A wrongful death attorney is a committed advocate when a victim needs it most. When a loved one dies unexpectedly, it can seem impossible to pick up the pieces. You may not even know where to begin.
At Jack Bernstein, our wrongful death attorneys know that you’re grieving. We also know how insurance companies, business, and other parties can pressure you and try to take advantage of grieving families. It’s our goal to help deserving families begin to pick up the pieces. Our wrongful death lawyers represent families and individuals dealing with wrongful deaths in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, North Port, Bradenton and surrounding areas.
When we represent a client, we educate you on the law. Together, we work to build your claim. Our legal advocates handle all of the stressful negotiations and legal maneuvering as we work together for your best interests. With more than 10,000 satisfied clients to date, we believe that helping people is what we do best.
A wrongful death is an accidental death that occurs because of the actions of someone else. It is a premature death that results from the negligent, reckless or intentional behavior of another person. A wrongful death tragically ends a person’s life.
It also rips them away from loved ones including parents, children, spouses, and other close loved ones. Under Florida law, a wrongful death is a death that gives the victim’s close relatives and their personal estate a cause of action under the law to recover damages. The victim’s family members may seek compensation for their financial losses and their mental and emotional anguish.
It’s true that financial compensation doesn’t even begin to make things the same. The purpose of wrongful death compensation is to put the family in the same financial position that they would have been in if they hadn’t lost their family member. When you lose a loved one unexpectedly, you likely have final medical bills and funeral expenses. A wrongful death lawsuit can seek recovery for those expenses.
Also, a wrongful death suit can also seek compensation for lost income. If a victim has children, they likely rely on their parent for financial support. Bringing a wrongful death claim can help support the victim’s children, pay for college expenses, and otherwise help the children secure their future. If the children need services like child care, transportation or direct care because of the loss of their parent, these types of expenses can be included in the claim.
Funeral expenses and lost income are economic damages. A wrongful death claim can also compensate loved ones for emotional anguish and mental suffering. Even though financial compensation can’t make it the same, it can provide some justice and relief for the victim’s family. You may also qualify to claim punitive damages if the responsible party behaves in an egregious way that they should have known could lead to a tragic death.
To win a wrongful death claim in Sarasota, you must prove that someone else is responsible for your loved one’s death. That doesn’t mean that they intentionally caused the victim’s death. It’s enough if the person breached a duty to act carefully. Breaching a duty of care means failing to act as carefully as an ordinary person would act knowing the same things in the same circumstances.
You can prove your case by showing that the person responsible acted negligently, recklessly or intentionally. To act intentionally means to cause a death on purpose. Recklessness means a willful disregard of the obvious safety concerns associated with a behavior. If a person acts intentionally or even recklessly in a way that causes a death, they may face criminal charges in addition to facing a civil claim for damages. However, a civil claim has a lower burden of proof, and you can ask for a more extensive range of ranges in most civil cases than you can in criminal court. We can help you understand all of your options under Florida law.
Here are just some of the ways that a tragic wrongful death can occur in Sarasota and surrounding areas.
The legal team at Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys can work with you to value your injury claim. Your economic losses include all of your out-of-pocket financial losses like your loved one’s final expenses and medical bills. Any way that you have a financial cost today or in the future because of your loved one’s absence can count as an economic loss.
We’ve helped thousands of deserving clients just like you. We have the training and experience to help you place a value on your claim and determine your best steps under Florida law. Armed with our knowledge and our zealous advocacy for your best interests, you can make the choices that are best for you and your family.
Any close family member of a victim can file a wrongful death claim. If you’re a spouse, child or parent of a victim, you may qualify to bring a claim. We invite you to talk to our team of wrongful death attorneys in Sarasota to determine if you have the standing to bring your claim.
Have you tragically lost a loved one? We want to help. The team at Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys can help you value your claim and bring a claim under Florida law. Assisting grieving families is what we do best.
Ultimately, it’s our goal to help you claim all of the damages that may be available to you under the law and pursue your case from every angle to maximize the compensation that belongs in your pocket. We invite you to contact us today. Call us today at (941) 822-2222 for an immediate consultation.