Hampton
Wrongful Death Lawyer

Losing a loved one brings with it a lot of trauma and a lot of pain. When a loved one dies due to another party’s negligence, whether in a car accident, a workplace accident, or a result of caregiver negligence, you may have even more responsibilities on your plate, including the need to file a wrongful death claim. 

Who bears liability for your loved one’s death, and how do you know how much compensation your family might deserve? Working with a Hampton personal injury lawyer can help give you a better idea of the full compensation your family can expect for those losses. 

Determining Liability in a Hampton Wrongful Death Case

Your loved one died due to someone else’s negligence, but how do you know who caused the accident? At John Foy, we will look at several critical elements related to your loved one’s death to get a better idea of who may have caused or contributed to that accident.

• Who bore a duty of care to your loved one at the time of their death? That might mean a caregiver in a nursing home, a driver out on the road, or a premises owner where the accident occurred, for example.
• What act of negligence did the party that caused your loved one’s death commit? For example, you might discover that a distracted driver, or one who ignored the rules of the road, caused your loved one’s death; or you might uncover evidence that a nursing home failed to properly manage your loved one’s care.
• How did that act of negligence cause your loved one’s death?

A wrongful death lawyer in Hampton can look over the conditions that may have caused or contributed to a Hampton death and give you a better idea of who might have caused your loved one’s death.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

There are two key elements that come into play in determining whether you can file a wrongful death claim.

Did Someone Else’s Negligence Cause Your Loved One’s Death?

In order to show that you have grounds for a wrongful death claim, you will need to show evidence that someone else’s negligence caused or contributed to your loved one’s death. That negligence may take a number of forms, depending on where and how the accident occurred; however, that negligence will prove essential to your wrongful death claim.

Often, a lawyer will take a look at whether your loved one could have filed a personal injury claim if they had lived. If your loved one would not have had the right to file an injury claim against anyone if they had lived, your family probably does not have the right to file a wrongful death claim after your loved one’s loss. 

Your Relationship to the Deceased

Usually, the closest living relation to the deceased will have the primary right to decide how to handle a wrongful death claim. In order, that typically means:

• The deceased’s spouse
• The deceased’s children
• The deceased’s parents

In some cases, including divorced parents or an individual with multiple children, several entities may have the same right to file a wrongful death claim. In that case, the family can still only file one claim for compensation. The members of the family may need to decide amongst themselves how they want to handle the distribution of funds from the wrongful death claim.

Compensation Following a Wrongful Death in Hampton

Recovering compensation for the loss of a loved one cannot help bring back the deceased. It can, however, provide your family with much-needed financial support as you rebuild. Compensation in wrongful death claims often includes:

• Compensation for the loss of your loved one’s income
• Compensation for the loss of services your loved one performed for the family (for example, the average annual cost of childcare alone could be an estimated $8,520 in Georgia)
• Coverage for your loved one’s final expenses, including funeral and burial costs
• Compensation for loss of consortium/loss of your loved one’s presence

Talk to a lawyer about the compensation your family may deserve for the loss of a loved one in Hampton, including what damages your family might have the right to recover for final medical costs. In some cases, you may benefit from claiming compensation for those bills. In other cases, you may find that your loved one’s health insurance company might have the right to place a lien on those funds, which might decrease the compensation your family ultimately recovers. 

How a Hampton Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You

If you have lost a loved one in Hampton due to someone else’s negligent actions, get in touch with a Hampton wrongful death lawyer as soon after your loved one’s loss as possible. You may have plenty of other things on your plate immediately after the accident. However, getting in touch with a wrongful death attorney in Hampton can help with many of the legal responsibilities associated with the accident. 

An attorney can:

• Investigate the circumstances that led to your loved one’s death, including identifying any liable parties
• Break down the compensation your family may deserve for that loss
• Put together a compelling claim that clearly establishes your family’s right to compensation
• Fight on your behalf to increase the odds that your family will recover the full compensation you deserve

Working with a lawyer can help you feel more confident about the compensation you can ultimately recover for the loss of your loved one and provide you with vital insights into the claim process, including support that can help guide you through each step of the claim.

Contact a Hampton Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

If you lost a loved one in an accident in Hampton due to the negligence of another party, a lawyer can help your family learn more about your rights. Contact John Foy today to discuss the compensation your family may deserve and how to best increase the odds that you will maximize your compensation.