Orlando Wrongful Death Attorney
We care about your family receiving justice after the loss of a loved one.
While all personal injury cases are serious and devastating, certainly none have as far-lasting, negative repercussions as a Florida wrongful death case. Examples of common wrongful death cases include car accidents, birth injuries, medical malpractice, and workplace accidents.
What Is Wrongful Death in Florida?
Under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, wrongful death is any death that is the result of a "wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty." If you have lost a loved one as a result of another person's negligence, you can count on our attorneys at Legally Pink Law to fight for you.
Our experienced team can help you understand your options following the wrongful death of a loved one. Contact our firm today by calling (888) 979-4941 to schedule a free consultation.
What You Might Be Able to Recover
Under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, you might be able to recover the following:
- Loss of decedent's companionship, and protection
- Loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance
- Loss of support and services
- Mental pain and suffering
- Medical or funeral expenses
- Punitive damages (if intentional, reckless, or grossly negligent actions were to blame)
Furthermore, the estate is sometimes eligible to recover the decedent's lost earnings, the decedent's medical and funeral expenses, and loss of net accumulations. In some cases, the wrongdoer is obvious. In other cases, multiple parties could be to blame. For example, if your loved one was killed on a property that should have had better security, you might be able to sue a business or the city as well.
Can I Sue for Emotional Distress?
If your loved one passed away in a wrongful way, you may be a victim of emotional distress. Oftentimes, emotional distress may show up in a person's life as a result of the trauma that they have gone through. If you believe that you are experiencing lasting emotional distress due to the wrongful death of your loved one, seek compensation right away.
How Can I Prove Emotional Distress?
In order to have a firm case to stand on, you will need to provide proof of your emotional distress. It will be important to give an explanation of the ways in which your daily life is now suffering as a result of your emotional distress. You may need to explain difficulty working, driving, caring for others and functioning as a whole. Additionally, friends and/or family may need to testify on your behalf.
Retaining our services could greatly benefit you and your family. For more information, call our team of skilled Florida wrongful death attorneys at (888) 979-4941 or contact us online.
Let Our Orlando, Florida Wrongful Death Lawyers Advocate for You!
If you are the spouse, child, or parent of the decedent, you are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. When you turn to Legally Pink Law for assistance, we can call upon expert consultants and witnesses—from medical professionals to private investigators—to testify.
We will do everything possible to prove the following:
- The defendant was negligent to the plaintiff (the person who died)
- The defendant caused a breach of duty
- The plaintiff's fatal injury or death was legally caused by the defendant's breach
- The plaintiff's survivors are entitled to damages as a result of the accident
We genuinely care about your family receiving justice after your loved one's untimely death and we have successfully handled thousands of cases and recovered millions of dollars worth of compensation on behalf of our clients.
Have Questions? GET ANSWERS
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What types of damages can I claim?
In all cases, there are two general categories of damages – economic damages and non-economic damages. You can be compensated for both past and future economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are things such as wage loss, mileage expense to go to doctor appointments, prescription costs, co-pays on insurance, over-the-counter medications, diminution in value to your car, etc. The other category is non-economic damages, which may include things such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, etc.
The non-economic damages are often greater than the economic damages if the injuries are significant enough. Consult with an attorney for a full explanation of these types of damages.
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Are there deadlines for filing claims?
Yes. Under Florida law, there are very specific, detailed deadlines to file claims. If you do not meet these deadlines, you may be forever barred from bringing your claim forward.
These time restrictions are known as statutes of limitations, and they vary depending on the type of claim you are bringing. It is critical that you consult with an attorney as soon as possible after your incident so you can receive good legal advice on the time limits for filing a personal injury claim.
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How can I recover lost wages?
Wage loss is paid out under your Personal Injury Protection benefit, which happens to be mandatory coverage for auto insurance in the State of Florida. There are exceptions, such as when you elected to have your wage loss reimbursement excluded on your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefit when you obtained your policy.
Normally, people who have their wage loss benefits excluded are those who are not employed for some reason or another. You can also elect to have a standard PIP (which covers wage loss at 60%) or extended PIP (which covers wage loss at 80%).
You will need to provide proof of income in the form of a paycheck stub, income tax return, or some other verifiable means. The remaining percentage of your wage loss not covered by your PIP insurance will become part of your claim against the defendant driver.
When cases do not involve PIP coverage, the wage loss becomes part of the demand to the at-fault party. In most cases, proof of lost income is rather simple if the injured person receives a paycheck. For our clients who are self-employed, we work very closely with them to help them assemble the necessary documentation to prove the wage loss claim. Tax returns can be helpful in instances where clients are self-employed.
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How can I recover my out-of-pocket expenses?
Out-of-pocket expenses are always made part of your claim and are part of your economic damages that we seek to recover from the at-fault party. When your claim is presented to the at-fault party, we include your out-of-pocket expenses as part of the demand package.
If your case does not settle in what we call the "pre-suit phase," then your case will proceed to court where we will ask a jury for your out-of-pocket expenses as part of your economic damages on the verdict form.
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Will my insurance premiums increase if I report an accident to my insurance company?
Your insurance premiums should not go up if you are not at fault for the accident. It will be part of your insurance record, but if you are not at fault, your premiums should not increase.
In most situations, your own insurance company will go after the insurance company that insures the at-fault party to recover the costs it may have paid to you for things such as car repairs or additional medical expenses.
