Wrongful death cases arise from tragedy. Few things compare to the pain of losing someone you love because of another person’s negligent or harmful behavior. The Middletown wrongful death attorneys at The Flood Law Firm understand your distress and that you may not know where to turn at this difficult crossroads.
Your ordeal should have never happened, and your loved one should still be with you. While our efforts cannot bring your loved one back, we can hold the at-fault party accountable for what they cost you and seek the financial security you deserve.
Contact us online or call us for your free consultation. While compensation and legal matters are likely the last things on your mind, you should act soon so you don’t lose your rights to recovery. Our attorneys can handle the legal red tape and fight for accountability for you. Let us worry about your case so you can focus on your family.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases
In Connecticut, a wrongful death claim is effectively a personal injury suit brought on behalf of someone who died from their injuries.
So, the same things that lead to injury claims can also give rise to wrongful death claims, including:
- Car and truck accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Product liability
- Workplace accidents
- Toxic torts, including exposure to chemicals
- Unsafe premises conditions, like rickety stairs or weak floors
- Crimes, including murder or manslaughter
Sometimes, these claims involve multiple negligent parties. For example, a negligent driver might cause a car accident exacerbated by a malfunctioning airbag. In this case, both the motorist and the company that manufactured the faulty airbag may be liable.
Wrongful death is a broad umbrella that encompasses many types of civil actions. If your loved one died from someone else’s intentional or negligent conduct, you could have a claim against them.
Compensation for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Compensation from a Middletown wrongful death lawsuit depends on the losses and who survives a decedent.
You could recover compensation in the form of damages for:
- Your loved one’s final medical bills
- Your loved one’s lost income
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of companionship and emotional support
- Pain and suffering endured by your loved one
One unique aspect of Connecticut law is that it allows litigants to recover double or triple damages for cases arising from particularly egregious traffic violations. If you lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, the Middletown wrongful death attorneys with The Flood Law Firm can review your case to see if you qualify for these additional damages.
How Does a Middleton Wrongful Death Case Work?
To win a wrongful death case, your lawyer must show that the defendant’s intentional or negligent conduct directly led to your loved one’s passing. Your case will likely start as an insurance claim. Your attorney will negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance provider to secure a fair settlement. If the company won’t negotiate in good faith or adequately compensate you for what your loved one suffered, your attorney can take them to court to demand accountability.
Who Can Sue
The decedent’s estate is the only party in Connecticut that can bring a wrongful death claim. It acts on behalf of the decedent, not necessarily the family members. However, the lawsuit often benefits family members by proxy.
Survivors file the decedent’s will in court to create the estate, which then files the claim. The estate’s executor or administrator manages the claim.
Do not panic if your loved one passed away without a valid will. You still have options. An attorney will help you file documents to create an intestate estate—a legal term for an estate for someone who died without a will. The court will appoint an administrator, who is usually a spouse or other close relative of the decedent.
Statute of Limitations
Remember, all of these steps require time. It can take several months to create an estate and start negotiating with the defendant. Survivors have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death suit. While certain issues can effectively pause this deadline, you cannot file your suit more than five years after your loved one’s passing.
There is a major exception to this rule which applies to criminal acts. If your loved one died due to murder or manslaughter, you can file a lawsuit anytime after a court issues a verdict of either guilty or not-guilty because of a mental disease.
While it can be difficult to consider these possibilities while grieving, it is a good idea to speak with a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible. Even if you aren’t confident if there is a claim, you should still consult on these matters.
Who Receives the Money
After the court creates your loved one’s estate, the administrator will open bank accounts for it. Proceeds from the wrongful death lawsuit will deposit into those accounts.
Once you receive compensation, you take the needed steps to close the estate. You will pay any bills owed by the estate (usually the decedent’s final medical bills and funeral costs) and propose a distribution of the remaining proceeds. This money will either distribute as indicated in a will or follow intestate statutes.
If your loved one didn’t have a will, their spouse and children would receive most of the proceeds. For unmarried decedents, proceeds distribute to children or parents. From there, the law looks to additional family members to receive the money. That can include siblings or other next of kin.
How Long Does a Wrongful Death Case Last?
Like many injury claims, the time required for a wrongful death case depends on the facts of the specific case. If another party’s liability is clear, then the case may settle quickly, in as little as a few months.
But most defendants, even those clearly at fault, will attempt to dispute or limit their liability as much as possible. They may argue your loved one did something to contribute to their death or find another party at fault. For example, if a car accident would generally not have been deadly except for a safety equipment failure, a driver or their insurer may attempt to shift blame entirely onto the equipment’s manufacturer.
Other cases may be less straightforward. Accidents with few witnesses may take a while to investigate. Medical malpractice claims are notoriously detail-oriented and time-consuming. Complicated claims may necessitate lawsuits, which can add time to the proceedings. Working with an experienced attorney can streamline this process.
How Can a Middleton Wrongful Death Attorney Help?
Legal claims of any type are nearly impossible to manage when grieving a loved one’s death. If you lose a companion, you are likely fighting to keep it together for yourself and your children. All the while, you must handle death certificates, final medical bills, and other complexities that arise with an unsuspected death.
A wrongful death lawyer isn’t a mere advocate in these situations. They are also a partner. Your attorney can handle many of the intrusive matters arising in these cases. You likely won’t feel up to talking to insurance companies or collecting medical records to build a claim. But at The Flood Law Firm, our attorneys can handle these tasks and insulate you from the more demanding elements of a legal claim.
Our services also go beyond the resources available to laypeople.
As your wrongful death attorney, we can:
- Investigate the matter and confirm the cause of death.
- Find liable parties, including ones who take a background role, such as hospital or nursing staff in a medical malpractice case.
- Find all possible sources of compensation, including insurance policies.
- Answer your questions and design a legal strategy tailored to your case.
- Answer inquiries and correspondence from insurance companies.
- Negotiate with insurers and advocate on your behalf.
- Hire experts to assess and strengthen your claim.
- File all necessary documents so that your lawsuit proceeds promptly.
- Calculate all current and future costs to confirm that a settlement offer is fair.
- Represent you in the trial if the liable parties will not offer a fair settlement.
The reason to hire a lawyer is so that you have an experienced representative to handle your case for you. Managing any legal matter yourself is burdensome, but that is especially true if you are grieving the loss of someone you love.
The Middletown wrongful death lawyers with The Flood Law Firm have experience with wrongful death claims arising from a wide range of incidents, and we are ready to take on big insurance companies in pursuit of the compensation you need.
Why Choose The Flood Law Firm
The Flood Law Firm differs from other personal injury and wrongful death law firms. We offer negotiation skills, trial experience, and compassion, like many other firms in this practice area. But we provide additional values that help your claim’s success.
Our attorneys offer:
- Understanding. We know that things are difficult. Your missing loved one likely provided financial and emotional support. We know the struggle and hurt of your loss, and we work to alleviate that as much as possible.
- Experience. Our firm has dedicated itself to accident victims and their survivors since our founding in 2012. We recruit the best and find attorneys and staff who can navigate the messy world of insurance claims.
- Strong success record. We have recovered many six- and seven-figure settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients. Potential defendants know of our record and often don’t want to challenge it. They are eager to offer fair settlements to avoid seeing us in court.
- Negotiation skills—We don’t want to make this ordeal last longer than needed. Our court record often encourages insurers to settle early, but we’re ready to fight for you in a trial if they don’t cooperate.
- Reputation with our peers. Satisfied clients and fearful insurance companies are not the only ones who respect our abilities. Many other attorneys refer us cases they can’t handle themselves.
Not all law firms are the same. We set ourselves apart from the crowd by knowing what is at stake for our clients and fighting hard on their behalf.
Fighting the Insurance Company
Many people with wrongful death claims find themselves contacted by insurance companies eager to settle their claims. If you get a call from an insurance adjuster offering you sympathy and a settlement, remember that they are not your friend. As nice as they might seem, their responsibility is to their employer—and their employer’s responsibility is to its shareholders.
Insurance companies want to protect their profits and their attractiveness to investors by limiting what they pay out to accident victims. Sometimes, this means denying valid claims and contesting liability. Other times it means offering lowball settlements and implying that is their best offer. Don’t fall for these tricks.
At The Flood Law Firm, we know insurance companies are a necessary evil and expect them to fight claims, especially large ones. It is unrealistic to expect anything else, even when the facts and circumstances of a case are clear. But we want you to know that you do not have to face a recalcitrant insurance company alone. Working with The Flood Law Firm can make a difference in your case and ease your grieving process by reducing your burdens.
Contact a Middletown Wrongful Death Attorney Today
The loss of a loved one is a tragedy under any circumstances. But when someone else’s careless, reckless, or otherwise wrongful behavior is to blame, that tragedy becomes especially acute. You and your family have suffered enough already. You should not have to bear the financial burden of a loss someone else caused you. Reach out to a Middletown personal injury lawyer.
The Flood Law Firm stands ready to help you demand the money you deserve during this difficult time. Contact us online or call us today at (860) 346-2695 to consult our Middletown wrongful death attorneys. We believe cost should not impede securing justice. That’s why we make all of consultations free, and we don’t collect fees unless we win.
THE FLOOD LAW FIRM - MIDDLETOWN OFFICE
190 Washington St
Middletown, CT 06457
P: 860-346-2695
