Key Takeaways
- A wrongful death claim arises when a person dies due to another party’s negligent or unsafe actions.
- In Illinois, a personal representative of the deceased person’s estate must file the wrongful death lawsuit.
- Families may pursue compensation for financial losses, funeral costs, and the loss of companionship and support.
Losing a loved one to a tragic accident is never easy. Beyond the lifelong grief and emotional trauma of the event itself, the absence of your family member may mean that you are unable to provide for yourself due to a loss of income. It may also come with additional hardships, such as being unable to manage household responsibilities or care for children or elderly family members.
Fortunately, there are options for families who are reeling from this sudden loss, especially when the death of their loved one is caused by negligence. For over 30 years, Power Rogers has represented many families in wrongful death cases. Our Elgin wrongful death lawyers can help you explore legal options that help address the loss of a loved one and the financial hardships that you may be dealing with as a result.
What Does “Wrongful Death” Mean?
A wrongful death occurs when a person is tragically killed due to the negligent actions of an outside party. This may include a pedestrian who is hit by a drunk driver, a doctor who failed to diagnose a terminal illness, or a worker who unknowingly inhales toxic chemicals on the job site. Regardless of how it occurred, a family that has suffered the wrongful death of a loved one is often entitled to compensation to help them recover from the grief and shoulder the financial burden associated with their loss.
What Kinds of Fatal Elgin Accidents Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim?
While any accident in Elgin can be fatal, the most common types of accidents that lead to wrongful death claims include:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: Drivers who behave recklessly, such as by speeding, drinking, or using their phone, can cause deadly collisions.
- Medical Malpractice: When a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional fails to uphold the standard of care, the results can be deadly. This might include surgical errors, medication mistakes, misdiagnosis, or failure to treat a known condition.
- Product Liability: Our firm has seen many cases where a defective product has resulted in death. This may include unsafe building materials that cause structural failure, unsafe medication, or contaminated food or cosmetics.
- Premises Liability: The law says that property owners (whether commercial or residential) have a responsibility to maintain safe conditions. If your loved one died due to injuries they sustained on someone else’s property, you may be eligible to pursue legal action against them and recover compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit.
- Workplace Accidents: Similar to property owners, employers have a legal duty to protect their employees from unsafe working conditions. Workplace accidents can have deadly effects on workers, especially in manual labor positions such as construction or manufacturing. If the court finds that PPE was not provided or negligence contributed to a workplace death, the employer may be held liable.
Wrongful Death Eligibility: Who Can File?
While there may be several bereaved members of the deceased’s family, the lawsuit itself must be filed by a personal representative of their estate. This is often a close family member named in the deceased person’s will, but they can also be appointed by the court if they are unable to take on the responsibilities or if the deceased person did not have a will. Once the personal representative is named, they can initiate the lawsuit with the help of an Elgin wrongful death attorney.
A family that has suffered the wrongful death of a loved one is often entitled to compensation to help them recover from the grief and shoulder the financial burden associated with their loss.
What Damages Can Elgin Families Recover After a Loved One’s Death?
Damages in wrongful death cases are similar to those in other types of personal injury lawsuits in that they are designed to address both economic (damages that have a specific financial value) and non-economic damages (such as emotional trauma, depression, or PTSD). Essentially, this means that if your case is successful, you may be eligible for:
- The cost of medical bills left behind by your loved one
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of income due to the loss of your deceased spouse’s or parent’s wages
- Loss of benefits such as health insurance or retirement
- Loss of companionship and emotional support
- Emotional hardship, such as depression, trauma, anxiety, and the cost of counseling to address it
If the suit is successful, the damages will generally be awarded to the surviving family members who were closest in relation to the deceased individual and to those who were most severely affected by their death. In most cases, the individual’s spouse will be first to be considered, followed by children, parents, and finally, siblings or other next of kin.
How an Elgin Wrongful Death Lawyer at Power Rogers Can Guide You
When an unexpected death affects your family, the pain can feel incredibly isolating, especially when considering your next steps for filing a wrongful death claim. When you work with us, you’re not only gaining access to a team of legal professionals who have decades of proven success in wrongful death cases, but you’ll also be actively supported every step of the way. This includes identifying the personal representative of your loved one’s estate, investigating the incident, collecting evidence, and negotiating with the involved parties to ensure you’re getting a fair settlement for the hardship you’ve endured.
What To Expect During the Wrongful Death Claim Process
At Power Rogers, we’re dedicated to making the wrongful death claim process as straightforward as possible. We’ll start the process with a free consultation to discuss your case, offer advice, and answer any questions you may have about the process. Once we have a general understanding of the event, we’ll start investigating the incident in detail and thoroughly collect any evidence that may help us demonstrate your case. If needed, we can also file subpoenas to collect hard-to-access evidence such as surveillance footage, medical documents, or witness testimony. Finally, we’ll use this evidence to calculate the true extent of your damages and present our findings to the insurance or the court to advocate for a fair settlement on your behalf.
Take Your Next Steps With Our Elgin Wrongful Death Attorneys
Losing a loved one to a tragic accident is hard enough, but the emotional toll is often accompanied by loss of income, household support, and crippling debt. A wrongful death settlement can never take back the trauma of the event, but it can alleviate some of the burden. If you’re ready to take the next steps, we encourage you to contact Power Rogers for a free consultation. Our attorneys can support you throughout the process and help answer any questions you may have about your case.
