Clearwater Wrongful Death Attorneys

Assisting With Your Clearwater Wrongful Death Claim

Losing a loved one hits like a heavy blow.

Not only do you have the emotional distress to deal with, you may have significant financial difficulties as well: taking care of final expenses, managing final medical bills, and dealing with the loss of a loved one’s income.

Handling those challenges on your own can start to feel impossible. If you lost your loved one in an accident due to someone else’s negligence in Clearwater, you may deserve compensation for that loss.

Contact our Clearwater wrongful death lawyers today to learn more about seeking justice for the loss of your loved one and your right to compensation.

Perenich Law: Aiding Clearwater Wrongful Death Victims

At Perenich Law, we have a deep understanding of all the legal and financial challenges that go along with losing a loved one, and our Clearwater personal injury lawyers aim to help our clients recover compensation for those losses. Our team of experienced wrongful death attorneys has helped families who have lost loved ones pursue compensation for those losses.

Take a look at some of our past cases:

• $7,950,000 settlement to the family of a victim who lost a family member after cardiac valve replacement surgery when he did not receive proper monitoring in recovering
• $2,630,000 to the family of a victim who died of complications from a nerve root cervical injection
• $2,150,000 to the family of a 12-year-old killed by a driver under the influence in a hit and run
• $825,000 for the loss of a mother of two when she did not receive a timely blood transfusion due to heavy bleeding after a procedure

Our past claim results cannot guarantee the results of any future claim. However, our team of experienced attorneys can help guide you through your wrongful death claim and give you a better idea of what to expect as you move forward.

We help investigate your loved one’s death.

Your loved one cannot tell us exactly what happened to cause their death. We, however, can investigate the details, looking through all the evidence to get a better idea of why your loved one died and who may bear liability for that death. We help collect evidence that will establish the liable party’s negligent actions and your family’s right to compensation.

Speaking with an wrongful death lawyer is the best way to determine your claims potential and how to go about filling one but if you’d like to review some other practice areas maybe in regard to the specific accident it is also recommended.

Some of the more common accidents that can lead to a wrongful death claim include:

• Auto accidents
• Truck accidents
• Slip and fall accidents 
• Medical malpractice
• Boating accidents
• Swimming accidents
• Construction accidents
• Pedestrian accidents 
• Premises liability accidents

We break down the compensation your family deserves for the loss of a loved one.

Dealing with the loss of a loved one can leave you in shock. Many families, as a result, accept settlement offers that do not reflect the compensation they really deserve for those losses. While compensation cannot bring your loved one back, it can prove vital to rebuilding life in the aftermath of a serious incident: replacing your loved one’s income, supporting your family, and giving your family time to grieve.

We help break down the compensation our clients should expect for the loss of a loved one so that you do not have to worry that you might inadvertently accept a settlement offer that does not reflect your family’s real needs.

We put together a clear, compelling claim.

Losing a loved one cuts deep and leaves you with a range of challenges that you may have to deal with. When someone else’s negligence led to that loss and those challenges, you deserve compensation for that loss. We put together a clear, compelling claim that can help our clients establish the compensation they really deserve and increase the odds that the insurance company, or the court, will rule in their favor.

We help take over the legal part of the process so our clients do not have to worry.

You have enough on your plate as you deal with the loss of a loved one. We aim to help decrease our clients’ worries by taking over the legal claim process for them. Thanks to our efforts, many of our clients have found that they had less stress to deal with as they managed their wrongful death claims and the challenging aftermath of a loss.

Who Can File A Wrongful Death Claim?

To file a wrongful death claim in Clearwater, you will need to show a clear family relationship with the deceased. Each family can file only one wrongful death claim, even if more than one party may have the same right to file a claim. The family can then decide how to distribute any funds won between the members of the family who have the right to file a claim.

According to Florida law, the deceased’s spouse has the first right to file a wrongful death claim for the loss of a loved one. If the deceased does not have a spouse, his children have the next right to file a claim; and if he has neither spouse nor children, his parents may file a claim. In the case of a deceased individual who has no family with the right to file a claim, the deceased’s estate may have the right to file a claim under some circumstances, including an effort to repay the deceased’s final debts.

Who Bears Liability for Your Loved One’s Death in Clearwater?

To file a wrongful death claim, you may need to work with an attorney to determine who bears liability for your loved one’s death. Sometimes, the liable party may seem clear. Suppose, for example, that your loved one died in a car accident due to the negligent actions of another driver: you may clearly see that the other driver bears liability for your loved one’s death and, therefore, that you need to file a claim against that individual’s insurance company.

On the other hand, sometimes, your loved one’s death may prove more complicated. Multiple factors may contribute to your loved one’s death. Having an attorney to investigate the claim can make it much easier to determine who bears liability, including whether more than one party may share liability for the accident that caused your loved one’s death.

Your attorney will ask several key questions to help determine who bears liability for your loved one’s loss.

• Who bore a duty of care to your loved one at the time of his death? For example, if you lost your loved one in a workplace accident, your loved one’s employer might have had a duty of care to him at the time of the accident.
• How did the liable party violate that duty of care? To establish liability in a wrongful death claim, you will need to show that the liable party committed some act of negligence or carelessness that violated the duty of care. A drunk driver, for example, violates his duty of care to everyone who shares the road with him. A construction site worker who fails to properly secure exposed electrical wiring, leading to electrocution, might have failed in his duty of care by ignoring the site’s safety protocols.
• How did that negligence or carelessness cause your loved one’s injuries? If several factors contributed to your loved one’s accident, your lawyer may take a look at how each one contributed and who bears the highest liability for those dangerous actions, as well as determining how any other factors contributed to the incident.

You have the right to file a wrongful death claim even if your loved one did not die immediately of his injuries at the time of the accident, as long as the incident directly contributed to your loved one’s death.

Compensation for a Wrongful Death in Clearwater: What to Expect

For many families, the compensation received through a wrongful death claim can prove critical to rebuilding life following the loss of a loved one. Compensation in a wrongful death claim can depend on many factors related to the claim.

The Insurance Policy

In many cases, wrongful death claims will go through the liable party’s insurance company. Medical malpractice claims, for example, will usually go through the doctor or hospital’s medical malpractice insurance policy. If you lost your loved one in an auto accident, you may need to go through the liable driver’s car insurance company to pursue compensation.

The insurance policy that covers the liable party may lay out specific coverage limitations and provisions that will determine how much compensation you can receive for the loss of your loved one.

Your Loved One’s Final Expenses

As part of some claims, you may choose to claim compensation for the suffering your loved one faced and the bills related to any medical treatment your loved one received.

Often, serious accidents result in substantial medical treatment. If your loved one did not die at the scene of the accident, you may have bills from the emergency room, the ambulance, and the hospital where your loved one received treatment.

In some cases, including serious burns, head injuries, and internal injuries, accident victims undergo substantial, expensive treatment in the hospital, only to ultimately pass away from their injuries or complications from those injuries. In those cases, your family may need compensation for your loved one’s final expenses to pay those final bills.

As part of your loved one’s final expenses, you may also need to consider the cost of funeral and burial expenses. Funerals have continued to grow in cost, with the average family paying between $5,000 and $10,000 after a loved one’s death. Those expenses may grow if you need to wait to hold the funeral, if you desire a superior casket or funeral, or if you need additional services. All those costs can place an immense strain on an already-struggling family.

The Loss of Your Loved One’s Income

For some families, losing a loved one’s income can feel catastrophic. Your loved one may have provided the bulk of the financial support for your family, making it very difficult for you to pay the bills or take care of needed expenses in the aftermath of his loss. Sometimes, your loved one might have served as the sole breadwinner.

Other times, the family may have relied on both spouses’ incomes to make ends meet. The loss of that income can leave you unsure about what to do next, how to handle ongoing expenses, or even what you may have to do without to survive.

Compensation for the loss of a loved one’s income, however, can give the surviving family members some breathing room. That compensation can allow a surviving spouse to go back to school or even allow children time to grow up, graduate, and start to pursue employment of their own.

The Loss of Services Performed by Your Loved One

In addition to the actual income your loved one provided, your loved one likely provided services to the family, many of which have a much higher value than actual income. Your loved one might have provided childcare, taken care of food preparation, or managed repairs and maintenance around the home.

Some people take care of senior family members or drive members of the family around town. The loss of those services can place a significant burden on the family, especially if you have to hire someone to take care of those services. A wrongful death claim can include compensation for those losses.

Loss of Companionship

Losing a loved one carries a much heavier burden than any financial provision he made for the family. As part of your wrongful death claim, you can also include compensation for the loss of your loved one’s companionship and presence.

Did You Lose a Loved One in Clearwater to Another Party’s Negligence?

If you lost a loved one in an accident in Clearwater, you may deserve compensation for that loss. It cannot bring your loved one back, but it can help with many of those final expenses and aid you in rebuilding. Contact Perenich Law Injury Attorneys today at (727) 669-2828 for your free consultation.

Perenich Law Injury Attorneys

Address: 25749 US Highway 19 N Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33763

Phone: (727) 669-2828