After a family member loses their life to an accident or to someone else’s malicious actions, pursuing litigation against the responsible person may seem overwhelming. However, fair financial recovery can be essential to minimizing the financial burdens that your loss leaves on you and to preserving your family’s best interests.
A Clarkesville wrongful death lawyer could compassionately provide the guidance and support you might need to pursue a positive case resolution. Whether your case occurs without any criminal liability or in concert with a criminal case, a Smith Hulsey personal injury attorney could protect your rights and secure the compensation your family needs.
Under state law, the right to pursue a personal injury claim survives the decedent who would have otherwise been entitled to file suit as the plaintiff. In other words, if someone else’s misconduct directly leads to another person prematurely dying, the decedent’s surviving family may pursue restitution in their loved one’s name.
Through such a claim, eligible beneficiaries of the decedent may recover for the full value of their loved one’s life. While there is no amount of money that can fully replace the value of someone’s life, it is possible for loved ones to recover for losses that they experience as a direct consequence of their family member’s death. These could include lost financial support, lost care and companionship, lost household services, and lost consortium.
Fatal accident litigation may also allow recovery for economic losses sustained by the decedent’s estate. These could include medical expenses for care provided before their passing, funeral costs, and burial or cremation expenses. A Clarkesville wrongful death attorney could provide more specific advice during an initial consultation about what damages could be factored into a particular claim.
According to Official Code of Georgia §§51-4-2 and 51-4-5, the right to file a claim like this falls to the deceased person’s spouse, then to their children, then to their parents, and finally to the person nominated as administrator for the decedent’s estate. Siblings, grandparents, and other relatives of a deceased accident victim do not have grounds to pursue this kind of claim in that decedent’s name under any circumstances.
Regardless of who specifically pursues an unjust death claim, they generally have two years at most after the decedent’s date of death to actually file suit. They could also have a fatal accident attorney in Clarkesville do so on their behalf. Failure to abide by this deadline codified will almost always prohibit previously eligible beneficiaries from recovering any compensation whatsoever.
Even if you have strong evidence that someone else is to blame for a loved one’s death, turning that evidence into financial recovery is never a simple endeavor. On top of the various emotional and psychological challenges a case like this can pose, the procedural rules applicable to a wrongful death case can make it hard for anyone to file without help from seasoned legal representation.
Retaining a Clarkesville wrongful death lawyer could be a crucial first step towards protecting your family’s financial security and well-being after an unimaginable tragedy. Call Smith Hulsey today to schedule a consultation.
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