Kendall Wrongful Death Lawyer
No amount of money or other compensation can begin to fill the emotional void a wrongful death creates. But the compensation the Kendall wrongful death lawyer at the Spencer Law Group can obtain will help survivors move on with their lives, which is what the decedent would have wanted.
This compensation usually includes money for pecuniary losses, such as final expenses, decedent’s medical bills, lost future emotional support, decedent’s pain and suffering, and lost future financial support. Survivors may also be entitled to compensation for their own grief and suffering, in some situations.
This compensation also reinforces responsibility. Usually, wrongful death matters are unintentional, in that the actor did not intend the result. But in most cases, the conduct was intentional. Wrongful deaths usually are not “accidents.” Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone is accountable for those mistakes.
How Kendall Wrongful Death Lawyers Begin a Case
Usually, after a Kendall wrongful death lawyer helps survivors attend to immediate needs, the first order of business is determining the appropriate legal theory. Possible legal theories include:
- Ordinary Negligence: Basically, negligence is a lack of care. Drivers breach their duty of care when they drive aggressively (speeding, turning illegally) or while impaired (dangerously fatigued, intoxicated). Property owners breach their duty of care when they fail to provide safe environments for their invited guests.
- Negligence Per Se: Sometimes, a safety law, like the DUI law, establishes the standard of care. So, if a tortfeasor (negligent actor) violates a safety law, and that violation causes injury, the tortfeasor could be liable for damages as a matter of law.
- Product Liability: Companies have a legal responsibility to make and sell safe products. They break this legal trust if they fail to warn customers about known product risks or side-effects. They also could be liable for damages if the defective products injure or kill someone. Product liability matters often involve thousands of victims, so these matters are very complex.
A legal allegation is not sufficient to obtain compensation. Attorneys must prove their allegations by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). Once this foundation is in place, an attorney can determine a claim’s settlement value. The settlement value is like a new car’s sticker price. Both figures serve as the starting point for financial negotiations.
These negotiations cannot begin in earnest until medical treatment is at least substantially complete. Before then, it’s impossible to determine a reasonable amount of economic losses. To determine noneconomic losses, for items like emotional distress, attorneys usually multiply the economic losses by two, three, or four, mostly depending on the evidence in the case.
Additional punitive damages are often available in wrongful death cases as well. These damages help convince defendants to change their ways, so more people do not get hurt. In defective product cases, punitive damages are often very high. Only a large dollar figure grabs the attention of a multinational conglomerate.
Resolving a Wrongful Death Matter
Some wrongful death matters settle rather early in the process. However, most settle during mediation, which usually occurs shortly before the scheduled trial date.
During this process, a third-party mediator supervises negotiations and ensures that both sides negotiate in good faith. “I’ll see you in court” is not a good-faith negotiating position. Both sides must make reasonable offers and compromise when necessary. They cannot simply go through the motions.
Mostly because of the good-faith negotiation duty, mediation in Florida civil and personal injury cases is about 90 percent successful.
Count on a Dedicated Miami-Dade County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Kendall wrongful death lawyer, contact Spencer G. Morgan, Attorney at Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.