When a family member dies because of somebody else’s negligence it can be heartbreaking. Such situations can be made much worse when the family member that has died is your household’s sole breadwinner as it often leaves those left behind in very bad financial situations. However, if negligence was the cause of your loved one’s death you will be pleased to know that you have legal recourse for compensation. Claims for compensation cannot be made independently however; you need a lawyer’s support. This post will tell you six things you need to know about the lawyers who specialise in wrongful death claims.
State Laws
One of the first things that you need to know is that from state to state, personal injury and wrongful death law varies. A team of wrongful death lawyers in Philadelphia aren’t necessarily going to follow the same rules and regulations as a team in Los Angeles. One of the main differences in state law is the statute of limitations. Some states give the families of deceased individuals a year or two to make a claim for compensation against the negligent person while others give them three or four. If you are interested in making a claim against somebody then the first thing you need to do is find out what your state’s rules are. A lawyer will be able to help you with this as they are experts in state personal injury and wrongful death regulations.
Online Reviews
You might not know this but a lawyer’s reviews can tell you a lot about them. Generally, customers and clients only ever review services if they have had negative experiences but because lawyers work directly with their clients they tend to get reviews from every single person they work with, good and bad. If you are planning on hiring a lawyer then for this reason you need to find one that has a good online reputation and lots of positive reviews. Make sure that when you are reading reviews you prioritise ones on Google and Trust Pilot as on-site reviews are nearly always biased.
Contingency Bases
You will be pleased to know that the vast majority of wrongful death lawyers offer clients contingency plans. If you are unfamiliar with the term ‘contingency plan’ then it refers to an arrangement whereby a lawyer’s client only pays them upon completion. In other words, it is a no-win-no-fee arrangement where clients are only required to pay for the legal support that they have received once they have been awarded compensation. If you are on a very tight budget then a contingency plan will ensure that you get the compensation you need without having to pay thousands of your own money for legal representation.
Personal Injury
In addition to offering wrongful death services many also offer personal injury ones. If you are somebody who has been hurt or injured by another person’s negligence (or if you were hurt alongside your loved one who was killed) then you can launch your own claim and receive financial compensation from the guilty person’s insurance company. Personal injury lawyers have very strict requirements so before you make a claim make sure you find out what your chosen’s lawyers claim requirements are. Personal injury claims are easy to make as long as you meet the lawyer’s criteria.
Length of Claims
One of the most irritating things about personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits is they take forever to pay out. If you are making a claim on your deceased loved one’s behalf then it could take a year or more before you see any money. There are a lot of different things that go into these claims and a lot of people are involved. If you are making one then you need to be patient and understanding of the fact that your lawyer has other cases and cannot devote all of their time to yours. In the meantime, you might want to apply for disability benefits to help you earn money while you cope with your grief.
Aggressive Defence
One of the things that makes wrongful death lawyers so great to work with is that they nearly always fight for their client’s rights to compensation aggressively. After you have had a loved one that has been killed by somebody else’s carelessness you will likely feel too weak to fight for yourself. Because of the pain and grief their clients face, wrongful death lawyers fight extremely hard and make sure that their clients get the support and representation they need.
Wrongful death lawyers are a category of personal injury lawyers that specialises in making claims for compensation on behalf of the family members of a person who has been killed by another’s negligence. If you have lost a loved one due to carelessness then making a claim for compensation is an incredibly good idea.