No one should be alone in their grief, especially after an unexpected loss. Call on our Somerset wrongful death lawyer if you lost a loved one to someone’s careless action.
Our firm can provide support in filing a claim, valuing your case, and giving you and your family a voice. Isaacs & Isaacs Personal Injury Lawyers makes sure you don’t stand alone.
Our Wrongful Death Lawyers Obtain Justice Through Compensation
Damages are designed to acknowledge every aspect of your life changed by this accident. That ranges from payment for bills to compensation for the emotional fallout.
Your financial recovery could include:
- Healthcare bills like hospitalizations or medications
- Lost income like wages, salary, or side revenue
- Funeral costs, like casket or urn, services, or burial
- Pain and suffering and emotional distress
- Loss of relationship benefits or support
- Punitive damages to punish the liable party
The funeral alone can be expensive, with the average casket costing $2,000, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Yet we evaluate costs both big and small, whether it’s an out-of-pocket expense or a $30,000 bill for your family member’s final three days in the hospital.
Past and Future Losses
Our personal injury lawyers also identify past and future losses. Not only should you not be responsible for paying your loved one’s final bills, but you also should be compensated for the financial support they would have provided you.
Experts can create projections of the income they would have earned, and we can argue for that amount.
We also highlight the relationship losses caused by the accident—for instance, the guidance a child will no longer receive from their deceased parent or the companionship a spouse is now deprived of.
Receiving Damages
Unlike other states, Kentucky details how compensation is provided to family members following a death to negligence (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130). The factors that dictate who receives what are the deceased’s:
- Marital status
- Existence of children
- Surviving parents
- Personal estate
For example, if the deceased was married with no children, their surviving spouse receives the damages. If the deceased was single and had children, the damages are split up between the surviving children.
Some families with a more complicated structure may struggle to understand how compensation is disbursed following a settlement or verdict. The Somerset wrongful death lawyers at Isaacs & Isaacs Personal Injury Lawyers can explain how compensation is split and work with you throughout the process.
For a free legal consultation with a wrongful death lawyer serving Somerset, call 800-333-9999
Our Lawyers Take on Wrongful Death Negligent Parties for You
Our firm does as much as possible on your behalf so that you can focus on honoring your loved one’s wishes and healing from their loss. With us, you can receive:
- Communication help: We talk to insurance adjusters, negligent parties, eyewitnesses, expert consultants, and other lawyers
- Layman’s terms translation: We explain legal terms, paperwork, claim and lawsuit requirements, and every step of the process
- Legal experience: We offer our 400 years of combined knowledge and our understanding of Kentucky’s laws
- Personal support: We remain accessible both ways, returning your calls and keeping you updated about any progress
- Financial consideration: We don’t charge you any fees or costs upfront, only when we win via a verdict or settlement
This is only a fraction of what we do. We constantly work behind the scenes, utilizing paralegals, investigators, and other team members dedicated to your family and your case.
Proving Negligence After a Fatality
The goal of a wrongful death case is to prove someone’s negligence cost your family member’s life. It is our responsibility to produce enough evidence to demonstrate the four elements of negligence:
- Duty of care – to drive safely, to create effective products, to maintain safe premises, etc.
- Violation of duty of care – driving drunk, releasing defective products, failing to fix hazards on a property
- Harm – a fatal collision, a terminal illness caused by a product, a slip and fall that causes a deadly brain injury
- Damages – monetary compensation for surviving family members due to the loss of a loved one to negligence
For example, a commercial truck driver has a duty to take care while operating their vehicle. That means being aware that their tractor-trailer requires extra space to come to a stop—20 to 40 percent more space than a regular passenger vehicle, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
If the driver was tailgating someone, they violated that duty of care, failing to take appropriate care. If they then suddenly stopped and didn’t leave enough room, striking the car in front of them and killing the occupant, they can be held liable for damages to the surviving family.
Wrongful Death Cases We Establish Negligence In
We work to demonstrate those elements of negligence in situations like:
- Roadway accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Premises liability cases
- Boating accidents
- Defective products
Gathering Evidence of Negligence
To satisfy the four elements of negligence, we can use evidence like:
- Accident reports
- Medical records
- Drug and alcohol tests
- Expert analysis
- Accident investigation
- Witness testimony
- Photos and video
- Bystander video
- Similar complaints
- Phone or text records
- Social media posts
Not all of these may figure into your case. For instance, social media or text records could play a crucial role in a distracted driving case, while drug testing may be involved if your loved one was killed by an impaired driver. We may also review the other party’s past. A dog owner who was aware of their dog’s aggression and repeatedly failed to restrain the dog could be held liable for an attack.
Similarly, the history of a property owner’s failure to address a hazard on their premises could help us show that their negligence led to a fatal slip and fall. In other words, our investigators go the extra mile to find evidence of the specifics of your case.
We Collect All Necessary Evidence
While it’s usually one tiny piece of evidence that clinches a case in the movies, we gather a variety of evidence that works together to create a comprehensive picture of the accident, demonstrating negligence.
Somerset Wrongful Death Lawyer Near Me 800-333-9999
Allow Our Lawyers to Get to Work on Your Somerset Case Now
Kentucky allows up to two years following a death to file a wrongful death lawsuit (Ky. Rev. Stats. § 304.39-230(6)). However, our wrongful death lawyers can use that time to make progress in your Pulaski County case.
We will do everything in our power to secure the best possible outcome for you and your family. Call in The Hammer today to get started.
Call or text 800-333-9999 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
