Losing a loved one is an impossible thing. Every day, people in Zionsville face grief and loss from the death of a child, parent, spouse, or loved one. No one should have to endure this pain because of another person’s reckless or careless behavior.
All grief is painful, but the emotional aftermath of a loved one’s wrongful death can be impossible to understand. A wrongful death lawsuit may provide you with an important sense of justice.
Wrongful death lawsuits also protect survivors from the costs associated with things like emergency medical treatment, end-of-life care, lost wages, and final arrangements. As wrongful death attorneys in Zionsville, we know that money will never bring your loved one back. But with our support, we can help alleviate the financial impact of your loss and help you hold the responsible parties accountable.
- What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
- How to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Zionsville
- The stages of a wrongful death lawsuit in Zionsville
- Zionsville Wrongful Death FAQ
- At Yosha Law Firm, ou Zionsville wrongful death attorneys are here to protect your rights
What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
When an individual or entity causes a death through negligence, they can be held accountable through a wrongful death lawsuit.
A wrongful death lawsuit is a claim filed by the personal representative of a deceased person. These claims have a lot in common with a personal injury lawsuit, but there are some key differences.
These are the overlapping aspects of personal injury and wrongful death cases:
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- Both can be filed when a person’s negligent actions (or the failure act) cause harm to another person, whether that harm is injury or death.
- Both have a goal of recovering compensatory damages with the goal of eliminating the financial burden caused by the incident. Damages can include economic damages and non-economic damages.
- Plaintiffs in both kinds of claims must meet the burden of proof that the defendant’s negligence caused their suffering.
- Both types of lawsuits are covered by strict statutes of limitation, dependent on the state in which the accident occurred.
- In most cases, the defendant’s insurance provider is responsible for covering any damages awarded in a successful lawsuit.
- Expert witnesses can testify in court or provide a statement explaining their analysis of the accident, including negligent actions that caused the action, damages caused, and other elements of the case.
What counts as a wrongful death?
Indiana statutes view a wrongful death as a death caused by a person’s intentional act or failure to act.
A wrongful death must be proven by establishing a direct link between an individual’s actions and the victim’s death.
Wrongful death claims commonly involve car accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice cases, defective products, nursing home abuse and neglect, and even intentional acts of violence against the victim.
These deaths occur all the time, wreaking havoc on grieving families. Only people with certain, defined relationships with the deceased are allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Indiana, so speaking with a wrongful death attorney will help you determine if you are eligible to file a claim.
How to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Zionsville
In Zionsville, you will find many valuable community resources to help you with grief. Grief support groups, highly trained therapists and counselors, and faith-based communities are all there to help you during this difficult time.
When you’re ready to speak to a lawyer about a wrongful death claim, you can turn to Yosha Law Firm’s Zionsville attorneys.
When you reach out to us, we will meet with you and get to know you and the legacy of your loved one. By getting to know you and reviewing your case in detail, we will determine whether or not you are eligible to file a wrongful death case.
Upon confirming your eligibility to file a claim, we will talk about your options and help you decide if a wrongful death lawsuit is your best option to get justice in the form of a settlement.
The stages of a wrongful death lawsuit in Zionsville
One thing we know for sure at Yosha Law Firm is that no two cases are the same. Just like your loved one was unlike anyone else in the world, the circumstances of their death deserve to be investigated as unique.
Although we can’t predict exactly what your case will look like without knowing more about you and the death of your loved one, we can provide a basic overview of what to expect.
Case evaluation
We offer free case consultations to potential clients who want to learn more about their options.
During your case review, which can be attended by you and your family members, we will:
- Learn about you and your loss
- Review the circumstances that led to your loved one’s death
- Consider potentially liable parties
- Consider the viability of a wrongful death claim against the responsible party (or parties)
Retaining an attorney
At the end of your case evaluation, you can determine if it is right to move forward with a wrongful death lawsuit.
If you do choose to work with us at Yosha Law Firm, you will sign a contract that outlines things like these:
- Our services
- Our communication policies
- Our fee structure
- How we take care of any payouts or settlements
At Yosha Law Firm, we only get paid if we win your case and you collect a settlement or court award. Once you have signed a contract with an attorney, your lawyer can start investigating the incident and building a case.
Investigation
Your lawyer will thoroughly investigate the accident that caused your loved one’s death.
The investigation will include:
- Interviewing eyewitnesses
- Accessing and reviewing video surveillance footage and photos
- Reviewing the deceased’s medical records
- Examining police reports from the incident
- Interviewing and retaining expert witnesses
During the investigatory phase, we do everything we can to find out what happened, who was responsible, and what we need to do to hold someone accountable.
Identifying the defendant(s)
It’s true that in some cases, one person’s negligence can cause another person’s death. For example, if a driver chose to disregard a stop sign and collided with your loved one’s car, which had the right of way, that driver is likely solely responsible.
However, many wrongful deaths have been caused by a group of people, several individuals, an organization, a business, or some other entity. When this happens, it is important for your legal team to identify all responsible parties in order to hold each accountable.
Here are some examples of wrongful death cases with multiple defendants:
- A food-based manufacturing facility knowingly processes contaminated products, which leads to a nationwide outbreak of foodborne illness
- A for-profit nursing facility is purposely understaffed to save money, leading to a lack of appropriate supervision for fall-risk residents
- A ride-sharing app neglects to conduct background checks on their drivers, which in turn enables a reckless driver to end a passenger’s life
- A hospital’s surgical team makes a series of preventable errors that combine to cause the death of a patient
- A municipality fails to warn drivers of dangerous road conditions, leading to a multi-car collision with fatalities
- A university fails to prevent hazing, leading to the death of a first-year student
In each of these situations, it’s not the actions of one individual that caused your loved one’s death, but a combination of behaviors from multiple parties.
Your attorney will identify all of the responsible parties to maximize your chances of holding people accountable and receiving compensation for your losses.
Documenting damages
You can get compensation for damages including monetary and non-economic losses. Your attorney will help you document and calculate your losses, which may include:
- Medical expenses
- End-of-life care expenses
- Funeral costs
- Loss of income
- Loss of companionship
- Pain and suffering
First stage of negotiations
Most wrongful death lawsuits in Indianapolis don’t end up in court. Instead, they are resolved through a negotiation process between your attorneys and the attorneys representing the defendant or their insurance company.
In an ideal situation, this is when your case will be resolved, because the defendants’ representation will recognize the strength of your case and offer you a settlement amount to end things here.
However, some defendants choose to continue past this first phase of negotiations in hopes of making their case in front of a judge or jury. They might offer an inappropriately small settlement for the severity of your loss.
Your Zionsville personal injury attorney will help you evaluate any settlements offered at this stage. It will be your decision whether to accept an offer or file a formal lawsuit with the intention of going to court. Yosha Law Firm will stand by you no matter what you choose!
Filing a wrongful death lawsuit
If you are unsatisfied by the offer made by the defendant(s), it’s time to file a legal complaint (AKA: a lawsuit).
Your complaint will explain:
- The legal argument you are making
- What damages you are seeking
- The basis for finding the defendant(s) liable
This is very difficult to do without an attorney’s help, which is why it’s important to choose someone you trust to represent you.
Most often, the case will need to be filed in the county where the death occurred. This means that your attorney may file the claim outside of Boone County if your loved one’s death occurred outside of the county.
Discovery phase
The discovery phase of a lawsuit can take months or even years to complete. During this stage, attorneys for all parties exchange information and evidence.
Second stage of negotiations
At any time during this process, negotiations can be reopened. There are always more opportunities to negotiate for a settlement. If the representatives for the defendant(s) want to re-negotiate before you go to court, your attorney will advocate for you in those conversations. Their goal is always to obtain the largest settlement possible for you, their client.
You will be informed of any negotiations, and of course, you will have the opportunity to accept or turn down what the defendants offer.
Going to trial
We always prepare every case to go to trial, even if we expect it to be resolved in negotiations.
We posted an overview of the stages of a personal injury trial on our Yosha Law Firm Blog. The trial stages for a wrongful death case will likely mirror what you see in that article.
Resolution and compensation
At the end resolution of the trial, the judge or jury will announce the verdict on the liability of the defendant(s) named in your lawsuit.
If we win — and our track record is pretty great — then you will receive compensation in the form of a court award.
Your attorney’s fees will be deducted from the court award, and you will be given the rest to compensate for your losses. We know that a settlement or court award will never be able to replace your loved one, but it can contribute to feelings of justice. It can alleviate the financial losses you have gone through, as well.
When multiple parties will share the settlement, a probate court will likely divide the sum appropriately.
Zionsville Wrongful Death FAQ
What are some common causes of wrongful death lawsuits in Zionsville?
- Bike accidents
- Car accidents
- Dog attacks
- Motorcycle accidents
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Occupational hazards
- Rideshare accidents
- Semi-truck accidents
- Slip-and-falls
- Surgical or hospital malpractice
What is the statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit in Indiana?
One of the biggest ways that wrongful death lawsuits differ from personal injury lawsuits is the statute of limitations.
For both types of claims, you only have two years to file a lawsuit. However, the two-year clock for a personal injury lawsuit starts when the accident occurs. For a wrongful death, it starts on the day of a person’s death.
This is because wrongful death victims don’t always die on the day they were injured. They may survive for days, weeks, months, or even years after the accident. When this happens, their loved one has two years from the date of their death to sue for damages.
Who has the right to sue for damages after a wrongful death?
In cases involving the untimely passing of an adult due to another’s negligence, the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate is the sole individual authorized to pursue a legal claim. Any financial compensation awarded is generally allocated to the deceased’s beneficiaries as outlined in their will. In the absence of a will, the distribution follows Indiana’s laws of intestate succession.
For incidents resulting in the loss of a young life, Indiana law permits the following individuals to initiate a wrongful death lawsuit:
- Either or both birth parents
- One or both parents with custody rights
- Any appointed legal guardian(s)
At Yosha Law Firm, ou Zionsville wrongful death attorneys are here to protect your rights
Losing someone you care about unexpectedly is a devastating experience that can leave you feeling lost and overwhelmed. The team at Yosha Law Firm is here to support you through this difficult time and help you seek fair compensation.
Our wrongful death lawyers in Zionsville recognize the sensitivity of your situation. We’re committed to handling your case with the utmost care, compassion, and professionalism. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary consultation to discuss your case. Our dedicated team is ready to listen to your story and advocate for your family’s rights during this challenging period.
