When someone you love is suddenly taken from this world, the pain and suffering can be immeasurable. Yet, while we grieve their loss, if our loved one’s death was unnatural, we must face the reality that another’s negligence caused it.
Seeking legal help after losing a loved one can seem overwhelming. Each Joliet wrongful death lawyer at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC is here for you every step of the way.
We have been helping families like yours get through this difficult time since 1978 and understand how important it is to fight for their rights.
Call our Joliet personal injury attorneys at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today for immediate legal advice and schedule a free consultation.
You can share confidential or sensitive information with your personal injury lawyer through an attorney-client relationship. You can feel confident about our ability to help you pursue financial compensation from those responsible for your loss.
What is Wrongful Death?
According to Illinois laws, someone or an entity.who knowingly or negligently causes the death of another person.
The law states that a party injured in person or property may recover monetary damages from one who wrongfully injures another. In addition, if the injury is accompanied by death, there may be a recovery for loss of society, services, and expenses.
Many wrongful death cases involve vehicle accidents, motorcycles, truck crashes, or drunk driving.
How to Prove Wrongful Death
When proving the elements of wrongful death, one must provide evidence that the defendant’s negligence caused your family member’s death.
In addition, to recover financial damages in a personal injury case, there has to be proof that you suffered some injury or damages due to the negligent actions of another party.
To prove a wrongful death case, you must understand how the law determines liability for causing a person’s accident. Liability means “the legal responsibility for an act or omission which harms another, regardless of criminal or civil intent or negligence.”
That an injured person contributed to their death caused by negligence does not relieve the defendant from liability for all damages. It could appear that such injury would have resulted in the victim’s death even if others were involved in the wrongful death situation.
Duty of Care
For a wrongful death claim to succeed, you must prove that the defendant owed your loved one a duty of care.
Once you demonstrate that there was a duty and it was breached, you can prove causation, proving that your loved one’s death was directly linked to the defendant’s breach in their duty of care.
An experienced wrongful death lawyer can help your family establish liability and causation, assess damages, and maximize fair compensation, including medical expenses and lost wages.
Our Joliet wrongful death lawyers understand how to prosecute a case effectively, and we will be by your side every step of the way.
Auto Accidents, Product Liability, and Medical Malpractice Cases
Nearly all wrongful death cases involve an injured party killed in a motor vehicle accident due to a medical error or defective product.
These wrongful death cases often hold the person at fault totally or partially responsible for paying compensation to resolve a lawsuit.
These legal issues are complicated because of the large number of individuals and liable parties involved. Therefore, we will investigate your loved one’s wrongful death case in-depth to uncover negligence, product defects, medical errors, or hazardous conditions.
We are prepared to negotiate with insurance companies and their legal teams to minimize your financial burden throughout this challenging time.
But if settlement talks prove unsuccessful, your experienced wrongful death lawyer will try your lawsuit in court. We will fight aggressively for you and other survivors.
Our Joliet wrongful death lawyers are devoted to protecting the legal rights of individuals killed in tragic accidents.
Some wrongful deaths involving catastrophic injury occur from:
- Car accident
- Truck crash
- Pedestrian deaths
- Construction accident
- Workplace exposure
- Medical malpractice
- Defective drug
- Nursing home abuse or neglect
- Premises liability, including slips and falls
- Exposure to asbestos and toxic chemicals
- Preventable birth injuries (congenital disabilities)
- Other fatal accidents
Surviving families can seek financial compensation from the responsible party that includes the following:
Economic Damages
- Hospital costs
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future lost earnings
- Funeral expenses
Non-economic Damages
- Pain, suffering, and grief
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional distress
Immediate Family Members: Who Can File Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Joliet
Joliet residents can file a wrongful death claim against the party who caused their family member’s death if they have a right to do so under state law.
A wrongful death claim can be filed by the immediate family, surviving spouses, or legal representatives on behalf of the estate. Should you file a wrongful death claim in Joliet, you will need to know the following:
- An individual who has suffered damages due to the death of another may maintain an action for damages against the wrongdoer.
- A surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or brothers and sisters may bring an action for wrongful death.
However, only a person who would have been entitled to recover damages on behalf of the deceased had they survived can take action under this Act. Wrongful death claims must be brought within two years from the date of death.
A wrongful death claim can be filed by spouses, children, or legal representatives if the decedent has a right to do so under Illinois laws.
Filing a Wrongful Death Claim
A wrongful death claim is an action that may be brought by a surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or brothers and sisters of the deceased person to recover damages if they died due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct.
Contact a Joliet wrongful death lawyer from our firm today if you have the right to file a wrongful death claim.
How a Joliet Wrongful Death Law Firm Can Help
The loss of a loved one in a preventable accident can devastate those left behind who need to adjust to life without the companionship and resources provided by the deceased.
Initiating a wrongful death suit can be difficult. However, using an experienced wrongful death attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can ensure you receive maximum compensation. The attorneys at our law firm serve Joliet, IL, by holding all parties totally or partially responsible for the death financially accountable.
We know how hard it is to lose a family member, friend, or other loved one in such an unexpected manner.
It doesn’t matter if your loss occurred due to a car accident or medical malpractice. Our Joliet wrongful death attorneys will help you through every step of the legal process so that you can get justice for your loss and hold those responsible accountable for what they did.
The Joliet wrongful death attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help your family recover fair compensation for your losses and to resolve any disputes regarding how benefits should be distributed among the family members left behind.
Determining Contributory Fault
Recovering from the devastation of a catastrophic loss of a loved one can be challenging. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the family’s rights hinge on determining contributory fault and who should file the lawsuit on behalf of all family members.
A contributory fault is a concept in Illinois law that allows the court and jury to reduce the compensation you receive by the percentage of liability attributed to your actions or inaction.
For example, if someone files a wrongful death lawsuit alleging their child died due to medical malpractice where surgery was performed with improper equipment caused by faulty physician training, a contributory fault could limit recovery to 50% of the total damages allowed.
Economic and Non-economic Losses
In Illinois, the total damages allowed in a wrongful death lawsuit include all economic and non-economic losses associated with your loved one’s death.
For example, economic losses include medical bills related to treating injuries that lead to the death of your family member. In contrast, non-economic losses encompass non-economic factors such as emotional suffering and loss of companionship, comfort, guidance, and support.
In a wrongful death lawsuit for the death of a family member or loved one in Joliet, your damages award could include a combination of all legally allowable items.
You can receive total compensation for all losses related to the wrongful death of your loved one without any reduction in damages due to contributory negligence.
The only exception is the monetary limit on the loss of financial contributions that can be attributed to you or any other plaintiff in a lawsuit involving wrongful death.
Joliet Wrongful Death Lawyers
The best way to start moving forward from a catastrophic loss is by consulting with an experienced Joliet wrongful death attorney who can help you move through the process of filing a claim and ensure that you recover the full compensation for your loss.
Our Joliet wrongful death lawyers have years of experience litigating claims, including wrongful death cases, against some of the largest companies in Illinois and throughout the United States.
Call (888) 424-5757 to schedule your free case evaluation with our Joliet wrongful death attorneys today if you lost a loved one due to an accident or injury.
Accidents are a Leading Factor in Deaths across the United States
The National Safety Council has reported that accidents are ranked in our country’s top five leading causes of death. For those under 42, accidents are the leading cause of death, and many of these accidents result from another person’s negligent behavior.
Accidents can include auto accidents, workplace injuries, fires, trips or falls, drowning, medical malpractice, drug overdoses, choking, or death due to contact with hazardous materials.
When it is determined that an accident that led to one or more persons’ death was caused by another’s action or inaction, which is deemed negligent, the families of those killed have the right to a wrongful death claim.
There are several scenarios under which wrongful death may be applied.
For example, the surviving family members might seek justice and compensation for monetary damages from negligent equipment manufacturers, businesses, employers, employees, or the individuals responsible for an accident.
Types of Joliet Wrongful Death Claims
If you have lost a loved one in any accident, it is worth looking into the case to determine whether you have a claim.
Following are some examples of claims we may be able to work on your behalf and recover compensation:
- Car or truck accidents have resulted in fatal injuries
- Motorcycle accidents, including where a passenger was killed due to the actions of another motorist or the person controlling the bike
- Pedestrian accidents involving negligent motorists
- Fatal bicycle injuries
- Poisoning due to hazardous materials such as lead, corrosive chemicals, or toxic compounds
- Nursing home abuse or neglect.
- Vicious animal attacks that result in deadly injuries
- Workplace injuries often occur on construction or excavation sites
- Electrocution, fires, or explosions result in fatalities
- Medical malpractice leads to the death of the patient
- Slip and falls
- Product liability claims where the injured died of their injuries
If your loved one died in an accident, we suggest you investigate whether another person or company was responsible.
It may allow you to recover the damages you need to replace your loved one’s wages and continue to meet your financial obligations, including the following:
- Medical expenses incurred before the death
- Funeral expenses and burial costs
- The ongoing cost of living due to their lost wages
In cases where another’s negligence or mistreatment was egregious, the judge and jury might award punitive damages to survivors.
How to Determine Which Family Member Should File a Joliet Wrongful Death Lawsuit
It may be possible for the family members of someone who has died in an accident to be confused over who has the right or ability to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
While in most personal injury cases, the spouse would file such a claim, if the deceased was not married, their parents, children, or siblings may file the claim instead.
Our Joliet wrongful death lawyers can help determine who has the legal right and option to file a lawsuit. We can protect your claim if multiple family members dispute who has the right to seek compensation from the negligent party.
Since wrongful death lawsuits are valued based on circumstances surrounding economic factors and emotional/mental anguish, and the victim’s pain and suffering, it could be possible to recover a considerable amount of compensation, including punitive damages.
Hire a Joliet Wrongful Death Lawyer to Work on Your Behalf
Did you lose a loved one in an accident? If so, our Joliet wrongful death attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can help you recover the compensation you need to provide for your family while stating that the negligent actions resulting in your loved one’s death will not be tolerated.
Each Joliet wrongful death lawyer at our law firm has extensive experience helping families file these claims and has recovered our clients’ millions in compensation.
Contact our wrongful death law firm at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today to arrange a free case evaluation.
Speak with one of our award-winning Joliet wrongful death attorneys so we can review your case details, perform a thorough investigation, and discuss your legal options and strategy in greater detail.
Since our Joliet, IL, wrongful death lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, we can represent clients regardless of their financial status. Therefore, we assure you that you will never be required to pay attorney’s fees until we secure compensation on your behalf.
