Finding The Best Wrongful Death Attorney In Pennsylvania

Losing a loved one is never easy. But when you’ve lost a family member because of someone’s negligence or recklessness, this is especially difficult to bear, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in many instances, is also preventable.

The CDC reports that there are an estimated 130,000 deaths each year attributed to avoidable incidents. If you suspect your family member’s death was caused by negligence, this information could be vital.

What Is A Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

A wrongful death lawsuit enables the family of the deceased to recover monetary losses associated with the death of their loved one. Under the Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Act, you may be entitled to compensation if you have lost a family member due to a negligent or preventable act. The damages in a wrongful death case are meant to compensate for losses, like the loss of income, resulting from the death of a family member.

The key point to remember is that someone else must be to blame for your family member’s death, and you must be able to prove that.

What Are Your Rights?

Your rights as a relative will vary, however. As a spouse, child, parent, or grandparent of the deceased, you may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Some items you may be able to claim compensation for include:

• Funeral costs
• Lost earnings
• Lost benefits
• Loss of companionship
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of security for those dependent on the deceased
• Punitive damages

Punitive damages are essentially “extra damages.” These extra damages, which equals extra compensation, are awarded for a number of reasons, like especially egregious conduct by the defendant or a monetary award that seemed a bit lacking.

Who Can File A Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

To file a wrongful death lawsuit in Pennsylvania, you must be able to show or prove the following:

1. The person has died
2. That death was due to someone's negligence
3. The deceased is survived by immediate family members
4. The surviving family members suffered a monetary loss because of the victim's death

What Are Some Typical Examples Of Wrongful Deaths In Pennsylvania?

Wrongful deaths can occur for numerous reasons, but here are a few of the most common causes of wrongful deaths in Pennsylvania.

• Medical Malpractice – Medical malpractice is among the leading causes of wrongful deaths each year and many victims aren’t even aware that they’re eligible to receive compensation
• Work Injuries – According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, there are around 4,400 workplace fatalities each year
• Truck Accidents – There are more than 3,600 accidents each year in the U.S. involving semi-trucks.
• Bus Accidents – Around 200-300 fatal accidents each year

What Should You Consider When Hiring A Wrongful Death Attorney?

With funeral costs mounting and grief taking over, hiring a lawyer isn’t likely on your mind in terms of immediate things to do. And as we already mentioned, many victims aren’t even aware of their rights.

If you suspect that you may be entitled to wrongful death compensation, it’s important to understand the recourse options available to you. For instance, in Pennsylvania, you have two options – A wrongful death claim or a survival claim.

It’s also important to understand what, in Pennsylvania, there is a two-year statute of limitation. That means, in most cases, you have two years after the incident that caused a wrongful death to file a lawsuit.

In the aftermath of a loved one’s death, and if you suspect wrongful death, it’s important to look for a law firm that:

• Has a national reputation for winning wrongful death cases
• Has record-setting recoveries in wrongful death cases
• Has an unmatched record litigating wrongful death cases
• Has an experienced team of lawyers who handle wrongful death cases
• Will handle wrongful death cases on a contingency basis, which is just a fancy way of saying that you don’t pay the law firm unless the law firm wins the case
• And, when appropriate, has a team of leading doctors on staff to help litigate wrongful death cases

The gist of it is this: Experience matters!

Experience matters when choosing a lawyer in general, but perhaps even more so when it comes to choosing a wrongful death attorney.

The experienced lawyers at Ross Feller Casey have an unmatched record of winning multimillion-dollar recoveries in wrongful death lawsuits. We also have a team of Ivy League trained physicians and doctors who are also lawyers right on staff, making the firm uniquely qualified to litigate medical malpractice cases, no matter how difficult or complex.

Contact us today for your free wrongful death case evaluation.