South Tucson Wrongful Death Lawyer

South Tucson Wrongful Death Attorney

No amount of money will alleviate the unexpected loss of a loved one, but pursuing compensation can eliminate the stress of extra costs from funeral and burial expenses. A South Tucson wrongful death lawyer will work tirelessly to ensure you receive a fair settlement award.
At the Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., our team of experienced attorneys pride ourselves on being honest, diligent, and compassionate to each client who needs our help to right the wrongs they’ve endured.

What Is Wrongful Death?

Any person who was injured in an accident caused by another party’s negligence is able to legally pursue financial compensation for their medical expenses and other damages or losses. However, sometimes, the person harmed in one of these incidents doesn’t survive their injuries or dies immediately after the lethal accident. In these instances, the family of the deceased person is allowed to initiate a wrongful death claim following the loss of their family member.

Most injurious accidents have the potential to end fatally, including after a car accident, a construction or other workplace incident, if a property owner fails to keep their premises safe to visitors, in instances of medical malpractice, and injuries from a defective or improperly labeled product.

How Liability in a Wrongful Death Claim Is Proven

Depending on the type of accident that resulted in the deceased’s death, several potential parties may be found liable. This includes their employer in a workplace death, a medical physician or other professional guilty of malpractice or medical negligence (this may extend to a corporation if there’s general hospital negligence), the designer or manufacturer of a defective product or product lacking a warning label, and individual people (e.g., car crash, dog bite, slip-and-fall).

In order to prove that the responsible party was negligent or liable for your loved one’s death, your South Tucson personal injury attorney must provide enough evidence in addition to compelling arguments that establish a duty of care, a breach of duty, and that the breach directly caused the victim’s death.

The liable party owed the victim a duty of care, meaning they should have been aware of their responsibility to take certain precautions in regards to others’ safety. This varies depending on the circumstances. For example, a motorist has the duty to drive in a way so as to not endanger others and a doctor has the duty to take the utmost caution and care when treating their patients. If the accused party has a duty of care, it’s possible for them to breach it.

The lawyer of the deceased’s family must prove that the opposing party breached or failed to meet their owed duty of care. This means that provided evidence must show that the accused either carried out an action they shouldn’t have or failed to take an action they should have, given the reasonable expectations of the specific circumstances. Finally, it must be proved that the breach alone, not a concurrent reason, led to the death that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

Tucson Wrongful Death Lawyer FAQs

Q: What Damages Are Recovered in a Wrongful Death Case?

A: Damages may include medical bills from any treatment the individual received for injuries prior to death, funeral costs, burial expenses, loss of projected income due to the individual’s death, and lost benefits (e.g., pension or retirement accounts, life insurance).

Other damages include the loss of family, care, support, guidance, and sometimes companionship or consortium. Certain factors such as the deceased’s age, health, nature of demise, and dependents (and their needs) can influence how much compensation is determined to be fair.

Q: Are There Caps on Settlement Payouts for Wrongful Death in AZ?

A: No, there are no caps that limit the amount of compensation within a wrongful death filing. One exception is if Arizona’s pure comparative negligence mandate applies to the fatal accident.

If the defendant’s lawyer is able to prove that the deceased was partially at fault for the accident, any compensation payout will be reduced by the liability percentage. For example, if the deceased was 30% at fault in a car crash, the family may still receive 70% of the settlement.

Q: Who Gets the Settlement After a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Arizona?

A: The deceased’s family can file a wrongful death claim and will receive any compensation in the majority of cases. Family includes the victim’s spouse, their biological/adopted children, and their parents. Relatives are listed from most to least likely within their right to file.

If the victim doesn’t have any living applicable relatives, it’s possible for the representative of their estate to file the claim on behalf of the beneficiaries, in which case the damages would become an asset of the estate.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death in Arizona?

A: Generally, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death case is two years from the victim’s death. Wrongful death claims involving a government entity may be given a shorter timeline to file within.

Two years is a fair amount of time, allowing your family ample time to grieve and process the loss of your loved one. However, it is advised to consult with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible since this increases your chances of a successful outcome.

Q: What Are the Elements of Wrongful Death in Arizona?

A: The elements of a wrongful death claim that must be sufficiently proven by the plaintiff’s lawyer are the accused party’s duty of care to the victim, the defendant’s breach of their duty, and that this breach in duty directly caused the victim’s death. All of these elements must be proved in order to establish that the responsible party’s conduct was negligent and compensation is owed to the family of the deceased.

Qualified Legal Representation for Your Wrongful Death Claim

While the payout from a wrongful death filing will never reverse the pain of your family member’s death, we hope some amount of relief comes from holding the negligent party responsible and recovering damages. Contact an injury attorney at the Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., to discuss your legal options.