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Wrongful Death

The death of a loved one is an emotional time. Worrying about finances can compound the loss.

Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Attorney

While nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, Pennsylvania wrongful death laws allow close family members to claim monetary compensation that can help alleviate some of the financial challenges arising from the loss if the death occurred due to the negligent or wrongful actions of another person or company. 

A wrongful death claim is a high-stakes claim for a defendant, which they are likely to defend aggressively, so if you are considering a wrongful death lawsuit, you should have experienced wrongful death lawyers, like the team at Solnick Lawyers, on your side. 

What is Considered Wrongful Death?

A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligent or reckless actions of another person or company. Such a death can occur as the result of motor vehicle and trucking accidents, the use of defective products, or workplace accidents. Not every accident that results in death is eligible for a wrongful death claim. To succeed in a wrongful death claim, it is necessary to show that the death was caused by the negligent or willful actions or omissions of another.

Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases

A wrongful death can happen anywhere – at home, at work, on the roads, or even in a hospital. While many wrongful death cases are the result of deadly motor vehicle accidents, the wrongful death cases that we handle at Solnick Lawyers cover a range of circumstances, including: 

Medical Malpractice

When you are harmed by the people who are responsible for healing, it is particularly tragic. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical provider fails to provide the required and expected standard of care to their patient and the patient is harmed as a result. A medical malpractice claim can be brought against a doctor, nurse practitioner, hospital, medical clinic, or any other healthcare provider. 

Automobile Accidents

While some automobile accidents are not the fault of another person, when an accident is caused by the negligence of another driver, they may be liable to the victims of the accident, including damages for wrongful death in the case of an accident-related fatality.   

Defective Products

A defective product can cause severe and sometimes fatal injuries. When this happens, the product manufacturer can be held accountable to the survivors (family members) of a deceased victim in a wrongful death claim. 

Construction Site Accidents

Construction sites, with their heavy equipment, high scaffolding, and other high-risk situations can be very dangerous places. If someone is injured by a fall from a height, electrocution, falling object, or other circumstances, and dies as a result of their injuries, the family may be able to bring a wrongful death claim. 

Proving Wrongful Death Took Place

A wrongful death lawsuit attempts to prove that another person or company caused the victim’s death by their negligence. Negligence means a person or company had an obligation to do or not do something and they failed to act in accordance with that obligation causing harm to another person. A wrongful death claim is a claim that the victim could have brought if they had survived, and the survivors are stepping into the victim’s shoes by bringing the lawsuit.

In a wrongful death claim, the victim may have died from a catastrophic car, truck, or aviation accident, or from defective product use, workplace-related circumstances, or premises liability issues. If the driver, product manufacturer, or property owner was negligent and their negligent behavior resulted in the victim’s death, they may be legally and financially liable to surviving family members.

Determining Liability in a Wrongful Death Case

It is necessary to determine liability for wrongful death to decide who is responsible for paying compensation to the loved ones of the victim. Your personal injury attorney will investigate the facts of your case to decide who could be liable and who should be included in your claim. Most wrongful death claims are settled out of court but if the case goes to trial, the court will decide who is liable and how much compensation is awarded.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Typically, a Pennsylvania wrongful death lawsuit can be brought by or on behalf of the parents, children, or spouse of the deceased as beneficiaries. Parents who want to file a wrongful death lawsuit for an adult child may have to prove that they were at least partly financially dependent on their child at the time of the death.

Under Pennsylvania law, the personal representative of the deceased victim must file the wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative may be determined by the Will of the deceased victim or may be appointed by the court to represent the beneficiaries if there was no Will.

Compensation for Wrongful Death

Compensation in a wrongful death claim is paid to the survivors of the victim and is intended to compensate them for their loss. A survivor’s damages can include economic elements, such as the loss of the deceased’s support for a dependent child, and non-economic elements which are similar to pain and suffering in a personal injury claim, such as the loss of the victim’s love and affection. Compensation in a wrongful death claim may include:

  • Loss of financial and economic support of the decedent
  • Loss of consortium (love and affection)
  • Loss of decedent’s services
  • Mental distress
  • Medical bills incurred before death
  • Estate administration expenses
  • Funeral expenses

There is another component of a wrongful death claim referred to as a “survival claim” which permits recovery of damages which the deceased person sustained (as opposed to his or her loved ones).  Damages in a survival claim may include pain and suffering and lost lifetime earnings.  It is important to get reliable legal advice about the compensation that you are entitled to by law so that you are properly compensated and do not accept a lowball settlement offer from an at-fault party or their insurer.

Time Limits for a Wrongful Death Case

There are strict legal deadlines in each state for bringing a wrongful death case, which lawyers call the statute of limitations. This is the length of time that you have to file a lawsuit for wrongful death. In Pennsylvania, wrongful death and survival actions against an at-fault person or company must be filed within two years from the date of the death.

It is important to begin the process of filing a claim as quickly as possible, because if the statute of limitations passes, you may not be able to bring a claim. If you are considering a wrongful death claim, speak to an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.

Why Work with Our Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Attorney?

When you have lost a loved one as a result of another’s negligence, you need help. It is a difficult time emotionally and financially, but an experienced personal injury lawyer, like the team at Solnick Lawyers, can help carry some of your burdens. We can advise you on the options that are available to you to hold the at-fault party responsible for your loved one’s death and get your family the help that you need. The defendants in a wrongful death claim often have powerful insurance companies and their lawyers on their side, who will try to minimize the value of your claim and your compensation. You need to ensure that you are protected and have someone on your side who knows your legal rights and who will fight for you.

The Experienced Wrongful Death Attorneys at Solnick Lawyers are Ready to Help

Solnick Lawyers has been representing family members in wrongful death lawsuits in the Greater Philadelphia area, and throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, for more than 20 years. We are not intimidated by the tactics of aggressive corporations, insurance companies, or government agencies. We face them day after day in negotiations and courtrooms to secure justice for our clients, and we will do the same for you. We are on your side.

Cases we handle:

  • Personal Injury Claims
  • Bicycle Accidents
  • Bus Accidents
  • SEPTA Accidents
  • Car Accidents
  • Construction Site Accidents
  • Dog Bites / Attacks
  • Electric Scooter Accidents
  • Insurance / Bad Faith Claims
  • Motorcycle Accidents
  • Pedestrian Accidents
  • Premises Liability Claims
  • Rideshare Accidents
  • Lyft Accidents
  • Uber Accidents
  • Slip and Fall Accidents
  • Truck Accidents
  • Wrongful Death

If your loved one has died due to someone else’s negligence, and you would like to know more about your legal rights, please contact us today by calling 215-481-9979 or via our website to schedule a free consultation and case review. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain as we never charge a fee until and unless we obtain a settlement or award for you. Solnick Lawyers is on your side. Let us fight for you.

Pennslyvania Wrongful Death FAQs

“Statute of limitations” means the length of time that you have to file a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident. In Pennsylvania, wrongful death actions against an at-fault person or company must be filed within two years from the date of the death.

It’s important to begin the process of filing a lawsuit as quickly as possible, because if the statute of limitations passes, you may be precluded from filing a claim. Other related claims might expire within two years from the date of the accident causing the death of a loved one.

Negligence means a person/entity had an obligation to do or not do something and they failed to act in accordance with that obligation. In a wrongful death claim, the person often died from a catastrophic car, truck, or aviation accident, or from defective product use, workplace-related circumstances, or premises liability issues.

However, some crashes are investigated and found to be accidental, with no negligence involved. For example, many aviation and helicopter accidents can be attributed to a pilot, ground controller, manufacturing company, maintenance company, or airport’s negligence, but not always.

But if it can be proven that the death was directly caused by a person or company’s action, or failure of action, you may have a viable claim. For example, if an investigation revealed the helicopter lost power because a ground control member failed to conduct a proper inspection before takeoff, the surviving family may have a wrongful death claim. Similarly, if a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or failed to operate their vehicle in a safe and prudent manner leading to an accident, the family may have a viable wrongful death claim.

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