Top Fort Payne, AL Wrongful Death Lawyers Near You

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What Happens if a Loved One Dies in an Accident?

When someone dies in a car accident, the family members may be left without the love and support of the deceased person. When the accident was caused by negligence, medical malpractice, or some other wrongful act, it can be even more painful for the family. However, with a wrongful death lawsuit, the family members may be able to hold the responsible party accountable in a legal action to pay the medical bills, loss of financial support, and funeral expenses.

Wrongful Death Cases

When someone causes death by a wrongful action and that action would have provided for a personal injury claim if the deceased person would have survived, the person is still liable for damages. Wrongful death statutes were developed to allow the surviving family members of a decedent killed in a fatal accident to recover financial compensation for losses to the family. The deceased person cannot file the lawsuit. Instead, their personal representative, a family member, or their estate can file the lawsuit. For the same types of cases that would be handled by a personal injury attorney, the family can turn to a wrongful death attorney after a fatal injury accident.

What Are Common Causes of Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death suits can involve any type of personal injury case, including motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, workplace accidents, medical malpractice, pedestrian accidents, and defective product injuries. If you are not sure whether the death of a loved one allows for a wrongful death claim, you can talk to a wrongful death legal team to understand your legal options.

Who Can Get Wrongful Death Compensation?

The beneficiaries of the deceased can generally get wrongful death damages after a wrongful death settlement. The beneficiaries of an estate may depend on the will or intestacy laws. In general, the next of kin can recover an amount of money for their losses, including children, a surviving spouse, or a domestic partner. Damages in a wrongful death case may include loss of companionship, medical expenses, burial costs, and other losses caused by the death. In some situations, punitive damages may also be available if the responsible party acted intentionally in causing the death.

How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Case?

There is limited time to file a wrongful death claim under the wrongful death law statute of limitations. Generally, the clock begins to run from the time the person dies. If you file your wrongful death claim even one day late, your case may be dismissed. It can be difficult to think about a lawsuit during this difficult time. However, it is important to talk to an accident attorney as soon as possible to make sure your claim is filed in time.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Alabama?

Most wrongful death and personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency basis. This means that they will only get paid after you win your case or get a settlement. A contingency fee is generally a percentage of the amount recovered, in addition to costs and expenses. Make sure you understand the costs of hiring a law firm at your initial consultation or case review.

Top Questions to Ask When Hiring an Attorney

• How many years have you been practicing law? How long have you practiced law in the local area?
• How many cases similar to mine have you handled in the past?
• What is the likely outcome for my case?

In legal practice, experience matters. An experienced attorney will likely have handled issues similar to yours many, many times. Therefore, after listening to your situation, the attorney should have a reasonable idea of the time line for a case like yours and the likely resolution.

Top Questions to Ask a Lawyer

• What is the usual process to resolve my case? How long will it take to resolve this?
• What are likely outcomes of a case like mine? What should I expect?

An experienced lawyer should be able to communicate a basic “road map” on how to proceed. The lawyer should be able to walk you through the anticipated process, key considerations, and potential pitfalls to avoid. Once you’ve laid out the facts of your situation to the lawyer, he/she should be able to frame expectations and likely scenarios to help you understand your legal issue.

Types of legal fees:

Bill by the hour: Many attorneys bill by the hour. How much an attorney bills you per hour will vary based on a number of factors. For instance, an attorney’s hourly fee may fluctuate based on whether that hour is spent representing you in court or doing research on your case. Attorneys in one practice area may bill you more than attorneys in a different practice area.

Contingent fee: Some lawyers will accept payment via contingent fee. In this arrangement, the lawyer receives a percentage of the total monetary recovery if you win your lawsuit. In sum, the lawyer only gets paid if you win. Contingent fee agreements are limited to specific practice areas in civil law.

Flat fee: For “routine” legal work where the attorney generally knows the amount of time and resources necessary to complete the task, he/she may be willing to bill you a flat fee for services performed.

Common legal terms explained

Pro se – This Latin term refers to representing yourself in court instead of hiring professional legal counsel. Pro se representation can occur in either criminal or civil cases.

Statute – Refers to a law created by a legislative body. For example, the laws enacted by Congress are statutes.

Subject matter jurisdiction – Requirement that a particular court have authority to hear the claim based on the specific type of issue brought to the court. For example, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court only has subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy filings, therefore it does not have the authority to render binding judgment over other types of cases, such as divorce.