Wrongful Death Lawyer Serving Stuart

The City of Stuart, FL has an estimated population of 16,293 and is spread on 6.3 square miles of land in Martin County. The city is situated on Florida’s Atlantic Coast and is the center of art, culture and history. Unfortunately, it is no stranger to wrongful deaths cases, many of them have resulted from traffic accidents.

In 2017, Martin County was the site of 3,466 car accidents. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety, approximately 25 people died and 2,087 people were injured in those automobile accidents. This means over 60 percent of people who suffered a car crash sustained physical injuries.

Regardless of what type of personal injury incident has led to an untimely death in Martin County, losing a loved one prematurely due to the negligent actions of another party can be extremely tragic. Although there is nothing that can fill this loss, you may be eligible to pursue a claim for wrongful death. If your loved one has passed away due to the negligent actions of another party, contact our wrongful death lawyers. We will evaluate your claim and try to advise you on your best course of action.

According to Florida state law, family members of the deceased may have the right to file a wrongful death claim in Martin County if the death occur due to:

• A negligent act committed by the other party
• A wrongful act committed by the other party
• A violation of contract or a breach of warranty

The above elements include death by deliberate actions that may cause injury to another person, like hitting him on the head as well as unintentional but negligent actions that result in death, either immediately or later.

One of the prime examples of wrongful death claims is death due to reckless driving. Although the driver has no intention of causing harm to anybody, his disregard for road safety can result in someone’s death.

Another example includes product liability or death resulting from the use of poorly designed or faulty products.

Below are the most common claims of damages for wrongful death:

One of the leading causes for wrongful death accidents in Martin County is accidents involving cars, motorbikes, trucks, semi-trucks, and tractor trailers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations reports that almost 36,560 people die every year all over the country, including Florida. Many of these accidents occur due to distracted driving, drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs, driving while fatigued, lack of vehicle maintenance, and road rage.

Reporting traffic accidents in the City of Stuart falls under the purview of Stuart police Department. They may be contacted here:

• Stuart Police Department

830 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd | Stuart, FL 34994 | (772) 287-1122

Pedestrian accidents can happen due to similar reasons as automobile accidents, most commonly distracted driving, drunk driving or excessive speeding. When an automobile strikes a pedestrian, there are higher chances that it may result in the death of a person.

If such an accident resulted in the death of a family member, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim.

When a person enters a business venue, they expect that the owner or management of the establishment has placed reasonable security measures to protect its visitors. Even though an establishment may have security measures, it may not be enough to protect its visitors from injury.

For example, a soccer stadium needs to have enough security detail for staff control and if a preventable accident happens in the premises that results in death, the management may be held liable for the injuries.

Other examples include injuries from a bar fight, broken bones and bruises from a stampede, burns due to lack of exit during a fire emergency, violent crimes inside a business, or injuries at the hands of security guards or bouncers.

Slip/ trip or fall accidents fall under premise liability. These accidents can occur in business establishments as well as residential properties of other people and are a result of a known but unremedied hazard on a property and failure to warn visitors about the hazards on a property.

If your loved one suffered from a slip and fall accident that led to their death, our wrongful death attorneys serving Stuart can try to help you get compensation.

Unsafe working conditions can lead to horrible accidents in workplaces which can result in death. This includes explosions, fire, faulty machinery, lack of safety gear, unsafe processes and a generally dangerous work environment.

If your loved one has become a victim of a hazardous work environment, you may be eligible to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit.

Defective products fall under the category of product liability, another common cause for accidental deaths. Injuries or death resulting from defective products include those that result from products that are poorly designed, improperly manufactured or lack appropriate warnings or proper instructions.

If a healthcare provider is careless in their duty, it can result in death of the patient. This includes misdiagnosing the condition, prescribing the wrong treatment or medication or committing a mistake during a surgery. If the mistake is severe, it can lead to the death of a patient.

Wrongful death claims are fairly different from personal injury claims in the regards that a personal injury claim is filed by the person who sustained injuries resulting from a negligent accident, while a wrongful death suit is filed by the survivors of the victim against the perceived at-fault party.

We say perceived because wrongful death claims use preponderance of evidence to sue the other party rather than wait for them to be proven guilty in court.

As for who can file a wrongful death claim, Florida wrongful death laws are pretty unique since they do not allow just any named inheritor to file a claim, unlike other states in the country. Since wrongful death cases are extremely complicated, Florida only allows a limited group of people to file a wrongful death claim to prevent unscrupulous people from capitalizing on the death of the decedent. This is why only the people below are eligible to pursue a lawsuit:

• The spouse of the decedent
• The decedent’s children
• The decedent’s parent
• Close blood relatives like siblings, adoptive siblings, cousins, grandparents, and grandchildren who depended, either partially or totally, upon the victim for financial support.

A child born of wedlock cannot file a wrongful death suit if the decedent did not officially acknowledge the child as their own while they were alive.

According to Florida wrongful death laws, only the personal representative of a decedent’s estate can actually file this suit. If the decedent’s will or trust did not name a representative, the court will appoint one. This person will be tasked to file the wrongful death suit on behalf of any family member with a valid claim.

The sudden death of a beloved family member can be one of the most devastating losses that a person experiences. Although monetary compensation cannot even slightly alleviate the grief and pain a person feels, it is still may be very necessary since the death of a person can involve financial losses as well.

Loss of income is one of the damages you can claim in a wrongful death suit, particularly if the decedent earned for the family and if they left behind dependents of financial contribution.

You can also claim non-physical and emotional damages as part of your suit. Spouses are entitled to loss of consortium, while children are eligible for compensation for loss of parental figure and financial support if they are under 25.

No amount of money can bring back your loved one but it is important to understand that the person who was responsible for the careless death can be held accountable for their actions.

A wrongful death claim is a civil claim brought by the decedent’s estate rather than the government. Florida wrongful death laws claim that damages the survivor can expect to receive include:

• Medical bills that were paid by the surviving family members
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of income and other benefits, which include prospective net accumulation or lost earnings that the decedent could reasonably have been expected to make if they lived.
• Loss of consortium, companionship, guidance, and protection provided by the decedent
• Loss of support and services
• Emotional and mental anguish due to the loss of a child

Putting a figure to the monetary value of a person’s life is extremely difficult. Even though the life of a person is priceless, there are several factors that can be considered to reach a reasonable monetary amount. These include:

• The age and health of the deceased person
• The deceased person’s earning capacity
• Their income at the time of death
• Life expectancy of the dependents
• The relationship of the dependents to the decedent
• The period of minority left in case of healthy children
• The circumstances of the dependents
• Medical bills and funeral expenses
• The value of loss of benefits like health insurance and pension
• The value of loss of services, including household chores that the survivors will need to pay for now the person is dead
• Damages for loss of consortium, protection, mental pain and suffering.
• In case of the death of a minor child, both parents will be awarded compensation for mental pain and suffering. The parents may be eligible for compensation in case of the death

The value of the damages should not be a ballpark estimate but must be supported by solid evidence.

Each state sets a specific time limit for a survivor’s right to file a wrongful death claim, or any other lawsuit. This time limit is known as the statute of limitations and this varies from state to state.

In most cases, a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida needs to be filed within two years of the victim’s death, according to the Florida Statutes section 95.11 (4) (d) . However, exceptions always exist and the deadline may be postponed under some specific circumstances.

A wrongful death lawyer at Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers can help you determine when the statute of limitations expire in your specific case. It is extremely important to know the deadline as failure to file a wrongful death lawsuit within the given deadline means the right of the dependents to the damages become void. This means you will no longer be able to receive damages once the 2-year deadline passes.

That’s why it is important to pursue this lawsuit in a timely way.

Wrongful death cases are extremely time consuming because of the evidence required to prove your case as well as its many technicalities. Legal processes are very complicated and involve a lot of documentations that need to be filed within a tight deadline. Doing this while dealing with the loss of a loved one can be very challenging.

Additionally, some people who have suffered a loss of a loved one and require immediate financial compensation may try to settle with an insurance company on their own. Not only do they lack experience to negotiate a better deal with an insurance agency or the at-fault party, they also may face a lot of obstacles in correctly calculating the value of the medical bills, loss of future wages and benefits.

That’s why, when it comes to filing a wrongful death lawsuit, it is extremely important that you speak to an experienced accidental death attorney.

An accidental death attorney will try to negotiate and fight on behalf of their client’s rights if your loved one has passed away due to a reckless action of another person.

A wrongful death attorney will try to calculate the correct value of your claims. They will try to obtain the medical records, gather evidence and talk to expert witnesses in your case. They will also try to evaluate the decedent’s information and the dependent’s situations to assess the different ways the death of a loved one has impacted you and other members of the family.

It is also important to understand that not all wrongful death cases make their way to court; many of these cases are settled out of court. However, if the situation warrants a trial, our wrongful death attorneys will take it to court and litigate aggressively to pursue fair compensation for your damages.

If any of your loved ones have passed away suddenly due to another person’s carelessness, Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers can help provide you with dedicated legal representation on every step of your case.

We aim to protect your rights and bring you justice. Our experienced personal injury and wrongful death lawyers have a combined legal experience of 40 years and we have recovered over $100 million in damages in both out of court settlements as well as verdicts. We have helped defend the rights of over 8,000 clients throughout the state of Florida.

At Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers, we provide you with an entire team of experienced legal professionals to work on your case. We will offer you superior client and case management services so that the legal proceedings can be dealt with swiftly and our clients remain stress free while they wait for the compensation that they deserve.

We will not stop until we have resolved your case in the best way possible. We also offer our services on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not have to pay us a single cent until we have resolved your case successfully.

If you are not sure whether you have a strong case, Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers can offer you a free, no-strings attached consultation.

If your loved one has passed away due to the fault of another party, you may have many questions. Our wrongful death attorneys can help you understand your rights and options so that you can make an informed decision.

If you want to talk to our legal team, you can reach us at (954) 519-6982. You can also fill out our free case evaluation form to book an appointment with us.