Florida Wrongful Death Attorneys
As Florida wrongful death attorneys we have represented hundreds of families that have loss a family member due to the fault of someone else. We understand how difficult it is for you to deal with the loss of a loved one and also look for a Florida wrongful death lawyer to help you with the situation. It is important to take action quickly as there is evidence that must be preserved and critical things that can be done immediately in order to solidify a strong case.
If you are considering pursuing a wrongful death action, you should contact one of our wrongful death attorneys for a free phone consultation at any time. We are available to meet with you at your home or any of our offices. We want to make the hiring of our law firm as easy as possible so that you can take care of your family and we can begin to take care of seeking maximum compensation for your family.
Florida has specific laws which allow spouses, minors or parents to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the decedent. The Florida wrongful death statute is Fl Stat 768.16 through 768.26 and it specifically states the damages that can be recovered by a surviving family member. All Florida wrongful death cases must be filed within two years of the date of the death. If the death occurred due to medical malpractice or the negligence of a government entity, then the lawsuit may need to be filed sooner than two years in some cases.
In a Florida wrongful death claim it is important to hire law firm that has the experience to not only prove the liability aspect of the case, but also the financial damages caused as the result of losing a loved one. We work with Florida’s best economist, accountants, and financial planners in order to prove the past and future financial losses as result of the death. We recommend that you read Florida Statute 768.21 (see below) in order to fully understand the types of damages that our Florida wrongful death lawyers can seek to recover for our clients. Additionally, we have listed below some examples of Florida wrongful death cases that we have handled.
768.21 —Damages
All potential beneficiaries of a recovery for wrongful death, including the decedent’s estate, shall be identified in the complaint, and their relationships to the decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as follows:
- Each survivor may recover the value of lost support and services from the date of the decedent’s injury to her or his death, with interest, and future loss of support and services from the date of death and reduced to present value. In evaluating loss of support and services, the survivor’s relationship to the decedent, the amount of the decedent’s probable net income available for distribution to the particular survivor, and the replacement value of the decedent’s services to the survivor may be considered. In computing the duration of future losses, the joint life expectancies of the survivor and the decedent and the period of minority, in the case of healthy minor children, may be considered.
- The surviving spouse may also recover for loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury.
- Minor children of the decedent, and all children of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse, may also recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. For the purposes of this subsection, if both spouses die within 30 days of one another as a result of the same wrongful act or series of acts arising out of the same incident, each spouse is considered to have been predeceased by the other.
- Each parent of a deceased minor child may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. Each parent of an adult child may also recover for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors.
- Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent’s injury or death may be recovered by a survivor who has paid them.
- The decedent’s personal representative may recover for the decedent’s estate the following:
- Loss of earnings of the deceased from the date of injury to the date of death, less lost support of survivors excluding contributions in kind, with interest. Loss of the prospective net accumulations of an estate, which might reasonably have been expected but for the wrongful death, reduced to present money value, may also be recovered:
- If the decedent’s survivors include a surviving spouse or lineal descendants; or
- If the decedent is not a minor child as defined in s. 768.18(2), there are no lost support and services recoverable under subsection (1), and there is a surviving parent.
- Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent’s injury or death that have become a charge against her or his estate or that were paid by or on behalf of decedent, excluding amounts recoverable under subsection (5).
- Evidence of remarriage of the decedent’s spouse is admissible.
- All awards for the decedent’s estate are subject to the claims of creditors who have complied with the requirements of probate law concerning claims.
- The damages specified in subsection (3) shall not be recoverable by adult children and the damages specified in subsection (4) shall not be recoverable by parents of an adult child with respect to claims for medical negligence as defined by s. 766.106(1).
Our Florida Wrongful Death Cases
- Negligent Entrustment, Wrongful Death case settles for $1.1 Million policy limits A young man has died unnecessarily. Unfortunately, innocent people die every single day in car crashes that could be avoided. This story is no different. A 19 year-old young man with his entire life ahead of him was killed when […]
- Trailer Accident Case Settles for $775,000 policy limit Client Is Struck By Truck With A Trailer Hitched To The Back Our client, a retired victim, was riding his bicycle in Vero Beach, Florida. As he was crossing a street, suddenly and without warning, another vehicle struck him causing […]
Our client, a 21 year old soccer team player and recent college graduate, lost her life when a 15 passenger Chrysler van lost control and rolled over.
Through close work with accident reconstructionists and vehicle engineers, we were able to present evidence that the van had both a manufacturing and design defect. In addition, we relied on recent data that had been compiled by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. The decedent was survived by her mother and father.
Shortly after the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit against Chrysler Motor Company, the case was resolved.
Our client, an 18 year-old boy, lost his life when he was traveling as a passenger in a Chrysler 15 passenger van that lost control on the highway and rolled over. A wrongful death lawsuit was brought on behalf of the decedent’s mother and father against the manufacturer of the van claiming a manufacturing defect and defective design regarding the stability and handling characteristics of the van.
At the time of the accident, the van was occupied by several members of a youth church group. The case was resolved for a significant confidential settlement amount.
In early 1999, an uninsured driver raced through a flashing red light directly into the left side of a vehicle in which our client, a young woman, was a passenger. Our client and two other victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Pursuant to Florida’s dangerous instrumentality law, we filed suit against the rental car company that owned the car driven by uninsured driver. The rental car company argued that they should not be liable, because the uninsured driver that caused the accident was different than the driver who originally rented the car. In pre-trial mediation the case was settled for $900,000.
Our client was a husband and father of two minor boys when he died in an automobile accident as the result of the negligence of a commercial truck driver. The trucking company claimed that the decedent failed to use due care and was speeding. Prior to filing a lawsuit we were able to obtain the maximum policy limits of $1,000,000 for our client’s family.
Our client was the mother of an 11 year old boy that died when he drowned in a commercial bus that went out of control and into a canal. We filed lawsuits against numerous entities such as the bus driver, bus owner, bus manufacturer, the state of Florida Department of Transportation, driver of the car that hit the bus, and the manufacturer of the tire that was on the car that hit the bus. The damages sought were to compensate the mother for the emotional pain and suffering of losing her son. The case was resolved at a court ordered mediation prior to trial.
