Lynn Wrongful Death Lawyer

If you have lost a family member due to a personal injury accident, you and the surviving family may file a wrongful death claim in order to receive compensation and justice for your loss. Wrongful death is a deeply overwhelming and personal experience to have to navigate, and tacking on a claim can feel like too much to handle.

Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help relieve some of that responsibility off of your shoulders and help you get the results your family deserves while you focus on healing from your loss. Our team possesses the experience and the compassion necessary to tackle even the most complex of wrongful death cases and would love to bring our more than 45 years of experience to the table for your family’s case. To speak to an attorney today, please feel free to schedule an appointment using our contact form or call us at (617) 391-9001.

Establishing Liability in a Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death case is one in which a personal injury accident has ultimately resulted in the death of the victim. Liability is established in the same manner as other personal injury claims, which is through negligence. Using evidence, your attorney will demonstrate the four following components of negligence have occurred:

• Duty of care: The standard of care, of the duty of other people, businesses, or third parties, is to keep their fellow people safe.
• Breach of care: When this duty of care is not adhered to by committing a reckless or negligent act, this is considered a direct breach.
• Cause or link: When the breach of care directly causes the victim’s injuries, they can be found liable and held accountable for their negligence.
• The resulting damages and injuries: In the case of a wrongful death, the injuries are so severe that they result in the untimely death of the victim.

Once liability has been established, your attorney will gather all of the collected evidence and file a claim against the at-fault party for the incurred damages.

How an Attorney Can Help Your Case

If you are considering filing a wrongful death claim, we have found that to get the best results, you should have a dedicated attorney by your side. While you concentrate on spending time with family, your Lynn, MA wrongful death attorney will begin working on vital aspects of your case, including the following:

File Your Claim

Massachusetts currently has a three-year statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim. This means the surviving family—more specifically, the administrator of the estate—has to file a claim within the three-year deadline or run the risk of having it dismissed. Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers can help you manage who can file the claim and ensure all necessary paperwork is included.

When you file without an attorney, you run the risk of the insurance company offering a low or unworthy settlement. Often, this is due to missing documentation or inadequate representation of your losses. A Lynn, MA wrongful death lawyer can help to avoid this and even work directly with the insurance company to negotiate a worthy settlement offer.

Collect and Assess Evidence

To prove liability and establish that the negligence of the at-fault party directly caused the wrongful death of your family member, your attorney will immediately begin an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident. This involves the collection and assessment of any relevant evidence, which can include:

• Security camera or traffic camera footage
• Eyewitness accounts
• Photo or video footage of the accident from a phone
• Professional testimony
• Detailed medical records
• Police report

Much of this evidence is time-sensitive, so it is imperative your Lynn, MA wrongful death lawyer begins collecting it as soon as possible.

Fight for an Adequate Settlement

Losing a family member because of another person or third party’s negligence can come with a wide range of losses, emotional and financial. When you file a claim against the liable party, you are seeking compensation for the following losses:

• Cost of medical bills
• Cost of funeral service or burial
• Cost of lost wages
• Cost of expected care or lost retirement funds
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of a guardian

It can feel weird to put a price on non-economic damages, or your family’s pain and suffering. An experienced Lynn, MA wrongful death attorney can help you calculate a number worthy of the overall losses and fight tooth and nail for your family to get it. Massachusetts currently has a $500,000 cap on medical malpractice-related non-economic damages. If you are unsure whether or not your wrongful death claim applies to that cap, your Lynn wrongful death lawyer can help talk you through the specifics.

Speak to a Compassionate Lawyer in Lynn About Your Options Today

When you make the decision to file a wrongful death claim, you need an attorney who will handle your case with the tact and attentiveness it deserves. The team at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers believes in a people-first approach to the world of personal injury law, meaning you and your family will have access to our firm every step of the process. We will use every tool under our belt to get you the results you are looking for. Our co-founding partner, Peter M. Merrigan, has been recognized as a Rising Star by outlets such as Super Lawyers and is ready to use his experience to help you today.

To get started with a free case evaluation, please call our office at (617) 391-9001 or fill out our online contact form.