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Wrongful Death
FAQs
When an
individual dies as the result of an accident,
defective product, medical malpractice, or a
negligent act, certain survivors may file a
wrongful death claim against the responsible
party. The objective of a wrongful death claim
is to recover compensation for the deceased's
medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, lost
wages, pain and suffering and loss of their
companionship. Brett & Coats PLLC has been
helping Washington State and Canadian families
win substantial settlements and awards for more
than 33 years.
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How
do I successfully pursue Wrongful Death claim?
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Who can file a wrongful death
suit?
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What types of money damages can
I recover?
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How much is my wrongful death
claim worth?
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What should I do immediately to
help preserve my claim?
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How should I select a lawyer to
represent me?
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How much will it cost to hire a
lawyer?
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How does the insurance claim
process work?
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What can I do if the person who
caused the injury is uninsured?
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How can I deal with the
immediate bills?
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How long do I have to file a
claim?
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What types of money damages
are allowed for wrongful death?
1.
How do I successfully pursue Wrongful Death
claim?
In legal terms,
wrongful death refers to a fatality that occurs
because of the negligence or misdeeds of another
person, corporation or entity. Wrongful death is
part of the "personal injury" tort
family. Personal injury torts hold a person or
entity (defendant) accountable for causing
damages to another person (plaintiff). If your
loved one died because of another's fault, you
must prove prove that the four critical
components of negligence exist in your claim:
- the defendant
had a duty to the deceased,
- the defendant
failed in that duty (breach of duty),
- that the
fatality was caused by the defendant's
breach of duty, and
- that the
survivors are entitled to damages as a
result of the loss of their loved one.
A qualified
lawyer will immediately obtain all records,
witness statements and associated evidence to
support your wrongful death claim. In more
complicated cases, your attorney may hire
licensed engineers to reconstruct the collision,
or civil engineers to evaluate the effect of the
highway design, or mechanical engineers to
evaluate any equipment malfunction. Brett & Coats PLLC has the resources, experience and
understanding to effectively represent you in
your wrongful death claim.
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2.
Who can file a wrongful death suit?
A wrongful death
claim against the negligent party is generally
initiated by or on behalf of the spouse,
children or family of the decedent; however in
some unique situations, someone other than the
deceased's immediate family may be entitled to
recover damages if they relied upon the deceased
for support.
3.
What types of money damages can I recover?
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Medical
Expenses - All costs incurred for health
care should be repaid to you including
ambulance bills, hospital bills and charges
for surgical, medical or chiropractic care.
Depending upon the type of insurance
coverage you or the other party purchased,
you may be entitled to payment of these
bills regardless of who caused the accident.
For more information on Medical
Expenses to date click here.
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Funeral
Expenses - You are entitled to a sum of
money that will enable you to pay for your
loved one's internment.
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Lost
Future Earning Capacity - The deceased
person's estate is entitled to a sum of
money to compensate for the lost capacity to
earn income in the future. For
more information on Lost Future Earning
Capacity click here.
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General
Damages for Pain and Suffering - The
claimant may be entitled to be compensated
in dollars for the pain and suffering that
the deceased person. An experienced attorney
can help to assess the dollar amount of the
loss based on their experience in other
similar wrongful death cases as well as
their understanding of the local justice
system. Your Brett & Coats PLLC
attorney will be invaluable in working with
the insurance company and substantiating
your claim. For more
information on General Damages for Pain and
Suffering click here.
Additional
Information on Medical Expenses
A personal injury
victim is entitled to restitution for any
medical expenses incurred. These expenses will
be paid by the insurance company of the party at
fault. To acquire these sums, your attorney will
collect all of the deceased's medical records
from health care providers including bills. This
documentation is then provided to the insurance
company to prove that the expense was incurred
and that the treatment was required because of
the accident. Brett & Coats PLLC attorneys
and paralegals are trained handle the paper
process in a timely, proactive manner.
(Back to question 2)
Additional
Information on Lost Income
The estate of the
deceased is entitled to recover all the lost
income caused by the death including lost wages
from their job. Your lawyer will obtain the
deceased's complete written medical records from
all health care providers to confirm the
doctor's opinion regarding their medical
situation. Your attorney will also meet
regularly with doctors to review the records and
help them to address the specific requirements
imposed by the insurance companies.
(Back
to question 2)
Additional
Information on Future Lost Income
The decedent's
estate may be entitled to compensation for the
loss of future income or future loss of earning
capacity. Projecting the amount of future income
lost can be a simple or complicated process
depending on the deceased's type of employment.
While this is difficult, the Brett & Coats PLLC team is experienced in economic
reconstruction and projection.
The loss of
future income can have a significant impact on
the decedent's family. Talk with an experienced
legal professional at Brett & Coats PLLC
before you attempt to negotiate a settlement
with an insurance adjuster whose goal is to
minimize the insurance company's payout.
(Back to question 2)
Additional
Information on General Damages for Pain and
Suffering
The law is clear
regarding a survivor's right to recover money
damages for pain, suffering, disability and
disfigurement. However, it is more difficult to
estimate the amount of money required to
compensate a victim for their loss. This
difficulty is compounded by the need to prove
the calculation to an insurance company or a
court. While medical expenses or lost wages can
be substantiated through bills or pay stubs, how
is a value assigned to pain? How do we measure
what grief and loss is worth? To address this
sensitive and controversial issue, your attorney
will estimate the money value in a pain and
suffering claim by analyzing damage awards made
in similar cases. At Brett & Coats PLLC,
we have access to state, regional and national
publications, as well as computerized data banks
to identify similar cases and project a solid
estimate of the range of awards made for similar
losses. These comparisons help us to secure the
most fair settlement amount with the insurance
company. In situations where the insurance
company refuses to pay a fair settlement, our
attorneys have the skill to present real human
losses to a jury in a compelling way. Because
our experienced personal injury attorneys are
always prepared to take a claim to trial (and
the insurance companies know it), we can usually
obtain a favorable settlement that includes an
appropriate amount for general damages in an out
of court settlement.
(Back to question 2)
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4.
How much is my wrongful death claim worth?
There are two
ways to estimate the monetary settlement value
of a claim, and our attorneys recommend that
both be used to achieve success in a wrongful
death claim.
To find a total
claim value, add up the amounts you are entitled
to for property damage, medical expenses to
date, lost earnings to date, future lost
earnings, and general damages for pain and
suffering. Since damages such as general damages
for pain and suffering are difficult to
evaluate, the second method of assigning a
monetary settlement value is used. Your attorney
will review state, regional and national
publications and computerized databases to find
similar claims in similar situations and similar
liability patterns to develop a statistical
analysis of your claim's value.
If your loved one
has died because of someone else's reckless or
negligent behavior, you should not attempt to
estimate the value of your claim without
professional assistance. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we offer a free case evaluation to
determine the likelihood of a recovery and the
likely range of any recovery. Contact
us for your free case evaluation.
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5.
What should I do immediately to help preserve my
claim?
To support your
claim before you meet with an attorney, it is
important to preserve evidence and protect your
negotiating position. By documenting the
circumstances and injuries, you are
substantiating your claim and providing your
chosen attorney with a head start on your legal
strategy.
The first step in
preserving evidence is to obtain the name,
address, phone number and insurance information
from the party that caused the accident. Do not
attempt to interview witnesses to the accident.
Instead, record their names, addresses and phone
numbers so that if there is a later dispute you
will have objective bystanders to support your
version of events. Also, be sure to keep a daily
journal beginning with the date of the accident
to document all of your loved one's physical and
mental injuries, as well as your perspective of
the accident. Bring all of this to your lawyer
once you have selected one.
Next, preserve
your negotiating position. Do not sign anything
presented by the insurance adjuster. Do not give
a written or oral statement to an insurance
adjuster. Do not attempt to negotiate a
settlement with an insurance adjuster who works
to minimize payouts. As you are in the process
of preserving evidence and protecting your
negotiating position, you can also invest the
time to find a first-class personal injury
lawyer.
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6.
How should I select a lawyer to represent me?
When you select a
lawyer to represent you in a wrongful death
claim, consider three factors:
Does
this lawyer have a reputation for excellent
legal ability and high ethical standards? The
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory is a
twenty-four volume set listing almost all of the
lawyers in the United States and rating their
legal ability as A (very high to preeminent), B
(high to very high), C (fair to high) or no
rating. A rating of V is given for high-ethical
standards. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we are
proud of our Martindale Hubbell AV rating, the
highest available. The Martindale-Hubbell
directory is also available online at www.martindale.com.
But you don't have to rely solely on a
publication. You can ask people in our community
who have experienced the legal system, talk with
someone who works in the courthouse, or discuss
your situation with someone experienced in
personal injury accident claims. Ask a number of
people to see if any particular name keeps
coming up. Also, look at the Brett & Coats PLLC attorney
profiles to see that our firm's attorneys
are well qualified to handle your claim. For
example, Dean Brett has repeatedly been selected
as a "Superlawyer" by Washington
Law & Politics Magazine, and has been
selected as a Fellow of the American College of
Trial Lawyers. Dean Brett has served on the Board of
Governors of the Washington State Trial Lawyers
Association, the state-wide group dedicated to
fighting for victims of negligence.
Does
this lawyer have experience handling my
particular type of personal injury case? If you
have lost a loved one because of another party's
negligence, a divorce attorney or a lawyer who
works in estate planning cannot provide the best
representation. You need to hire an experienced
personal injury lawyer with the credentials to
effectively represent your interests. Relatively
few lawyers devote most of their practice to
representing individuals with claims for
personal injury or wrongful death. Before you
hire a lawyer, you should know how many times
the attorney has actually gone to court on a
personal injury claim. You should also know
whether that attorney has ever obtained a
verdict or settlement in a personal injury case
of over a million dollars, or over $100,000, or
even over $50,000. Don't allow the lawyer to
answer your questions with generalizations. Ask
for specific cases with specific results.
Remember, when you talk to a lawyer you are
interviewing him or her for a job working for
you. Look at their resume. You may also be
interested in looking at our results case
results.
Does
this attorney inspire trust and confidence? You
should hire a lawyer in whom you feel
comfortable placing your trust and confidence.
Remember, the lawyer is going to be employed by
you, to represent you and your deceased loved
one. You need someone easy to talk to, someone
who will explain and advise you on your
situation. The best way to determine your
comfort level is to personally meet the lawyer.
If you want to take things a step at a time,
talk to the lawyer on the phone and test your
comfort level prior to scheduling an
appointment. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we
offer a free case evaluation to help determine
the likelihood of a successful claim and the
likely range of any financial recovery. This is
an excellent opportunity to decide if you are
comfortable placing your trust and confidence in
a personal injury lawyer at Brett & Coats PLLC. Contact us
for your free case evaluation.
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7.
How much will it cost to hire a lawyer?
At Brett & Coats PLLC, our clients have a choice in how
they pay for legal services. We can charge on an
hourly basis or on a contingency fee.
If you choose to
hire us on an hourly basis, we will track the
time our lawyers and paralegals spend on your
case and bill you monthly. Our hourly rates
range from $225 for lead trial attorneys to $185
for associate trial lawyers and $80 for
paralegals. On hourly billings, there are two
basic rules: all fees and costs must be paid
monthly and our firm is paid regardless of
whether your claim is won or lost.
With a
contingency fee arrangement, we are paid
one-third of any recovery by settlement or
judgment. If there is no recovery, you owe us
nothing for our legal services. However, you
must pay your own costs, such as the charges
doctors make for providing records and reports,
out of the money you receive when the case is
settled.
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8.
How does the insurance claim process work?
Insurance
companies are in business to make a profit.
Generally, the insurance company's profit is the
difference between what it collects in premiums
and what it pays out in claims. Therefore, the
insurance adjuster's job is to settle your claim
for as little as possible to maximize the
company's profit. Your lawyer's job is to settle
your claim for its maximum value and we know how
to work with insurance companies.
Insurance
companies have developed a huge bureaucracy to
scrutinize, criticize, evaluate and ultimately
pay insurance claims. The insurance adjuster's
job is to identify false or fraudulent claims
and to refuse to pay undocumented claims. The
insurance adjuster is trying to build a file, to
critically evaluate your claim, and to pay as
little as possible to settle your claim as soon
as possible. Remember, the insurance adjuster
reports to a supervisor. If the adjuster has a
thin, small file on a claim that was settled for
$10,000, the supervisor is likely to say
"You paid too much. This file does not
support a $10,000 payment." Conversely, if
the adjuster settles a claim for $100,000 and
gives the supervisor a thick and well-documented
file that includes complete witness statements,
complete medical opinion letters, and
comprehensive records of all medical care, wage
losses, and other expenses, the supervisor is
more likely to say, "That's fine, the claim
was worth $100,000". Your attorney's role
is to help the insurance adjuster build a file
that supports a full and fair claim settlement.
Your lawyer's
goal should be to maximize your financial
recovery from your loss. Your attorney should
have a reputation for honest dealing; for a fair
but firm settlement posture; for refusing to
settle for a penny less than the claim is worth;
and for being prepared to take each claim to
trial to get a full and fair recovery, if
necessary.
There are
basically five steps the insurance adjuster must
take in handling a personal injury claim:
1.
Collecting Information
2. Setting Reserves
3. Evaluating Damages
4. Negotiating Settlement
5. Defending in Trial if Necessary
Collecting
Information. Since the adjuster must collect
information needed to understand your claim,
your lawyer should provide all the required
information to validate the claim to the
adjuster and their company. Sometimes insurance
adjusters are so busy looking for damaging
information about you or your claim that they
miss favorable information. Your attorney should
collect and highlight that favorable information
- witness statements, photographs of the
accident and your injury, opinion letters from
experts in medicine, and accident reconstruction
or economic loss. When your attorney presents
the claim to the adjuster, he is more likely to
understand the significance of your claim.
Setting
Reserves. When a claim comes in, the company
must set reserves, an accounting entry, to
assure government regulators that the company
has adequate money to pay the claim. If initial
reserves are set too low, when the time comes to
settle the claim, the adjuster will sometimes be
too limited in the amount of money he can offer
in settlement. Your attorney must get the
appropriate information to the adjuster as soon
as possible to assist the company in setting
high enough reserves that the ultimate
settlement can be for the full claim value.
Evaluating
Damages. Since the adjusters must evaluate the
claim value, your attorney should provide them
with all relevant information, including
comparable cases from state, regional and
national publications and computerized
databases, and our own evaluation of the claim's
value to assist the adjuster in coming to a full
and fair evaluation.
Negotiating
Settlement. There is an old saying, "A
lawyer who represents himself, has a fool for a
client." Likewise, a personal injury victim
who attempts to negotiate a settlement with a
professional insurance adjuster is likely to
recover far less than the claim's true value. Do
not attempt to negotiate a settlement of your
personal injury claim without professional
advice.
Defending
in Trial if Necessary. If a settlement cannot be
negotiated, the insurance company must defend
its position in court. To improve your chances
for compensation at trial, your attorney must
have a quality reputation, proven credentials, a
fair but firm settlement posture that refuses to
settle for less than a full claim value, and the
ability and resources to prepare for an
aggressive litigation of your claim.
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9.
What can I do if the person who caused the
injury is uninsured?
If you are
uncertain as to whether the party at fault for
the accident has sufficient insurance, contact a
lawyer immediately to help you gain this
critical information.
Brett & Coats PLLC attorneys have represented many
individuals who have been injured or killed by
an uninsured or underinsured party who cannot
pay a full and fair claim. While these cases can
be difficult, do not give-up until you
investigate other potential sources of
compensation for your injuries. Other
possibilities include underinsured motorists
coverage, the Crime Victim's Compensation Act,
and "joint and several" liability of
insured individuals whose negligence combined
with that of the uninsured party to cause your
injuries. Although a lawyer cannot guarantee
that he or she can find coverage and obtain a
recovery for you, an effective attorney is
obliged to explore all of the alternatives and
advise you of their availability in your
situation.
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10.
How can I deal with the immediate bills?
To ensure that
you continue to receive the highest quality
medical care and to protect your credit, it is
important to immediately pay bills. As a part of
our representation in your wrongful death claim,
Brett & Coats PLLC will manage payment of
your loved one's medical bills and funeral
arrangements. We will coordinate the paperwork
to obtain payment of those medical bills through
your own medical coverage; the insurance
coverage of any parties involved in the
accident; state and federal medical payment
programs; or by arranging with your health care
providers to hold collection until you receive
your settlement.
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11.
How long do I have to file a claim?
The statute of
limitations requires that a claim be filed
within a certain period of time after the
accident or you will forever lose the right to
do so. Depending on the circumstances, the
statute of limitations could be three years, two
years or less from the date of injury. Do not
delay in contacting a Brett & Coats PLLC
attorney. We offer a free case evaluation to
determine the likelihood of a recovery and the
likely range of any recovery. Contact
us today.
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12.
What types of money damages are allowed for
wrongful death?
Four interrelated
statutes govern calculation of recoverable
damages when a person dies as a result of
someone's reckless or negligent actions. While
none of the statutes can ever replace the
husband or wife or child who was lost, a
successful claim can help the survivors in many
ways. Your attorney will coordinate the criminal
prosecution of the party at fault and arrange
for grief counseling. Of course, our most
important form of support to grieving families
is securing monetary compensation for their
loss. Money cannot relieve the grief over the
loss of a loved one, but it can help to relieve
financial burdens.
If the person who
died was a minor (under 18) or a child on whom
one or both parents were dependent for support,
or a viable fetus, damages are defined to
include "loss of love and companionship of
the child and for injury to or destruction of
the parent-child relationship in such amount as,
under all the circumstances of the case, may be
just." This broad language has been
interpreted to include parental grief, mental
anguish and suffering. Significantly,
computation of damages is not limited to the
lost child's minority. In addition, medical,
hospital, medication and related expenses and
loss of services and support are recoverable.
A second statute
also allows damages to be recovered on behalf of
..."The wife, husband, child or
children" of the deceased. Adult decedents
who are single and without children do not
qualify here. But for decedents with a surviving
spouse or child, "the jury may give such
damages as, under all circumstances of the case,
may to them be just." Whether an adult who
dies has dependents dramatically affects
verdicts and settlements in death claims.
A third statute
allows recovery for decedents even if they were
unmarried without dependents; the recovery is to
their estate and includes the present value of
their future net earnings had they lived a
normal life expectancy. Usually proof of loss
must be made through the calculations of an
economist.
A fourth statute
is useful to help survivors who may not qualify
for help under other statutes. Care must be
taken to avoid duplication of claims made under
other statutes. The claim may be brought on
behalf of the husband or wife, children, and
under special circumstances, certain other
family members.
Developing a
successful legal strategy in a wrongful death
claim is best left in the hands of an
experienced attorney. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we offer a free case evaluation to
determine the likelihood of a recovery and the
likely range of any recovery. Contact
us for your free case evaluation.
The information
contained on this Website is offered as a
service to educate the public and encourage
accident victims to seek legal advice. The
following information is provided as a service
to help injured parties and should not be
considered as legal advice or applied to an
individual legal situation. For expert counsel
on your legal situation, consult with an
experienced Brett & Coats PLLC personal
injury attorney.
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