If your loved one passed away due to negligence, you may be able to receive compensation for wrongful death damages. Our attorneys operate with compassion, empathy, and a strong sense of justice, guiding you throughout this emotional process so that you can work towards the most successful legal outcome for you and your family.
At John Foy & Associates, our wrongful death lawyers in Savannah help surviving families understand their legal options and pursue compensation after a loved one’s death. With over 350 years of combined experience, our team knows what it takes to handle the legal challenges faced by surviving families after wrongful death. We’ll investigate your case, assist with filing a claim, negotiate with insurers, and more.
For a free consultation, contact our Savannah personal injury lawyer today. We’ll explain your options in detail and help you and your family get the financial closure you need.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle
There are various types of wrongful death cases John Foy & Associates has handled over the years. Some of the most common ones we’ve seen have included:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle crashes
- Slip and fall accidents
- Bus collisions
- Drunk driving incidents
- Premises liability
- Aviation accidents
- Product liability
- Pedestrian accidents
If negligence played a role in causing the death of your family member, you may be able to file for compensation under a wrongful death claim. And our attorneys can help make sure your rights are protected. Contact our law firm today to learn more about our services and discuss your legal options.
What a Savannah Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Do For Your Claim
When you work with John Foy & Associates, we’ll handle your wrongful death case with care and consideration. Our attorneys take the time to understand your situation and will explain exactly how we plan to approach your compensation claim.
Provide Dedicated Support
By intentionally being selective with the cases we choose to work on, we’re able to give every client our full attention. That way, you have our support and resources readily available when needed.
We’ll treat you with respect, open communication, and personalized care, offering free consultations and video conferencing options to make sure our legal guidance is always easy to access.
Investigate the Accident
After we’ve heard your testimony and discussed your case, our wrongful death lawyers in Savannah will get to work on investigating the accident that caused the loss of your loved one. As part of this process, we may evaluate and collect the following evidence:
- Police reports from the Savannah Police Department
- Witness statements
- Medical records and treatment plans
- Photographs or video footage from the accident scene
- Expert testimony and accident reconstruction
- Employment and financial records to help establish lost income and other damages
- Coroner records from the Chatham County Coroner’s Office detailing the cause of death
Identify Liable Parties
From our findings, we’ll work to identify all liable parties that may have caused or contributed to the wrongful death of your family member. That way, you can pursue every avenue for compensation and fight for the money you deserve.
Estimate Your Damages
By looking at your losses, our attorneys can provide a detailed estimate of what you could be owed. We’ll review economic damages like funeral expenses, medical bills, and lost income, as well as non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
Negotiate with Insurers
Once we’ve filed your wrongful death claim, we’ll wait for a settlement offer from the insurance company. If the amount is low and doesn’t fully reflect your losses, we’ll push for a more accurate payout.
Having recently recovered $2,850,000 in damages for a wrongful death case against a client’s employer, you can trust that we’ll fight hard for every penny you could be owed in compensation.
Fight for Your Rights
Should negotiations fail, we’re not afraid to proceed to trial, representing your lawsuit at the Superior Court of Chatham County or the State Court of Chatham County.
Recognized as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys, our founder, John Foy, brings the Strong Arm to every lawsuit, using his exceptional experience to tackle disputes from the opposition and fight tirelessly to hold negligent parties accountable while pursuing the maximum compensation for your family.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Savannah, GA?
According to Georgia Code § 51-4-2, several parties may be able to file a wrongful death claim. However, determining who can file will depend on the circumstances. Here’s how it works:
- Spouse: A surviving spouse will exclusively have the right to file a wrongful death claim in the first instance, even if they were separated.
- Children: If there is no surviving spouse, eligibility falls to any surviving children of the deceased, including adults and minors.
- Parents: When there is no surviving spouse or surviving children, the right to bring a wrongful death claim generally passes to the deceased’s surviving parent or parents.
- Representative of the Estate: If there are no eligible surviving family members, the administrator or executor of the deceased person’s estate may file a wrongful death claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5.
There may be certain exceptions to this order of priority, which a Savannah wrongful death lawyer from John Foy & Associates can explain in further detail. Book a free consultation with our team to discuss the particulars of your case.
Atlanta Roots, Nationwide Reach.
Distance is no obstacle. We work with clients across the country and make sure every one of them feels taken care of, no matter how far the call travels.
How to Calculate Damages for Your Claim
While no amount of money can ever make the pain you feel go away, a settlement may help you cover expenses such as funeral costs and lost income to make your loss a little more bearable. For wrongful death cases, our lawyers will evaluate the following damages:
Medical Expenses
After the accident, your loved one may have gone through a series of medical treatments before passing away. We understand how costly these expenses can be, presenting you and your family with an impossibly high financial burden.
As such, we’ll help you pursue compensation for emergency medical treatment for any injuries, hospital bills, surgeries, medical treatment, and other medical costs associated with the wrongful death of your family member.
To help calculate these damages, we’ll assist in gathering copies of your medical records and receipts from facilities like the Memorial Health University Medical Center.
Funeral & Burial Costs
Funeral and burial costs can create an unexpected financial burden on you and your family. And when you’re already dealing with the loss of your loved one, this can add even more stress to your situation. Our attorneys will help to calculate the costs and fight for a settlement that aims to cover these expenses.
Loss of Financial Support
When you lose a close family member like a spouse or parent, you may also end up losing an important source of financial support.
Our wrongful death attorneys will consult with financial experts to evaluate your loved one’s earning capacity, expected future income, employment benefits, and other contributions. From there, we will derive an estimate that fully reflects your loss and use this when calculating your potential settlement.
Non-Economic Damages
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, wrongful death damages may also cover the full value of your loved one’s life, including the experiences, relationships, companionship, and enjoyment of life they would have continued to experience.
This usually falls under non-economic damages, which are usually much more subjective when it comes to costs. As such, determining their value requires careful consideration of the individual and the life they lived.
Our Savannah wrongful death attorneys will examine your loved one’s life and work to establish the full value of that life when pursuing compensation on your behalf.
How Insurance Companies May Try to Minimize Your Claim
Even after you’ve suffered the tragic loss of your loved one, some insurance companies may employ specific tactics aimed at minimizing your claim. This could include:
- Disputing fault: Insurers may try to shift blame to avoid paying or reducing your claim. Since Georgia operates under a modified comparative negligence law, you may be prevented from recovering damages if your loved one’s percentage of fault for the accident is determined to be 50% or more.
- Questioning the value of your claim: Insurance adjusters may argue that you have overestimated the value of your loved one’s life and the financial losses you’ve sustained.
- Challenging evidence: If the insurance company thinks your supporting documents are insufficient, it may question the validity of your evidence, dispute the cause of death, or challenge the connection between the defendant’s negligence and your loved one’s passing.
- Causing delays: Repeated requests for further information and slow responses could be tactical. Some insurers may do this in hopes you’ll bow to the pressure and accept less than you deserve.
- Offering a quick payout: An insurance adjuster may offer an early settlement before your family has had the opportunity to understand the full extent of its losses or explore all available legal options.
With decades of experience supporting clients across Georgia, the team at John Foy & Associates knows how to counter these tactics and will continue pursuing fair and accurate compensation for you and your family.
How Long to File Your Wrongful Death Claim in Savannah
You usually have two years to file your wrongful death claim under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, which is a fairly fast turnaround when you’re already trying to deal with the grief and trauma of losing your loved one.
Certain circumstances may extend the time available to file a wrongful death lawsuit, including situations where no personal representative has been appointed to manage your loved one’s estate.
John Foy & Associates can help you understand the filing deadlines that may apply to your wrongful death claim. After reviewing your case, we’ll explain your legal options, identify any potential exceptions, and begin gathering the necessary evidence and documentation to prepare your lawsuit.
Contact Our Savannah Wrongful Death Law Firm Today
The attorneys at John Foy & Associates are honest, empathetic, and understanding, especially when it comes to wrongful death cases. We provide superior care for clients, ensuring you get access to experienced and compassionate legal representation.
Because we work on a contingency fee basis, our wrongful death attorneys in Savannah never charge anything upfront. You only pay if we win your case, meaning you don’t have to worry about additional financial stress. We are transparent and aim to keep you involved and informed throughout the entire legal process.
Our law firm has helped recover millions for our clients. Call us today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can support your family.
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