we can. To answer your question, if you’re looking for an attorney to help you in your wrongful death case here in Orlando, Florida, make sure that you sit down and speak with an attorney that is experienced and knowledgeable in handling these types of cases. Ask questions. Have theyever handled this type of case before? Have they ever litigated these types of cases before? What’s their experience been with these types of cases?

Each case is going to be particularly unique for the individual. Maybe you’re experiencing the loss of a son or a daughter or a parent or a brother or a sister and you simply want to find answers and you want to be able to make sure that your passing of a loved one is resolved in the best way possible. Some of the things that you need to look for, again, is someone that’s experienced in these types of cases. In particular, this area of law in Florida is very specialized in the sense that there are certain deadlines and there are certain other specialized details that need to be taken into account when dealing with a wrongful death in Orlando, Florida.

As opposed to a regular auto accident case or any other type of regular negligence case, there are different statute of limitations that are applied to filing a wrongful death claim in Florida. If these deadlines are not followed, unfortunately, your claim may be lost forever. It is very important to hire an attorney that has handled these cases before and has dealt with these types of unique circumstances. We understand that if you are going through this, you might be grieving. What you need to not lose focus of is the fact that there are these specialized limitations for your wrongful death case so it’s important to at least reach out to someone, ask those questions, and see if you can get the help that you need to help recover the compensation for the loss of your loved one.

Also, these wrongful death cases in Orlando, Florida can be difficult in the sense that they involve many different emotions. They involve many different tactics, unfortunately, by the insurance companies who, unfortunately, they won’t share your grief or your sorrow. They’ll simply be trying to minimize your claim and trying to make light of the situation, which of course, has greatly affected you. Meeting with an attorney who’s knowledgeable with those types of cases is going to ensure that you have the best outcome and they can answer your questions they can guide you through the entire process. If you have any other questions about a wrongful death claim in Orlando, Florida, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our attorneys.

How Do I Determine the Value of a Wrongful Death Case?

When we have family members that come in and are grieving the loss of a loved one and they want to seek justice in a case where their loved one was killed as a result of the negligence of another party, this is one of the questions we get. This question is about justice. It’s about justice for seeking the loss of their loved one at the result of the negligence of another party. The way that we determine compensation is we look at all the different factors that are available to us under Florida law. What’s important in being able to arrive at this conclusion is getting an attorney that’s familiar with the ways in which we can determine the value of such type of case.

Florida law is very unique in the sense that it dictates who in terms of which loved one, whether it’s a parent or a mother or a daughter or a brother or sister who was able to actually recover from the loss of a particular relative that has passed away as a result of the negligence of another person. If you are entitled to receive compensation from the loss, we will determine value based on several things. Some of these items are based on the relationships that are had with the loved one, whether the loved one was supporting you in any way, whether they were providing you with any type of assistance, and what type of income they were generating.

There’s also what’s called loss of consortium, which is a fancy way of saying what is the relationship or the loss of that relationship that you had with that person. If it’s a father, maybe you’ve lost the value of the paternal relationship, the things that a father could teach their son, the things that a father could teach their daughter. The loss of a mother, the loss of children, are often devastating. Those losses are determined on the loss of that relationship and the loss of those moments of joy that you experience with a family member. Each of those are unique to the individual who’s experienced those losses.

The way to achieve the most justice for the loss of your loved one in terms of the compensation and trying to reach the right amount is to speak with an attorney who’s handled these types of cases. They can guide you through these intricate details and help you achieve the justice that you deserve. If you have any other questions about wrongful death in Orlando, Florida, don’t hesitate to contact us.

How Long Does a Wrongful Death Case Last?

When we have a client come in who is grieving from the loss of a loved one, this is a question that we get often from them. How long will it take to resolve this wrongful death case? How long will it take to find answers? How long will it take to get the justice that my loved one deserves? Our simple answer to them is it really depends on the unique facts and circumstances of your case. There are some cases that can be resolved quickly. That means that the insurance company or the negligent party, the one that was at fault and caused the incident, they’re willing to work with us in order to get the claim resolved as quickly as possible.

Getting the claim resolved as quickly as possible can help in many ways. It can help close these wounds. It can help get some closure for the clients and for the insurance companies that are going to help them move on and reduce their exposure. Sometimes, we have cases that get resolved in that manner. Then we have other insurance companies that tend to be a bit more difficult in the sense that they are unreasonable and they are unwilling to work with you as a grieving party. They simply don’t care about your loss. They don’t care about the injustice that has occurred. They simply care about protecting their client, minimizing their risks, and just making it very difficult for you to achieve the resolution that you wish to achieve.

Under any of those circumstances, either the short resolution or the long resolution, what you need to do is find an attorney that’s experienced in handling these types of wrongful death cases. The attorney is going to be able to help you in navigating through a short resolution in a sense that they’re going to be able to tell you is this a good idea, should we resolve this case shortly, should we accept this settlement offer, should we close this chapter in our lives. An attorney experienced in wrongful death can help you with that. Also if the insurance company is being difficult and wishes to drag this out, then you need to have an attorney that is willing to fight and go for the long haul in getting you the justice that you deserve. You need to find someone who has litigated these types of cases, who has dealt with difficult insurance companies, and who’s willing to go to trial if you are unable to resolve it.

These are many of the things that come into play when trying to figure out how long it may take to resolve your case. On the shorter end, if you have a company that’s willing to work with you and is being reasonable, then it could take a few months or less than a year. If you’re working with a more difficult company or a difficult insurance company that is being unreasonable and wishes to just do everything they can to fight and deny your claim, then that could take more than a year and upwards to several years, but it really depends on the unique facts and circumstances of your case. If you’d like to discuss the facts of your particular case with one of our attorneys, don’t hesitate to contact us.

What Does It Cost to Pursue a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

If you have a wrongful death claim in Orlando, Florida and you wish to bring a claim forward, is that going to cost you personally any money to bring that claim forward? When we have a client that comes in and they talk to us about a loss that they have experienced, they often ask how much they will have to pay an attorney to bring my claim. The simple answer to that is it will not cost you anything to bring the claim. As an attorney experienced in working those types of cases in Orlando, Florida, we handle everything up until the finality of the case and the person bringing us the case, our client, owes nothing until the case is resolved in their benefit.

During the entire process of the case, , we will spend the money to secure all the evidence, whatever experts we need, and make sure that we gather and put together the case that will assure you the best possible resolution. All of those costs that are accumulating during the case, those are paid for by us and you are not responsible for anything up until the resolution of the case. All of this is done to ensure that you have the best possible resolution. Without some of these things, it could affect the value and the ultimate value of your case. Hiring an attorney that is knowledgeable in wrongful death cases and has the resources that will give them the ability to be able to secure all of this for your benefit is very important in making sure that you get the best possible outcome. If you’d like to discuss this in more detail and have any other questions about wrongful death cases in Orlando, Florida, don’t hesitate to contact our office.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?

When we have a family member come in and we’re talking about the passing of a loved one as the result of negligence from another party, we try to explain to them that these are different. The loss of a loved one is different than an auto accident. For example, we were just speaking to a client not so long ago who came in and they lost a loved one as a result of a large trucking accident. A commercial motor vehicle had acted in negligent manner which resulted in the loss of life of my client’s loved one. That’s different than when you have the loved one who has not passed but is simply in a car accident. Maybe they sustained certain injuries but they have not passed away. When we’re talking about a wrongful death, things change drastically. In Florida, there are different sets of laws and regulations that apply to a wrongful death claim.

For example, there is actually a different statute of limitations that apply to filing a wrongful death claim, which is different than the statute of limitations that applies to filing a regular auto accident claim. Depending on these two types of statute of limitations, it could affect your case. Our recommendation is if you have experienced the loss of a loved one, please make sure that you speak to an attorney and let them know what’s going on. They can answer any questions you might have because if the statute of limitations applies to the wrongful death case, then that could mean that your case could be barred if it’s not brought within a certain period of time. It’s always important to consult with an attorney that is knowledgeable in wrongful death cases and make sure you do it as soon as you possibly can, at least to answer some questions that you might have and guide you through the process.

Another way that wrongful death cases are different is that there are only certain people or parties that are able to recover from the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is in Florida but the laws of this state have to be followed in this situation. Each wrongful death case is unique in the sense that if it’s the loss of a parent as opposed to the loss of a daughter, that could affect who can recover and who cannot recover. In those cases, you have to look at the specific details, you have to look at several factors that will affect the outcome on whether or not you may or may not even have a wrongful death case. It’s always best to consult with an attorney that is experienced in those types of cases so that they can guide you. They can answer these questions that you might have after such a situation. That way they can ensure that you have the best possible recovery and answer any questions that you might have. If you need any other assistance or guidance in a wrongful death case, don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Call Our Florida Wrongful Death Lawyers

If you are grieving someone’s death that happened in an accident directly caused by someone else’s carelessness, we hope that you call our Florida wrongful death lawyers as soon as you’re able to and set up your free, first consultation. We will always treat you like family and fight for you like it’s our own justice. We want to meet with you right away to get to know your case details and the suffering you and your family have gone through. When you are looking for fierce and dependable representation, we hope you call us to provide that for you. Get your free consultation today.