Fayetteville Wrongful Death Attorney

Have You Lost a Loved One due to Somebody Else's Negligence and are Considering Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Fayetteville?

If you’ve dealt with the horrific loss of a loved one from a workplace-related accident, you’re left with countless questions: why did it happen? Who’s at fault? Should you pursue legal action? Should you meet with an experienced Fayetteville wrongful death attorney?

For two decades, Michael Grossman and his team of lawyers have been committed to helping people like yourself after losing loved ones. We are familiar with tragedies like these and can help you gain answers to questions you’re asking. When you lose someone close because of someone else’s negligence, most have no idea what their legal options are. Our purpose with this article is to help educate you about what options are there for filing a wrongful death civil suit, the challenges that await and how to get the proper legal representation.

Consider this an informational article and not a substitute for a highly qualified Fayetteville wrongful death attorney that is familiar with factors surrounding your situation.

APPOINTING A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE

In Arkansas, family members of the individual that has been killed must move swiftly because state law says an individual representing the deceased’s estate must be named in order for a wrongful death lawsuit to be carried out. This person is then responsible for the wrongful death claim, which is for all those family members that have been effected by the loved one’s sudden passing. This may help the court, but you should know the family representative is in for a challenge. The burden should be on a veteran attorney who’s dealt with countless wrongful death suits and knows all the complications associated with it. Since the Arkansas personal representative requirement applies here, families that are effected and wanting to seek damages must get an attorney to act as the family representative. Our lawyers know you have suffered a tremendous loss, and any legal matters are the last thing on your mind. You can’t waste time, though, because a representative must be named before you can take action.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT IN FAYETTEVILLE?

A Fayetteville wrongful death lawsuit achieves three things:

• Establishing accountability for the person or parties who caused someone’s death.
• Establishing financial incentives so changes can be made and further loss of life can be prevented in the future.
• Assisting the grieving family as they deal with the financial burden they’re experiencing from the loved one’s death.

Obviously no financial amount can be stated to measure the loss of the loved one and their place in your life. At the same time, you and your family members have been dealt a serious financial blow as well, especially if this person was the main income earner. There’s no way we can fix the emotional trauma you’re enduring, but we can assist with the financial problems following his or hear death. Our role is to assist with your finances, so you can concentrate on your emotional well-being and healing.

WHAT COMPENSATION ARE YOU ENTITLED TO IN A FAYETTEVILLE WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT?

In Arkansas, after the family representative of the estate files a lawsuit for those effected, and they get a positive outcome through a verdict or settle, then family members have to begin figuring out individual proceeds. Other states allow various family members who have suffered the loss of a loved one to file separate lawsuits against those held liable. Two forms of damages are options here for family members who are dealing with wrongfully killed victims: wrongful death damages and survival damages.

WRONGFUL DEATH DAMAGES

Wrongful death damages are given to help loved ones – from spouses to parents and brothers/sisters – of the deceased for any emotional or financial trauma incurred from losing the family member. These can also cover specific factors such as:

• Medical bills the plaintiff had prior to their death.
• Funeral expenses.
• Loss of wages that the loved one provided before dying.
• Mental and emotional pain endured by other family members since the death.
• That individual’s loss and specific role in the family structure.

SURVIVAL DAMAGES

On the other hand, survival damages are awarded as a means to help the closest living relative of the deceased for the lawsuit the deceased could have filed if they had just been hurt and not killed from the accident. When survival damages happen, the closest living relative becomes like a fill-in for the loved one who died, and can pursue damages that that loved one can’t get now obviously. The line of those eligible to request survival damages begins with spouses, then children, parents, then brothers/sisters. Whoever asks for survival damages is also eligible to get wrongful death damages. This individual can get survival damages to help with such things as:

• Medical bills the victim had prior to death.
• Damage to property.
• Lost wages the victim would have endured if they had just been injured, not killed, and left recovering in a hospital.
• Future income potential that could have been lost as a result of long-term disabilities.
• Physical pain from the accident.
• Mental and emotional trauma sustained not just from the injury but also linked to rehab.
• Potential disfigurement.

Different approaches are needed when considering wrongful death damages or survival damages. The specific, personal losses for each family member must be compiled by the family representative before the claim is submitted and that is a laborious process. This is better suited for a savvy Fayetteville wrongful death attorney that can handle all the necessary details that will be involved in providing families with fair and proper compensation. These claims are complex enough, and that doesn’t even factor in the tactics that will be used by the opposing attorney. Unless you’ve developed extensive knowledge and familiarity about the steps in a wrongful death lawsuit in Arkansas, individuals without any legal pedigree won’t be able to handle duties as the personal representative of the estate for someone that’s died tragically. Unfortunately, our lawyers have dealt with countless situations in the past two decades involving wrongful death suits and how people lost or were given far below adequate compensation when those chose to represent themselves.

We urge you not to follow that same path and it would be ludicrous to let those responsible for your loved one’s death to not be held accountable. Fayetteville wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman and his team of attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have developed 20 years of experience assisting families in getting the proper benefits. We know how to help families’ rights remain intact and counter any roadblocks thrown at us by defense attorneys. We seek to not let a wrongful death just happen without any recourse. As attorneys, we take our jobs seriously and we want to also make sure those companies responsible for any death can make changes to prevent any future loss of life.

HOW TO DETERMINE IF A LOVED ONE’S DEATH WARRANTS A LEGITIMATE WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT?

If you aren’t an attorney, understanding an accidental wrongful death lawsuit is a detailed and complicated task. Often, a victim’s loved ones may not know quickly if they can pursue damages successfully. In certain examples, loved ones often assume their only option is a civil suit when criminal charges have been brought against the defendant. That’s inaccurate. Wrongful death lawsuits are civil already, so no criminal action is necessary for a claim to be considered. Let’s take an example and say a driver is flying down a busy road, bobbing and weaving through traffic, then t-bones an SUV, sends it flipping off the highway and killing that driver. The death was an accident, so the driver won’t be charged with vehicular homicide, but family members of the deceased can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit because the other driver was reckless – a kind of standard negligence.

Others mistakenly think sometimes that a wrongful death civil suit isn’t an option for an individual that’s already dealing with criminal charges. Again, that’s untrue, and the two can be done simultaneously. Let’s say the reckless driver mentioned in the above situation was drunk when the wreck happened. Intoxication manslaughter then becomes a potential charge that could be filed against the person responsible. The family of the loved one who was lost still has option of a wrongful death suit, no matter what the court rules on the criminal matters. Keep in mind that Ron Goldman’s parents were successful in a wrongful death lawsuit against O.J. Simpson after he was found not guilty for the death of their son.

A plaintiff must complete four requirements in order to successfully file a wrongful death lawsuit in this state:

• The accident that led to the victim’s death was a partial, or total, result of the defendant’s choices or inaction.
• The defendant’s choices can be interpreted as a type of negligence.
• They must be family members who are aiming to get wrongful death damages or survival damages.
• Financial harm has been inflicted due to the victim’s death.

LIMITS THAT ARE SOMETIMES PLACED ON THE AMOUNT OF RECOVERABLE COMPENSATION AND DIFFERENT STANDARDS OF PROOF THAT MUST BE MET

The overall compensation that plaintiffs can obtain have limits and the standards of proof that are involved can fluctuate in different cases. In Arkansas, for example, there is a cap on the total damages that can be recovered and the standard of proof is bigger for medical malpractice lawsuits compared to other wrongful death cases. This is why many attorneys won’t handle medical malpractice suits.

Another thing that’s also related is that wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the workplace will face restrictions resulting from workers’ compensation. Most think that workers’ compensation laws are there for the employers’ protection against lawsuits and not to help workers if they’ve been hurt on the job. Employers with workers’ compensation can’t be named in wrongful death lawsuits resulting from standard negligence. Just like with medical malpractice insurance, workers’ compensation restricts the amount that grieving families can obtain and it ends up being far below what should be considered. When this happens, our lawyers can assist the hurting family members in discovering third parties besides the employer who were a factor in the victim’s tragic death, and we know how to sidestep workmans’ compensation so that we can get damages from the third parties. You also need to know a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against an employer that acts with gross negligence and contributes to an employee’s death, even if workers’ comp insurance is present. The standard of proof for gross negligence is great, but our attorneys know what steps to take and how to handle witnesses so that standard is reached.

As you process this, you probably are seeing that wrongful death suits are much more complicated than they look on the surfaces, and this doesn’t even factor in defense attorneys and insurance adjusters. To come out victorious with a wrongful death claim in Arkansas, you must make sure the personal representative in the loved one’s estate is knowledgeable with these matters. Under law, you may pursue this yourself, but the truth is you will fail miserably. Because wrongful death lawsuits are so complex, your family needs to talk with an experienced Fayetteville wrongful death attorney who can make sure those liable are held accountable and also provide family members with a proper compensation. Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices will consider any options to guard your legal rights while making sure those who were negligent in your loved one’s death are held accountable.

CHALLENGES THAT COULD AWAIT

To get the damages they deserve, plaintiffs must battle against shrewd insurance adjusters and veteran defense attorneys. When many family members are pursuing wrongful death and survival damages, the overall sum of money could become huge. To counter that, an insurance company will form its own army in an attempt to deny the claim. If the victim’s choices made them 50 percent or more responsible for their own death, then state law says that the family of the victim can’t seek damages. That’s why adjusters and defense attorneys will take some awful approaches to attempt and paint a picture that it was your loved one and their ignorance that caused their own death. Attorneys will rely on their own experts who will re-create an accident in hopes of showing it was the victim’s negligence that led to the unfortunate outcome. Insurance companies also have a team of highly aggressive individuals they’ll use when wrongful death lawsuits unfold. Defense lawyers will also quickly pounce and begin investigating when accidents are reported. Discovering the truth and gathering facts are secondary behind making sure they find a way to prove it was the victim who was at fault and caused their own death. Most times, defense attorneys wrap up their investigation and are ready for trial even before a victim’s family has named a personal representative or hired legal representation.

The defense knows that the time element is critical, since evidence can change dramatically after a fatal accident, especially at an intersection or construction site. The physical makeup of the location will change, documents can be destroyed, videos can be altered and witnesses can vanish or change their accounts. If you don’t act quickly, that evidence can disappear before an attorney can begin conducting their own investigation. Grossman Law Offices begin an intense and proper investigation the moment we’re hired. You will not be charged out-of-pocket expenses while we examine every detail and do our investigation. We’ll find witnesses, examine police reports, locate vehicles and equipment involved in accidents, try and spot any video or photographic evidence and then factor in forensic evidence as well. Based on years of experience with wrongful death cases, we know that a great case on only comes when evidence is collected in an urgent, timely fashion.

FAYETTEVILLE WRONGFUL DEATH ATTORNEY MICHAEL GROSSMAN AND HIS ASSOCIATES CAN HELP PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS

In the past 20 years, the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have aided loved ones who are grieving the loss of a loved one by acquiring proper financial assistance, as well as seeking justice for those liable. Your family is enduring enough and we want to take any pressure off you that you could faced from the legal system.

Our Fayetteville wrongful death attorneys can let you devote time to emotional recovery from this incident while we take care of your cases. We’re by no means rookies, and have successfully litigated thousands of cases for our clients. We’ve encountered every insurance company around, talked with thousands of witnesses and been around tons of accident scenes. Insurance companies and defense attorneys are familiar with our firm and prefer pretrial settlements instead of dealing with us in court. Once they get settlements, our clients can then turn to rebuilding their lives now that their loved one is gone. If insurance companies or defense attorneys won’t settle, then we won’t hesitate to pursue a trial and will make sure you get what’s deserving. Call us toll-free at 1-855-249-0113 for a free consultation, and we’ll gladly answer any lingering questions and explain anything that may be difficult to understand. We’ll also find a way to help you just like with previous clients. Our professionals are here any time, day or night, waiting to assist.