We extend our deepest condolences if someone you love died due to negligence. Our wrongful death lawyers in Columbus are here to provide compassionate legal support and guidance during this difficult time.
With the help of a qualified attorney, you can obtain justice for your loved one and recover the settlement or award your family needs.
At our law firm, we know how devastating it is to lose someone close to you. That’s why we have spent the past 20+ years helping families obtain wrongful death damages. Call the Columbus personal injury lawyers of John Foy & Associates for a free consultation.
Do I Need a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
Losing a loved one is devastating, and pursuing a wrongful death claim can feel overwhelming. These cases are more complex than standard injury claims, often requiring experienced legal guidance to handle the legal and financial challenges.
Wrongful Death Claims Are Complex
- No Primary Witness: The deceased cannot tell their story, making it harder to prove liability or detail their pain and suffering.
- Expert Witnesses Are Essential: Professionals may be needed to:
- Reconstruct the accident and explain how it occurred
- Provide evidence of the deceased’s physical and emotional suffering
- Future Earnings Are Difficult to Calculate: Estimating lost income, benefits, and other financial contributions requires complex formulas. Insurance companies often undervalue these damages.
How a Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Help
- Fight for Fair Compensation: Our legal team ensures the insurance company doesn’t lowball your claim. We negotiate aggressively to secure the financial support you deserve.
- Prepare for Trial: Our Columbus wrongful death attorneys prepare every case for the possibility of going to court, showing insurers we are serious about getting justice.
- Handle the Legal Burden: While you focus on grieving and healing, we manage every legal detail to hold the responsible party accountable.
Negligence in a Wrongful Death Case
In a wrongful death case, negligence occurs when someone fails to act as carefully as a reasonable person would in the same situation. This failure can lead to devastating consequences, including the loss of a loved one.
Here’s how negligence applies in these cases:
Legal Duty of Care
- Individuals: We all have a legal duty to behave responsibly to prevent harm to others. For example:
- Drivers must obey traffic laws and avoid reckless behaviors like drinking and driving.
- Corporations and Businesses: Companies are required to act reasonably to ensure safety, such as:
- Maintaining safe premises for customers and employees
- Ensuring products are manufactured without defects
- Complying with workplace safety regulations to prevent accidents
When Negligence Leads to Wrongful Death
- Lack of Care: When individuals or businesses fail to uphold their duty of care, accidental death can occur.
- Compensation for Families: Surviving family members have the right to file a wrongful death claim to seek compensation for their loss.
Examples of Negligent Conduct Leading to Wrongful Death
- Fatal Car Accidents: Caused by reckless or impaired driving
- Other Catastrophic Incidents: Workplace accidents, defective products, or unsafe premises
How a Lawyer Can Help
- Prove Negligence: A qualified wrongful death attorney gathers evidence to show how someone’s carelessness caused the death.
- Maximize Compensation: Lawyers ensure families receive fair settlements or court awards to cover financial and emotional losses.
If you’ve lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, contact an experienced wrongful death attorney in Columbus to learn more about what a wrongful death lawyer can do for you.
How Much Money Is a Wrongful Death Settlement Worth?
The amount you receive will depend on many factors, including the age and occupation of your loved one. A wrongful death claim generally tries to compensate family members for what their loved ones lost by having their lives cut short. It can include two broad types of damages:
Economic Losses
The deceased’s future income is often the most significant economic loss, which can financially burden the surviving family. Often, an expert is brought in to estimate how much the deceased would have earned throughout their life, including raises, promotions, and bonuses.
In general, the family of a young person just starting a career will have higher economic losses than the family of someone reaching retirement age whose wage-earning years were almost over.
Non-Economic Losses
These include losses suffered by the deceased, who cannot raise children, participate in hobbies, be active in local events and organizations, be a husband or wife, travel, or generally live life to the fullest. These also refer to losses the surviving family members suffered, such as loss of companionship.
Of course, there’s no way to put a dollar value on these losses. Still, insurance companies usually use a formula to arrive at a financial settlement. They usually base their decision on factors such as the victim’s age and the severity and duration of the injury or illness that caused their death.
The insurance company doesn’t want to pay a fair settlement, even if you have suffered a tragic loss that is another party’s responsibility. They will try to get you to settle for much less than your claim is worth. We recommend you talk to our Columbus personal injury attorney, who handles these cases, before considering an insurance company’s offers.
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Can I Recover a Settlement for Other Costs After a Wrongful Death?
Yes, in Columbus, GA, the loved one’s estate can recover the costs and losses the deceased suffered before passing.
This claim is usually brought by the person in charge of administering the estate. After all outstanding costs have been paid, the remaining money goes to the deceased person’s heirs.
This type of claim often includes the following damages:
- Medical expenses
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
The estate can recover money for all the financial losses from the accident or illness until the deceased’s death. In addition to economic damages, you may be eligible for other, less tangible losses related to the emotional toll of losing a loved one. “Prospective inheritance” may also come into play in your case.
Accounting for such losses can be challenging, but a Columbus wrongful death attorney can help you understand how your damages may be calculated in a wrongful death case.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
It is also important to know who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. The relatives eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit, in order of priority, are:
- Spouse:
- The spouse has the first right to file a claim.
- If the deceased had minor children, the spouse must also represent their interests, sharing any compensation awarded.
- Children:
- If there is no surviving spouse, the children of the deceased can file the claim.
- This includes biological and legally adopted children.
- Parents:
- If the deceased had no spouse or children, the parents may bring the claim.
- The Estate:
- If none of the above relatives are alive or eligible, the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can pursue the claim.
- Any damages awarded will benefit the estate and be distributed according to the deceased’s will or Georgia’s inheritance laws.
Example Scenario
Suppose your adult child tragically passed away in a fatal pedestrian accident:
- If your child had a spouse, they would have the legal right to file the claim.
- If there was no spouse but children, the children would have priority.
- If there was no spouse or children, you, as the parent, could file the wrongful death claim.
Why Legal Guidance Matters
Navigating the rules of wrongful death claims can be complex. A Columbus wrongful death lawyer can help you determine your eligibility, gather evidence, and build a strong case. With the right legal support, you can ensure that the wrongful death claim is filed properly and that justice is sought for your loved one.
Contact an experienced attorney today to discuss your case and explore your legal options.
The Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Georgia
Georgia law gives claimants two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, this is only a general time frame. For example, the time to file could be shorter if the wrongful death occurred while on the job. It all depends on the circumstances of the accident.
Even though you may have two years to file, that doesn’t mean you should take that long. Waiting too long to take legal action gives the insurance company ample time to build a case against you. While rushing in to file your claim isn’t smart, neither is waiting until the last minute.
With the help of an experienced wrongful death lawyer in Columbus, GA, you’ll have experts who understand local statutes and protocols working for you. Our team can help you gather evidence, calculate damages, and file your legal claim on time.
Don’t Accept the Initial Settlement Offer From the Insurance Company
After a wrongful death, you may face the temptation to accept a fast settlement from the insurance company. Before you accept anything, it’s best to get legal representation.
Insurance companies are businesses first, above all else. Just because their policyholder caused your loved one’s death doesn’t mean they will settle in your favor. On the contrary, they will always try to cut corners and offer you the lowest settlement possible.
While money can’t replace the losses you’ve suffered, obtaining the maximum compensation available can help you get closure and move forward.
What Types of Accidents Lead to Wrongful Death Claims?
Wrongful death claims arise when a loved one’s life is tragically cut short due to someone else’s negligence. These claims allow surviving family members to seek justice and financial compensation through a civil action. A Columbus wrongful death attorney can help you identify the negligent party and build a strong case.
Here are common types of accidents that may lead to wrongful death claims:
- Auto Accidents: Fatalities caused by reckless or impaired drivers in car, motorcycle, or truck accidents
- Bicycle Accidents: Crashes involving negligent drivers or unsafe road conditions
- Premises Liability: Fatal injuries caused by unsafe property conditions, such as slips, falls, or unaddressed hazards
- Workplace Injuries: Accidents on the job, particularly in hazardous industries, often due to defective equipment or insufficient safety measures
- Defective Equipment and Products: Faulty machinery, vehicles, or consumer products that cause fatal injuries
Talk to a Wrongful Death Attorney in Columbus, GA
At John Foy & Associates, our mission is to put money in your hands to help you pull your life back together after a death in the family. We can guide you through a wrongful death lawsuit or claim proceedings and will fight to ensure you are fairly compensated.
We handle cases on a contingency fee basis, so we won’t ask you to pay us anything if we don’t get you financial compensation. Let us give you a free legal consultation so we can explain your options. Contact us by phone or fill out the form to get started.
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