Compassionate Detroit Wrongful Death Attorneys Fighting for Justice

Helping Grieving Family Members Through the Legal Process Following a Loved One’s Death

If you are reading this web page, there is a chance that you have recently been forced to endure the passing of a family member or other close loved one following an accident or some intentional act. We all know that death can happen at any moment, often when we least expect it, but we try not to think about our own mortality or the mortalities of our loved ones. Hopefully, you and your family members will reach an old age. However, sometimes, our deceased loved ones were taken from us due to someone else’s negligence or malicious acts. In such cases, you may be able to take legal action to hold responsible parties accountable with a wrongful death lawsuit.

While no monetary compensation can ever hope to bring someone back after their tragic passing, the hope of filing wrongful death claims is to make surviving family members whole again, at least from a financial perspective. Additionally, by ensuring that the entity responsible for someone’s death is held liable, there is a hope that similar unintentional deaths may be avoided in the future.

The surviving spouse and other surviving family members are likely to be in a state of grief and mourning after having suffered through the devastating experience of a wrongful death. It is often too much to ask for the deceased spouse and other relatives to navigate the legal process in pursuit of justice and financial losses. That is why it is strongly recommended that surviving family members and the personal representative of the deceased’s estate retain professional legal counsel from an experienced wrongful death attorney.

Our law firm has years of experience representing complex cases of wrongful deaths in and around the Detroit area. As your legal representation, we can help you recover compensation for burial expenses, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and more. We are well-versed in Michigan law concerning personal injury cases and wrongful death cases. We would be proud to represent your interests both in and out of the court of law as you seek the full extent of the damages you deserve from the responsible parties and their insurance company providers. To learn more about our legal services and how we may assist you during this traumatic experience, please contact our Detroit law office to schedule your free initial consultation today.

What is Considered a Wrongful Death in Michigan?

According to state law, a wrongful death is the death of a person caused by someone else’s negligence, wrongful acts, or intentional misconduct. If the deceased person passed away due to the fault of another individual or other entities, you may have a legal claim worthy of reasonable compensation.

Michigan wrongful death claims are similar to personal injury claims, except the deceased person is unable to represent themselves and file a lawsuit. In a wrongful death case, the personal representative of the deceased’s estate works with a wrongful death attorney on behalf of the deceased.

Wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases. This means that the surviving family members filed the lawsuit, as compared to the state filing a claim, which would be the case in a criminal case. Additionally, this means that, if successful in their wrongful death claim, the surviving family members can seek financial compensation for their ordeal, as compared to seeking jail time or other criminal punishments. However, it is worth noting that a wrongful death suit can be filed even if the death is already being handled in a criminal case.

Surviving spouses and other family members seeking a fair settlement for their wrongful death claims are encouraged to retain professional legal counsel from experienced wrongful death attorneys. To seek legal advice from our law firm, please contact us to schedule your free case evaluation today.

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

To win economic and non-economic losses in your wrongful death case, the deceased’s estate must show that another entity’s negligence or willful misconduct led to their loved ones’ unfortunate passing. Wrongful death claims are often complex cases, and personal representatives are encouraged to retain professional legal representation from experienced Detroit wrongful death lawyers.

First, it is necessary to establish liability. You and your attorneys must prove that the defendant’s negligent or intentional actions directly resulted in your loved one’s death.

Your wrongful death attorneys will help calculate fair compensation for your wrongful death loss. Economic damages may include financial support loss, medical bills, and lost benefits. Non-economic damages may include loss of companionship, pain and suffering, and other intangible losses.

A wrongful death lawyer will help file a claim against the at-fault party. A lawsuit and court may be necessary if the responsible parties refuse or deny the claims.

Who Has the Right to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Detroit, MI?

The Michigan Wrongful Death Act lays out who can file wrongful death lawsuits and who can receive settlements from those lawsuits.

A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by the surviving spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, or grandchild. In some wrongful death cases, more distant relatives like aunts and uncles may also file a claim.

If the deceased person left behind a last will and testament, any individual named as a beneficiary of the estate may also have a right to file a wrongful death suit.

Before a legal claim can be filed, the interested party or beneficiary must be appointed as the personal representative of the decedent’s estate. In many cases, family members will agree on who should be appointed to this important position. The personal representative represents the interests of all family members involved in the case and works closely with a wrongful death attorney in pursuit of a fair settlement.

How Long Do Wrongful Death Cases Typically Take to Resolve?

Complicated wrongful death cases can take several years to complete. There are many steps potentially involved in a wrongful death lawsuit, including the appointment of a personal representative, gathering evidence to prove the cause of death, filing a claim for damages, interviewing eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, mediation, discovery, appeals, and courtroom trials. Any one of these steps could slow down the legal proceedings and prolong the wrongful death case.

Certain types of wrongful death cases, such as medical malpractice cases, may take longer to resolve. By comparison, car accidents take far less time to complete in most cases. Also, some judges may allow longer amounts of time for both parties to do their investigations and present their cases to the courts.

Our legal team offers free consultations to prospective new clients interested in beginning the wrongful death claims process. Additionally, our Detroit law firm operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you won’t pay us anything in legal fees unless we successfully recover a reasonable settlement for your claim. Schedule your risk-free case evaluation with our Michigan law firm today.

What Are Common Types of Michigan Wrongful Death Accidents?

Life is fragile. There is no shortage of ways in which you or someone you care about could be taken from this world, leaving Those who survive us feeling devastated and alone. However, some types of accidents and incidents are more commonly associated with wrongful deaths.

Examples of wrongful death cases in Detroit, Michigan, include the following:

• Assault and murder
• Aviation accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Birth injuries
• Boating accidents
• Car accidents
• Construction accidents
• Defective products and product liability cases
• Dog bites and animal attacks
• Domestic violence
• Fires, explosions, and electrical accidents
• Medical negligence and medical malpractice
• Motorcycle accidents
• Nursing home abuse and neglect
• Pedestrian accidents
• Poisonings and drug overdoses
• Police misconduct
• Premises liability cases, such as slip and fall accidents
• Rideshare accidents
• Sporting and recreational accidents
• Swimming pool drownings
• Truck accidents
• Workplace accidents

Whatever the cause of the tragic death of your loved one, you may have a valid legal claim if you can prove that the death was the fault of someone else’s negligence or intentional acts. The legal process for establishing negligence and arguing for fair compensation can be complicated, made all the more so when surviving family members are still in a state of grief. But you don’t need to go through the legal proceedings alone. Our wrongful death law firm would proudly represent your interests as you pursue justice and wrongful death losses.

Can a Wrongful Death Lawyer Help You Seek Financial Compensation?

With a well-articulated legal case, it is possible for wrongful death lawyers to negotiate reasonable compensation for the surviving loved ones of a deceased person following a wrongful death act. This compensation can never bring back your dearly departed loved ones, but the hope is to help lift the burden that the financial losses left surviving family members with, as well as compensate for pain and suffering. If successful in your wrongful death lawsuit, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic losses may include the following:

• Loss of household services, including yard work, cooking, chores, and more
• Property damage expenses
• Funeral, memorial, and burial expenses
• Loss of health insurance, retirement benefits, and work benefits
• Lost wages and lost financial support, including likely future earnings
• Medical expenses related to the accident injuries that led to the wrongful death

Non-economic losses may include the following:

• Loss of society, companionship, consortium, guidance, care, and guardianship
• Loss of emotional and moral support
• The physical pain and suffering of the deceased person before death
• Mental anguish and emotional distress

In certain wrongful death cases, such as those involving gross negligence or intentional acts of violence, the at-fault party may also owe the claimants punitive damages. These damages are meant to punish the at-fault entities and dissuade others from repeating similar acts in the future.

Who May Be Entitled to Recover Compensation?

Not every relative, friend, or interested party should expect to receive wrongful death compensation following a successful lawsuit. Michigan law reserves compensation for only close family members and heirs.

You may receive financial recovery in a wrongful death case if you are a surviving spouse, child, descendant, parent, sibling, or grandparent.

If the decedent left none of these close relatives behind, financial recovery will be distributed according to the state’s intestate succession laws. Other individuals who may be entitled to reasonable compensation in a wrongful death case include stepchildren and beneficiaries named in a last will and testament.

Should a dispute arise between surviving family members about who should receive financial recovery, working with an experienced wrongful death attorney is important for legal guidance. Please contact our law firm to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation today.

How Long Do You Have to File a Michigan Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

There is a Michigan statute of limitations for wrongful death claims. In most cases, you have three years from the time of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit and recover damages.

Please note, however, that there are some exceptions to the rule. For example, wrongful deaths caused by intentional acts like murder or police shootings have a two-year deadline. Medical malpractice and nursing home negligence are also generally restricted to two-year deadlines.

If you fail to file a wrongful death claim before the statute of limitations has run out, you may forever miss your opportunity to recover damages from the at-fault parties. Do not delay in contacting a Detroit wrongful death lawyer to discuss your case in more detail.

What Could Be Valuable Evidence in Your Wrongful Death Suit?

An experienced wrongful death lawyer will help investigate the case, gather useful evidence to support your legal claim and negotiate with at-fault parties and their insurance companies for a fair settlement.

Types of evidence commonly used in wrongful death cases include the following:

• Accident reports
• Citations for the defendant
• Expert testimonies
• Funeral expenses
• Hospital bills
• Lost wages and other financial records
• Medical records
• Photographic and video evidence from the accident scene
• Police reports
• Witness statements

It is important that you speak with an attorney sooner rather than later following a wrongful death accident. The more time that your wrongful death lawyer has to examine the evidence and build their case, the higher the likelihood that you will have a successful outcome. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our legal team today.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Experienced Detroit Wrongful Death Lawyers Today

If you’ve recently lost a loved one in a wrongful death incident, our Michigan law firm offers its sincerest condolences to you and your family members. Following a wrongful death, surviving family members have the right to take legal action in pursuit of financial recovery from the responsible parties. However, the legal process can be complex, and it is strongly recommended that you proceed only with experienced legal representation by your side.

Our Detroit law firm has extensive experience helping clients with complex cases pursue the damages they require following the loss of a loved one in a wrongful death accident. We pride ourselves on providing compassionate legal services to grieving families overwhelmed by the legal system in Detroit, Michigan.

To learn more about how we may assist you during this difficult time, please contact our Detroit lawyers to discuss your wrongful death claim in more detail. You can schedule a free consultation with our legal staff by calling us at 248-671-6794.