North Augusta Wrongful Death Lawyers

Basics About South Carolina Wrongful Death Claims

When you lose someone who you love due to a preventable accident, you can bring a wrongful death case. It is likely that this accident was caused by the negligence of a liable party or entity. Our North Augusta wrongful death lawyers are skilled in finding out who is liable and who you can bring your claim against. Essentially, a wrongful death claim is telling the liable party that they are legally responsible for giving you compensation as a result of the event they are responsible for. You can be compensated for the pain and suffering that your loved one endured before their passing, as well as the wrongful death damages that your family is suffering such as lost wages and earning capacity. In some cases of gross negligence or intent to harm, there can be punitive damages involved in the compensation, too. All of these factors come together in a formula to determine how much the liable party owes.

How a North Augusta Wrongful Death Claim Works

If you have thought about filing a wrongful death claim, you are most likely feeling uncertain about the way the case will work since odds are you have never had to go through this before. In order to have a case, there are several things that must have happened for the situation to leave you eligible for compensation. You have to be able to identify a liable party who is directed responsible for the loss of your loved one and who was the reason the accident happened. Someone can be liable if they did two things: they could either have failed to protect your loved one or they could have acted in a harmful manner.

Our North Augusta wrongful death lawyers have to be able to prove that this individual or entity was directly responsible for the passing of your loved one. They have the burden of proof. Once more details of the case unfold, it will be clearer who is responsible for the accident and how it can be proved that it was their fault. This proof will be used to get you the compensation your family deserves.

North Augusta Wrongful Death Compensation and Damages

The way you can recover damages may seem complicated and you will likely need assistance sorting it all out. You can receive compensation for several things, including medical expenses, funeral costs, and punitive damages in certain cases. Punitive damages are reserved for those who have lost someone they love because there was intent to harm or there was a criminal event that resulted in their passing. Our North Augusta wrongful death lawyers will make sure that the liable party is held fully accountable.

The wrongful death damages that you can receive compensation for include:

• The pain and suffering of your lost loved one
• The lost wages and future earning capacity your loved one would’ve provided
• The relationship you lost due to the passing on your loved one
• The loss of your loved one’s work-related benefits including pension, 401k, etc.

South Carolina law says that you can recover these losses but it is mandated that only a specific person can bring the claim. According to the statute, the plaintiff can only be:

• The spouse of the victim
• The minor children of the victim if they don’t have a spouse
• The parent of the victim if they don’t have a child
• The executor for the victim if they don’t have a living parent

South Carolina law states that if your spouse died in a wrongful death and did not have a will, you must allocate your wrongful death compensation to the child of the victim. This compensation will be protected in a trust until they reach adulthood when they can have access to this compensation.

Frequently Asked Wrongful Death Questions

How much does it cost to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit?

I recently spoke with a woman from South Carolina whose father died in a car accident, and one of her first questions was, “How much does all of this cost? How much does the family have to pay to have an attorney represent them?” Thankfully, in South Carolina, most attorneys will prosecute the case on a contingency fee, which means that they will pay any advance costs themselves. At the end of the case, they will take a portion of whatever settlement agreement or jury verdict that they get.

For anyone who’s going through that process, the important thing is to, early on in the case, contact a competent attorney. By that, I mean a trial lawyer who has experience in handling wrongful death and survival actions, and who can answer questions about the process of bringing the claim and how the claim gets prosecuted and how much money is involved in prosecuting the claim, so that you have an idea of what you would be entitled to at the end of the case.

If anyone out there has lost a loved one, please give us a call. We’d be more than happy to answer any questions that you have.

How do you determine the value of a wrongful death lawsuit?

Recently, I spoke with a woman from South Carolina whose husband had died in a car wreck. One of her first questions was what the value of the case was. In the context of a wrongful death case, that is always a very difficult question to answer; it’s also typically a very emotionally charged answer.

In South Carolina, there is the wrongful death case and then there’s what’s called the survival action. Both of those act together, but they are separate, and each one of those has their own separate element of damages. A wrongful death case is always the wrongful death of the person as that person relates to his or her loved ones; the survival action is something that’s brought on behalf of the estate.

It is a bit more complicated, and there are more moving parts. This is why I think it’s very important for the family, early on, in any type of wrongful death, to contact an attorney as soon as possible. They should also make sure that that attorney is a trial attorney who has experience in handling wrongful death cases, who can explain the different types of damages that are available in wrongful death cases, how those damages are measured by courts, and who is able to walk you through that process.

If anyone out there has been the victim of a wrongful death and has lost a loved one in any type of accident, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions they have.

How long does it take to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit?

I recently spoke to a woman from South Carolina whose father had died in an automobile accident in Aiken. Her sister wanted to know how long this process takes. In the context of a wrongful death case, the process does tend to take a bit longer than a typical personal injury case because there are more moving parts. There is typically or almost always a probate process to it. There are approvals that have to be signed off on by judges. There’s the nature of the case itself, too, in terms of presenting damages and making sure that the family is fairly compensated for the loss of their loved one.

If anyone out there has been the victim and lost a loved one and has any questions about it, contact our office. We’d be more than happy to talk to you.

What should I consider when selecting a wrongful death lawyer?

I recently spoke with a woman from North Augusta whose husband had been killed in a tragic car accident. One of her first questions was how to go about finding the right wrongful death attorney. If you’re reading this, you may have the same question, and I’m very sorry for whatever loss you’re going through.

In selecting a wrongful death attorney, you want to find a trial lawyer who has experience in handling wrongful death cases. Wrongful death cases are different from other cases. They require a lawyer who has significant experience in handling those types of cases. Wrongful death cases have to be probated. Any kind of wrongful death settlements have to be decided by a circuit court judge. Many lawyers do not have experience in handling wrongful death cases.

I would urge anyone out there who has lost a loved one and is trying to bring a wrongful death case, and is searching for an attorney, to make sure that they find a trial attorney— not just any trial attorney, but a trial attorney who can show you that they have had experience in handling other types of wrongful death cases that they know how to prosecute those cases. If anyone out there has lost a loved one, please contact our office. We’d be more than happy to talk to you.

Who is eligible to file a wrongful death claim?

I recently spoke to a woman from South Carolina whose husband was killed in a tragic accident. One of her first questions early on was, “Who is the proper person to bring the wrongful death case?” In South Carolina, the first person who would bring the case is the spouse of the person who died. From there, you go to the children. In some other circumstances, other outlying family members can sometimes bring a wrongful death case, depending on their level of dependency.

You also need to consider if the person had a will. Who did that person designate to be able to bring claims on behalf of the estate? Who is the person representative identified in the will? What did the will say? Who did the will distribute money to? Those things are important, particularly in the context of the survival action, but they’re also important in the context of the wrongful death action.

For anyone who’s lost a loved one in any type of accident, I think it’s very important for them to contact an attorney early on so that attorney can go ahead and start answering those questions and start guiding you through the process of a wrongful death and survival action, because they are different from other types of cases. If anyone out there has suffered the loss of a loved one and has any questions about the process, we would be more than happy to talk to you.

Call Our North Augusta Wrongful Death Lawyers Today

If you have been looking for skilled and dependable North Augusta wrongful death lawyers to guide you through your case, please do not hesitate to call our office today to set up your free initial consultation.