Losing a loved one is always difficult, but losing a someone you love due to an unexpected and avoidable accident can be truly emotionally devastating.
Along with the emotional pain of losing a loved one, families may also experience financial hardship after their loss, either through a loss of income or final expenses incurred.
While few people in Florida want to think about legal action in the wake of a loved one’s wrongful death, it may ultimately be necessary to your future.
With this in mind, the Orlando wrongful death attorneys of Morgan & Morgan are here to help families torn apart by avoidable tragedy consider their options and take the steps necessary to secure their futures.
Contact us for your free consultation today.
Who has the Right to Sue for Wrongful Death in Florida?
Florida’s Wrongful Death Act provides that all survivors of the deceased shall have a right to compensation following a death caused by negligence.
“Survivors” include the deceased’s spouse, children, and parents, as well as any blood or adoptive siblings who were dependent upon the deceased for support.
While these survivors have a right to receive compensation, it is the responsibility of the personal representative of the deceased’s estate to actually initiate and prosecute the lawsuit.
The personal representative is either the executor designated in the deceased’s will or, if there is no will, a relative determined by Florida’s intestacy laws.
Damages in Wrongful Death Cases
Placing a monetary value on a human life seems like an impossible task. Unfortunately, it is the only remedy the law is capable of offering.
As one would imagine, the calculation of damages in a wrongful death case is extremely complex. However, the Wrongful Death Act does provide some limited guidance:
- Each survivor is entitled to the value of both past and future loss of support and services from the deceased, based on the deceased’s probable net income and the life expectancy of the deceased and the survivor.
- The spouse is also entitled to compensation for loss of companionship and for mental pain and suffering.
- The parents of a minor child are entitled to compensation for mental pain and suffering.
- The parents of an adult child can receive compensation for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors.
- Any survivor who has paid medical or funeral expenses on behalf of the deceased may recover them.
- The estate of the deceased may recover lost earnings from the date of injury to the date of death and any medical or funeral expenses due. The estate may also recover the savings the deceased would have accumulated had they lived, provided the deceased had a spouse or children.
Verdicts & Settlements
Here are some of the many wrongful death cases Morgan & Morgan’s Orlando attorneys have been involved in, as well as the compensation we successfully got for our clients.
- $3 million settlement in a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit, in which medical professionals failed to diagnose and treat a 38-year-old father’s infection, causing his death.
- $1.6 million verdict awarded to a client who lost their loved one in a drunk driving accident.
- $1.4 million settlement after a truck driver was killed in a truck vs. truck collision where the defendant pulled from a driveway into his path of travel.
- $810,000 verdict after the failure to diagnose a 61-year-old man’s lung cancer.
Florida Wrongful Death Attorneys Can Help You Cope with the Loss of a Loved One
No one who has recently lost a loved one should have to go it alone. At Morgan & Morgan, our wrongful death attorneys and staff are here to help families that have been devastated by the avoidable loss of a loved one.
If your family has lost a loved one in an auto accident, due to medical malpractice, a defective product, a workplace accident, or under any other unexpected and avoidable circumstance, we may be able to help.
While we cannot assuage your grief, we can give your family some financial peace of mind and the feeling that at least some justice has been done for your loved one.
Call us today at (407) 420-1414 or contact us online to speak to an Orlando wrongful death attorney about your case.