Losing a loved one can be a lot to take in, and it can leave you feeling confused when it is unexpected. If the cause of your loved one’s death is someone else’s negligence, it’s understandable that the first thing on your mind is justice. Anytime someone engages in negligent behavior there should be consequences for their actions, especially if that behavior is the cause of someone’s death.
As the survivor of a wrongful death victim, it can be difficult to process your grief knowing you will have to bear the brunt of the expenses and emotional weight. Lean on an experienced wrongful death attorney who can get you the justice you deserve. When you’re ready to pursue legal action, contact Knutson + Casey to handle your wrongful death case.
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Wrongful death cases are civil lawsuits where the court may require the defendant to pay damages to the deceased person’s survivors. According to Minnesota law, a wrongful death occurs when the liable party causes the death of a person by wrongful act or omission in situations where the victim could have filed a personal injury case if they had lived. Personal injury cases result in injured victims because of another party’s negligence. These injuries can range from minor to debilitating and still be considered personal injuries.
Personal injury cases are characterized by four key stipulations: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. In wrongful death cases, this looks like:
The defendant’s penalty in a wrongful death case is similar to other forms of personal injury litigation. They must pay court-ordered financial compensation, or damages, to pay to the deceased person’s survivors. If you choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit you may be able to recover compensation for both financial and emotional damages.
A person’s death can leave behind various financial losses. Before your loved one succumbed to their injuries, they may have incurred medical costs from medical treatment they needed following their accident. Family members can recover compensation for these medical expenses such as hospital stays, medications, and other treatments related to the injury.
You may also recover damages for your loved one’s funeral and burial expenses. Following the sudden loss of someone you love, the last thing you want to worry about is how you’re going to pay for the ceremony to honor their life. Memorial services, cremation, and burial may be compensated for the deceased’s family.
After suffering a loss, many people don’t think about their loss’s long-term impact on their finances. If the loved one who died contributed to the family’s income, the family has forever lost that much-needed financial support. Wages, benefits, and any potential earnings the deceased likely would have made could be recovered for their survivors.
No one should ever underestimate the emotional toll a death can take on their mental health. While financial damages are often at the forefront, the deceased’s survivors may also recover emotional damages. The most common emotional damages recovered in these cases are loss of consortium and mental anguish.
Loss of consortium encompasses losses related to the deceased’s love and companionship and is typically awarded in cases involving the deceased’s surviving immediate family, such as a spouse or minor children.
To recover damages, the survivors must prove that they have suffered losses. With the collection of evidence, eyewitness interviews, medical documents, police reports, and expert witness testimonies, an experienced wrongful death attorney can make this aspect of the legal procedure easier. Having an experienced wrongful death attorney by your side comes with many benefits:
Experienced attorneys have in-depth legal knowledge that allows them to negotiate a wrongful death case confidently. When you work with an experienced wrongful death attorney, they will be able to assist you in identifying all of the legal concerns that are relevant to your case to make it stronger.
Negotiating with insurance companies for compensation is an essential part of pursuing a wrongful death claim. To guarantee that you are fairly compensated, you will need an attorney who has experience dealing with insurance company lawyers.
An experienced wrongful death attorney has handled wrongful death cases before and knows how to leverage that experience to get you the most compensation possible. As a result, the attorney will ensure you receive the maximum payout you deserve.
Self-representation may jeopardize your ability to obtain the best potential settlement or outcome for your case. Let qualified attorneys do the heavy lifting for you.
Fighting for the compensation you deserve will help protect you from even more heartache down the road. Experiencing the death of a loved one is a tragedy, and the fallout of that experience should not be your burden to bear. Recovering damages with the assistance of an experienced wrongful death attorney can help ease your worries about handling the aftereffects of your loss.
Knutson + Casey is a firm that will work hard to get you the best possible outcome. Our skilled attorneys have resolved the cases of thousands of clients, making us confident in our ability to handle your case. Schedule a free consultation with a member of our firm by calling us at (507) 344-8888 or filling out our contact form.