Miami Wrongful Death Lawyer

A wrongful death claim in Florida is not one lawsuit brought by a grieving family; it is a single action filed by the personal representative of the estate, and the money recovered is divided among survivors according to rules the statute sets. That structure surprises many families. Spencer Morgan Law handles wrongful death and serious injury claims for Miami families and across the Greater Miami area and the State of Florida, drawing on injury work that dates back to 2001.

Whether a family can recover anything, and how much, depends on who the survivors are, how the death occurred, who was responsible, and how quickly the case is brought. A Miami wrongful death lawyer has to sort out all four before a complaint is ever drafted, because some of these deadlines are short and some categories of claim carry limits that other cases do not.

How Florida Divides a Wrongful Death Recovery

Florida splits wrongful death damages into two groups. Survivor damages belong to the people who depended on or were close to the person who died. Estate damages belong to the estate itself. The distinction matters because different people qualify for different categories, and the complaint must identify every potential beneficiary, including the estate, and describe each one’s relationship to the decedent.

A surviving spouse may recover for the loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection, along with mental pain and suffering. Parents of a deceased minor child may recover for their own mental pain and suffering. Adult children and the parents of adult decedents are treated differently, and the law narrows their noneconomic recovery sharply when the death was caused by medical malpractice. If the person who died was an adult child’s parent and the adult child is 25 or older, that child cannot recover the noneconomic damages that would otherwise be available in a malpractice death. Families are often caught off guard by this, which is why we look at the family tree early.

Estate damages cover a different set of losses, and they are claimed through the personal representative. Identifying who that person is, and getting them appointed through the probate court, is often the first practical task in a case.

Types of Deaths That Lead to Claims

• Fatal Automobile and Truck Crashes: Miami’s expressways, causeways, and arterial roads produce serious collisions, and commercial trucks add heavier forces and more potential defendants. Our firm has recovered $1,000,000 in a semi-truck crash case and $1,000,000 in an auto accident settlement. Florida’s no-fault system also includes a $5,000 PIP death benefit, but that is only a small part of what a fatal crash claim can involve.
• Medical Malpractice Deaths: Failures by doctors, hospitals, and health care workers can end in a death. These claims follow their own pre-suit process, a two-year discovery-based limitations period with a four-year repose outer limit, and the narrowed damages rules for adult children and parents described above.
• Rideshare and Bicycle Fatalities: A passenger killed in a rideshare vehicle, or a cyclist struck on a Miami street, may have claims against several parties and several insurance policies. Our results include recoveries in both rideshare and bicycle cases.
• Maritime and Watercraft Deaths: Miami is a boating city, and deaths on the water raise questions about which body of law governs. We have secured an $800,000 maritime accident recovery and a $430,000 watercraft accident recovery.
• Workplace Deaths: A worker killed on the job may have a workers’ compensation claim, and in some situations a separate claim against a third party such as an equipment maker or a contractor who was not the employer.
• Falls and Premises Hazards: A fatal fall on unsafe property, including stairways, parking lots, and construction areas at apartment complexes, can support a claim against the owner or operator. We have recovered $850,000 in a slip and fall case.
• Negligent Security and Violent Crime: When a death results from an attack that inadequate security made possible, the owner or operator of the property may share fault. Florida law gives certain multifamily properties and convenience businesses a presumption against liability if they substantially implemented required security measures, and the owner carries the burden of showing that.
• Government-Related Deaths: Deaths involving a county, city, or other public body face special rules on notice, timing, and damages caps.

What to Do in the Weeks After a Death

The first priority is practical: preserve what exists. If the death followed a crash, that means the police report, photographs, the vehicles if they are still available, and the names of witnesses. If it followed a hospital stay, request the full medical chart and keep every bill and statement. If it happened at a business or apartment building, write down what the property looked like, whether lighting or locks or cameras were working, and whether anyone had complained before.

The two-year deadline is the one families most need to know. A wrongful death action must generally be filed within two years of the date of death. Older sources cite a different statute number for that rule because it was renumbered, but the practical point is the same: two years is the working deadline for most cases. Exceptions exist. There is no deadline against a natural person for a death caused by murder or manslaughter, and claims against government bodies have their own presentment requirements, with a written claim due within two years for a wrongful death and a waiting period of about 180 days for the agency to respond before suit.

Medical malpractice deaths run on a separate clock and require a notice of intent before a suit can be filed. That notice must go out within the limitations period, and once it is served the filing of suit is paused for 90 days while the prospective defendants investigate. By the end of that window they must reject the claim, make a settlement offer, or offer arbitration on damages only with liability treated as admitted.

Cases that arise from a workplace death have their own reporting rules. A workplace injury should be reported as soon as possible and no later than 30 days, and a petition for benefits generally must be filed within two years.

Be careful with insurers. An adjuster may call within days, sound sympathetic, and ask for a recorded statement or offer a quick payment. Anything you say can be used to argue that the deceased shared the blame, and fault matters a great deal in Florida. A person found more than 50 percent responsible for their own harm generally recovers nothing in a negligence action, though that bar does not apply to wrongful death claims arising from medical negligence. Where fault is shared at 50 percent or less, recovery is reduced by that share, and judgment is entered against each defendant only for its own percentage.

Cases filed in Miami-Dade County are heard in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, the largest in the state. Wrongful death claims with damages above the county court ceiling are filed in circuit court, and appeals go to the Third District Court of Appeal, which sits in Miami. Probate matters, including the appointment of a personal representative, are heard in the same courthouse system.

Medical Bills, Liens, and Insurance in a Fatal Case

Many families face medical bills from the decedent’s final treatment before any recovery arrives. Florida’s PIP coverage pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages regardless of fault, up to $10,000 combined, but it requires initial treatment within 14 days of the crash and limits benefits to $2,500 unless a qualified provider confirms an emergency medical condition. It also provides a $5,000 death benefit.

Florida’s rules on medical expense evidence also affect what a jury sees. If a provider treated under a letter of protection, meaning a promise of payment from a future settlement or judgment, the claimant must disclose that arrangement, including whether a referral was involved, as a condition of claiming those expenses. If the claimant had other health coverage, evidence of what that coverage was obligated to pay may be admissible. Our firm helps clients resolve medical bills fairly and obtain needed care, and in one case we reduced a large lien so the client actually benefited from the recovery.

Why Families Choose Spencer Morgan Law for Wrongful Death Claims

The families who call us are usually dealing with grief, unpaid bills, and uncertainty about who has the authority to act, all at once. Consultations are confidential, and you do not pay unless we recover.

Our record includes a $1,000,000 semi-truck crash result, a $1,000,000 auto accident settlement, an $850,000 slip and fall settlement, and an $800,000 maritime accident recovery. Those results matter in a wrongful death setting because the same issues recur: serious injuries, disputed fault, multiple insurance policies, and defendants who will test whether a family is prepared to go the distance. We have also recovered policy limits in cases where an insurer denied liability.

Clients consistently describe prompt communication, thorough answers to every question, and staff who treated them with kindness during a hard period. One client wrote that his calls and emails were always answered quickly; another said every step of the case was explained clearly. We keep clients fully informed and give them personal attention, and Spanish-language services are available for families who prefer to work in Spanish.

Wrongful Death Questions Miami Families Ask

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida?

The personal representative of the decedent’s estate files the action. The lawsuit is brought for the benefit of the survivors and the estate, and the complaint must name every potential beneficiary and describe how each is related to the person who died.

How long do we have to file?

Generally two years from the date of death. Certain categories, including claims against government bodies and medical malpractice, have additional steps that run alongside or inside that period, and a death caused by murder or manslaughter has no deadline against a natural person.

What compensation is available?

Florida separates survivor damages, such as a spouse’s loss of companionship and protection and mental pain and suffering, from estate damages claimed through the personal representative. Which survivors can recover noneconomic damages depends on their relationship to the decedent and, in malpractice cases, on their age.

Can a spouse and children both recover?

Yes, though the category of damages available to each depends on the relationship. The recovery is allocated among eligible survivors, and the estate has its own separate component.

Does the family need to wait for a criminal case to finish?

No. A civil wrongful death case is separate from any criminal prosecution, and it can proceed whether or not charges are filed. The civil deadline keeps running regardless.

What if the person who died was partly at fault?

Florida applies a modified comparative fault rule. If the decedent was more than 50 percent responsible for their own harm, recovery in an ordinary negligence case is barred. At 50 percent or less, recovery is reduced by the decedent’s share. The bar does not apply to wrongful death claims arising from medical negligence.

Can we sue the government if a county or city vehicle or property was involved?

Sometimes, but the rules are strict. Liability is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, punitive damages are not available, and a written claim must be presented to the Department of Financial Services within two years in a wrongful death case. Recovering above the cap requires a claim bill passed by the Legislature.

Will a medical malpractice death claim face a cap on pain and suffering?

No enforceable cap currently exists on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice litigation, because Florida’s Supreme Court struck down the statutory caps. That is separate from the rule limiting which adult children and parents can recover noneconomic damages in a malpractice death.

Can a bar or restaurant be held responsible when a drunk driver causes a death?

Only in narrow circumstances. Florida’s dram shop law applies to liquor licensees, not social hosts, and a licensee who serves someone of lawful drinking age is generally not liable for that person’s intoxication. The exceptions involve knowingly serving a person habitually addicted to alcohol and willfully serving someone under the legal drinking age.

How are legal fees handled if we cannot afford to pay up front?

You do not pay unless we recover. Consultations are confidential, and we discuss fee terms openly before you decide whether to hire us.

Will an insurance company’s early offer be fair?

Early offers often arrive before the full scope of the loss is known and before all survivors and policies have been identified. Accepting one can close the door on a larger recovery, so we recommend speaking with a lawyer before signing anything.

Wrongful Death Representation Across Miami and Beyond

Our work for Miami families extends throughout Miami-Dade County. We represent clients in Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Kendall, Pinecrest, Doral, Hialeah, Homestead, North Miami, Miami Gardens, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Key Biscayne, Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Miami Lakes, Sweetwater, and the surrounding neighborhoods that make up the Greater Miami area. Cases arising from crashes on the county’s highways and causeways, from incidents on the water, and from hospitals and workplaces anywhere in the community are the kinds of matters we take on.

We also serve injury victims and their families throughout the State of Florida, so a death that happened elsewhere in the state does not put a family out of reach.

Speak With a Miami Wrongful Death Attorney

The deadlines in a wrongful death case start running on the day of the loss, and the decisions made in the first weeks, about evidence, insurers, and who will serve as personal representative, shape what is possible later. A Miami wrongful death attorney at Spencer Morgan Law can review what happened, explain which claims your family may have, and tell you plainly what the process looks like. Call to schedule a confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover.