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Wrongful Death Lawyer Brooklyn
As Brooklyn’s premiere personal injury practice, the Law Offices of Levine & Wiss, PLLC have helped countless victims of negligence over the years, to not only get justice, but the financial compensation they deserve. With decades of experience behind them, the attorneys at Levine & Wiss cover a wide variety of personal injury claims, from car accidents and slip and falls, to more serious, traumatic injuries and even wrongful death claims. When speaking on the latter its never a good situation, as life is precious and no amount of damages can ever replace the loss of a loved one or family member.
However, unfortunately such cases happen and when they do, the victim’s living family and relations have a right to justice, and to be compensated for the loss that person had on the family and their lives. When an individual dies as a result of another party’s negligence, the deceased’s estate has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in order to claim damages.
Wrongful death claims are no easy task to navigate, however, with the help of an experienced team of attorney like Levine & Wiss, you will have advocates on your side to guide you through each and every step of the process.
How Does Wrongful Death Work in New York?
According to the law, wrongful death can be defined as a death that has been caused by a wrongful or negligent act in which, had the deceased lived, they would have legally been entitled to file a lawsuit on their own behalf.
Essentially, similar to other cases, a negligent act has been committed and a victim was injured or damaged as a result. However, because the victim perished in the accident or incident, and because they can no longer file suit themselves, their estate and surviving family members may then bring a lawsuit on their behalf.
Some the most common types of wrongful death claims in Brooklyn and NYS include negligent based incidents such as a car accident with a drunk or reckless driver, an instance of medical malpractice, or even death during some intentional act of harm, such as a robbery, assault or other crimes against an individual. One of the most important things to know about any wrongful death claim is, like other cases, there is a statute of limitations and a claim must be filed within two years of any incident occurring.
Who is Entitled to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
This is where wrongful death laws can become quite tricky, and why it’s vital for families of a deceased individual to hire an experienced Brooklyn wrongful death attorney, like the ones at Levine & Wiss, PLLC. According to New York State laws, the person that can file the lawsuit on behalf of the deceased party is generally the executor of their estate – essentially whoever has been left in charge of said estate. In the event the deceased did not have a will someone will generally be chosen.
The most common choices for an individual will be the individual’s spouse if they had, surviving parents, or children. However, because New York State does not allow family members who are not listed as the executor or personal representative of the estate to bring a lawsuit, this can often become a legal proceeding in itself.
This is where having an experienced team of attorneys, like Levine & Wiss, can be of great benefit as they have helped countless families across Brooklyn, NYC and beyond, navigate similar issues with estate law and other issues in order to file their wrongful death claims.
Damages Involved in Wrongful Death Claims
When it comes to wrongful death claims, the damages can be fairly extensive – more so than almost any other case or claim. According to the team at Levine & Wiss, home to the best wrongful death lawyers Brooklyn has to offer, these damages are awarded to the victim’s surviving relations and the estate as a whole, in order to help compensate the loss the victim’s death might have had on those left behind. Again, as with any other personal injury claim, the amount and types of damages will differ from case to case, however families can expect to be compensated for things including:
- Burial or funeral costs.
- Any medical expenses the deceased had to bear before their passing due to injuries related to the accident.
- The value of any support they might have been providing to family members left behind. This will include both financial support and other services they might have provided to loved ones.
- A dollar amount may be created to represent the loss of the ability to parent any children the deceased may have left behind.
- Possible lost inheritance.
- And pain and suffering they may have endured before their death.
- Loss of companionship to the spouse.
And more damages may be possible, depending on the specifics of the case.
It’s important to understand that while you might be able to recover certain punitive damages such as pain and suffering on the behalf of the deceased, living family members cannot be compensated for their own pain and suffering.
Contact Levine & Wiss Today
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is something no one wants to deal with, or truly knows how to deal with – especially when it was as a result of the negligent actions of another party.
No matter the circumstances of your case, the team at Levine & Wiss, has the experience and knowledge to ensure your case gets the attention it deserves, and you and your surviving loved ones are granted the compensatory damages you deserve.
Don’t let your family suffer due to the negligence of another, if you have a loved one who has perished as a result of a negligence related incident or crime, be sure to contact the Law Offices of Levine & Wiss today.
