Wrongful Death Lawyer
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Wrongful Death Lawyer
Personal Injury Attorneys Foxborough, MA
Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawyer
Reckless, criminal or negligent acts that result in the death of an injured person traumatize and sometimes shatters families. The abrupt, unexpected loss of a family member emotionally scars everyone in the family. The grief and inability to answer why is overwhelming. On top of the emotional loss, if the victim is a wage earner the consequences may be financially devastating. These cases require compassion, skill and patience, as well as an unbowed determination to fight for justice.
A wrongful death claim is a lawsuit to recover damages for a fatal injury that occurred as a result of a careless or negligent action. It can be the act of a person or a corporation. A wrongful death claim is a claim for the surviving family members. When a wrongful death happens, the entire family is injured. The damage to a spouse or parent is devastating, not only because of the loss of the person but also because it changes a family’s financial situation.
Who can bring a wrongful death case?
Massachusetts law requires the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate to file the wrongful death lawsuit. The Probate and Family Court of the county in which the deceased person lived will appoint the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate.
If there is a will, the Probate and Family Court will appoint whoever is named in the will to be personal representative. If there is no will, a judge will appoint someone to that role. Persons who can serve as personal representative include:
- A surviving spouse
- A biological or adopted child
- A parent
- A sibling or other close blood relatives
Why do you need an experienced Massachusetts wrongful death lawyer?
You may already have an estate lawyer who can handle setting up the estate through the Probate and Family Court. But the estate also needs an experienced personal injury lawyer, with experience handling wrongful death cases.
Wrongful death cases are typically more complicated and sophisticated than other injury claims, and they require careful strategy and planning. Your lawyer must plan delicately, using understanding and compassion to enlist the support of the various survivors involved. There are special statutes which apply, and detailed steps which must first be taken in probate court, not to mention specific time and filing deadlines which may differ.
Who will control the case? Who gets the money and how much? How should the case proceed and against whom? These are all tough issues to work out at the outset, and it is crucial that you choose the best representation.
A lawyer can help you navigate complicated insurance claims. Without an expert lawyer on your side, your claim could be denied or reduced for any number of reasons. Having an experienced wrongful death lawyer represent you means that it’s much more difficult for an insurance company to treat you unfairly. Additionally, it is often the case there is more than one bad actor who caused the wrongful death of a loved one. The surviving family members deserve an experienced personal injury lawyer who will investigate and pursue viable claims against every bad actor, who contributed to the wrongful death, rather than just pursuing a single claim against one bad actor which appears to be less labor and cost intensive. In short, the family needs an expert personal injury lawyer to exhaust every avenue of recovery, not a lawyer looking for a quick and easy insurance settlement.
Why should you hire Ballin & Associates, LLC?
Our team of experienced Massachusetts wrongful death lawyers can help you secure the compensation you deserve if a careless or negligent person or corporation caused the death of a loved one. We have employed the services of all sorts of experts, including medical experts, engineers, economists, accident reconstruction expert and others we find helpful to our mission of holding those accountable for the wrongful death of a family member.
Since 1981 99% of our injured clients have had successful outcomes. How did we do this? By treating our clients like they were our own family. We promise to devote our skill, drive and experience to every client with the compassion they deserve.
What will this cost you?
If our law firm accepts your case, you will pay nothing unless and until we collect compensation for you. Our fee will be a percentage of the amount that we collect on your behalf. We always have a signed written agreement with every client so you know exactly how our fee will be determined right from the start.
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Wrongful Death
Virtually any kind of accident can result in fatal injuries. Some of the most common causes of wrongful death cases our personal injury law firm has handled include the following:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- School bus accidents
- Death of a child
- Construction site and other workplace injuries
- Drunk drivers
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home
Under Massachusetts law, there are several types of damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death case. One principal claim involves the loss of the deceased family member’s society, emotional support, advice and counsel, love and affection, companionship, friendship and other similar losses. Each family member experiences these losses in a different manner, and it is critical an expert personal injury lawyer learns and understands the losses which each family member has experienced.
Often there is also an economic claim for the surviving family members who were economically impacted by the loss of someone who provided financial support. It is brought by the family. A loss of a deceased person’s income is one example. This is a claim for actual money lost by the family from future expected earnings and other income as a result of the person’s death.
Another claim which must be fully investigated and understood by an expert personal injury lawyer is for damages for the conscious pain and suffering endured by the person who died between the time of the incident, and the time the person dies. Sometimes this time period can be as short as a matter of minutes or even seconds; other times the pain and suffering can last for months or even years. The conscious pain and suffering claim is brought by the estate of the deceased person, for the benefit of the estate. Any recovery by the estate will then be distributed to the heirs of the person who died in accordance with Massachusetts law.
Finally, when a spouse has been the victim of a wrongful death, there is often a claim by the surviving spouse for loss of consortium suffered during the period between the incident and the passing of the deceased spouse. This can be anywhere from hours to years prior to the deceased spouse passing as a result of the incident. The surviving spouse is entitled to be compensated for all the suffering they experience as a result of the physical injury to the injured spouse prior to their passing.
Our wrongful death lawyers have handled cases involving accidents of all kinds, from Cape Cod to the Berkshires, and every place in between.
All lawsuits for wrongful death caused by most types of accidents must be filed in court within three years of the date of the accident. However, it is always best to get an experienced wrongful death lawyer involved in your case as soon as possible after any accident that results in a wrongful death. Sometimes important evidence can be lost if an investigation of the accident is delayed. While the family is grieving the insurance companies involved are already busy at work investigating the accident and collecting evidence to fight off future wrongful death claims made by the family. The earlier an expert personal injury lawyer is hired, the better the chance to located critical evidence such as surveillance video and important eyewitnesses.
If you have a family member involved in a wrongful death case, please contact our experienced personal injury attorney immediately at 508-543-3700. Time is very important with wrongful death cases
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