Our Atlanta Wrongful Death Attorney
In 2021, 1,844 people died on Georgia’s roads. This represents only a small fraction of potential cases for wrongful death.
Losing a loved one is never easy. Tending to your own grief while also fighting for justice in a wrongful death lawsuit is even harder.
If you intend to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of a loved one, don’t do it alone. It is in your best interest to work with a wrongful death lawyer in Atlanta who can help you with your legal options and determine if you have legal standing to file a lawsuit.
Mabra Law is a personal injury law firm that specializes in helping victims of personal injury accidents and their families receive fair compensation and justice for their types of damages and losses.
Why is working with an experienced personal injury lawyer at Mabra Law beneficial? Read on to learn more about wrongful death claims and why hiring an Atlanta wrongful death attorney from Mabra Law should be your first step.
What Constitutes Wrongful Death?
First, let’s take a look at what counts as wrongful death. It’s important to distinguish deaths that result from accidents that are deemed no-fault and deaths that result from accidents that are deemed wrongful.
The key in a wrongful death lawsuit is that the accused owed the deceased victim a certain level of care and, due to negligence, failed to deliver that level of care. To gain more clarity, we’ll provide a few examples of some of the most common causes of wrongful death.
Traffic Accidents
If your loved one was involved in an auto accident and died during or because of the accident, you may have a wrongful death claim on your hands. Traffic fatalities may be considered wrongful death if another driver caused the accident by driving in a reckless or careless manner.
For example, they may have been texting while driving or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Another common cause of wrongful death is medical malpractice.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is perhaps more common than we realize. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to provide reasonable care to a patient, and if this failure results in death, it may be cause for a wrongful death claim.
Surgery is the second most common reason for medical malpractice, following issues with a diagnosis. Another accident that can result in a wrongful death is in the workplace.
Workplace Accidents
When you are employed by a business or individual, they are, to some degree, responsible for your safety. If a workplace accident results in death, it is worth examining the situation to determine if the death was wrongful.
Examples can include employers failing to provide proper protective gear, asking employees to perform knowingly dangerous tasks, failing to account for an employee’s disabilities when assigning work, and so forth. Below, we will examine how a personal injury attorney can help you achieve financial justice.
Why Should You Work With an Attorney on a Wrongful Death Claim?
Now that you have a general sense of wrongful death accidents, it’s time to look more closely at how these legal claims work. Why is it crucial that you work with Atlanta personal injury lawyers when filing a wrongful death claim?
Proving Your Case in a Wrongful Death Claim Is Complicated
In order to establish wrongful death, you have to prove three things beyond reasonable doubt:
- That the accused owed the deceased a reasonable level of care and what that level of care was
- That the accused, due to their own negligent actions or behavior, failed to provide that reasonable level of care
- That the failure to provide that reasonable level of care directly caused the death or conditions that led to the death of the deceased
Proving negligence isn’t always an easy thing to do. Oftentimes, you’re proving the absence of something (i.e. attentive driving or thorough medical care) rather than proving the presence of something. Recreating the incident and providing the necessary proof is something attorneys are familiar with but that most people are not.
Wrongful death statute of limitations has a two-year deadline to file a claim. That’s two years from the date of the deceased person’s passing, so don’t delay and contact our accident lawyers with experience and a track record of success.
Establishing Due Compensation Is Complicated
When you’re filing a wrongful death claim, the objective is to seek justice and to receive the maximum compensation you are owed from the negligent party. Once again, quantifying how much you are owed due to a loved one’s loss of life is not always easy. Financial compensation can cover:
- Medical expenses relating to the incident that led to your loved one’s untimely death
- Costs associated with the funeral expenses, burial expenses, or memorial service for your loved one
- Loss of income that was used to support any dependents your loved one had
- Additional monetary compensation for emotional distress (which is often the most difficult to quantify monetarily)
In order to establish the amount of money you are owed from the liable party, it is important to compile relevant documents. These can include things like medical bills, pay stubs, financial obligations that are no longer taken care of by the deceased’s income, and more.
In a personal injury lawsuit, you should not handle it alone. The at-fault party will usually have attorneys representing them.
Insurance Companies Are Armed With Their Own Attorneys
Typically, the accused’s insurance company is the responsible party for providing financial compensation in a wrongful death settlement. As you can imagine, insurance companies are armed with their own attorneys.
These attorneys typically have the primary objective of getting the plaintiff to agree to the lowest settlement possible, regardless of any emotional distress they create in the process.
Fighting a team of attorneys without an attorney of your own is not something any citizen should have to do. Before entering into any sort of communication with the accused or their insurance company, even the playing field with a legal professional.
Work with an experienced personal injury law firm who will not only provide you with proper legal action but will also protect your legal rights during this difficult time. Work with a personal injury firm with a high success rate like Mabra Law.
Mabra Law Wrongful Death Lawyers in Atlanta Are Here to Fight for You
If you have recently lost a loved one to a case of wrongful death, you don’t have to fight the legal process for justice and fair compensation alone. Instead, work with Mabra Law, who can fight for your legal rights and help you regain financial stability during this devastating time.
Mabra Law represents families across Georgia who are filing personal injury claims, property damage claims, wrongful death claims, and more. If you believe you have a case, contact us today for a free legal consultation.