If your loved one or anyone close to you dies due to the negligence of someone else, then it can be hard to know what you can do next. Many people think that wrongful death claims can be hard to pursue. Therefore, you may be wondering if it’s worth it to pursue it yourself. The good news is that you can find a Birmingham wrongful death lawyer at companies such as Birmingham Wrongful Death Lawyer who can assist you in several ways in an attempt to seek justice for your loved one. There are many ways a wrongful death lawyer can assist you get justice. This article discusses how a wrongful death attorney can help you.
Understanding the legal process
It’s possible that you have never dealt with a wrongful death case before, so it makes sense that you may not understand everything you have to know about the wrongful death legal process. The legal process for the wrongful death can be tricky and complicated to navigate. Attorneys that handle wrongful death cases have the experience and know what they need to do to make sure you get the right compensation.
For instance, a wrongful death attorney can know the specific deadlines for filing a wrongful death lawsuit to ensure that your case is successful. Because you may have a lot going through your life, it can be easy to miss a deadline, so you can endanger your entire case. But a wrongful death lawyer knows these deadlines and understands that their duty is to make sure the legal process is followed. They usually take the complicated and overwhelming tasks and handle the case on your behalf.
Not only does a wrongful death attorney understand the legal process, but they also understand the value of your case. A wrongful death attorney has the experience to know how to properly handle and value your case. Because you don’t have experience valuing a person when it comes to monetary compensation, the party at fault can easily undervalue your claim. A lawyer can evaluate your situation to understand the ways your life have been affected by the loss. It’s only when there is an accurate value that the right compensation can be pursued.
There are several factors that the attorney takes into account after assessing your claim. These include medical expenses that your loved one incurred, loss of future earnings, funeral expenses, and the pain and suffering you experienced after the death of your loved one. Most people think that they can only receive compensation for funeral and medical expenses, but this is not right. Emotional and monetary losses in wrongful death cases can be considered for settlements and awards.
Because many wrongful deaths tend to be sudden, you are usually left behind to deal with the loss. You can be grieving and trying to cope with a new life. As a result, it can be hard to think clearly about any legal issues at any point in your life. An attorney can offer you support you need during this challenging time, and some of them may even treat you as their family member.
It’s worth noting that many wrongful death cases usually have a deadline, so you need to file the lawsuit timely. Unfortunately, this happens to be within the same time when you are still grieving. A wrongful death attorney can allow you to take the time you want to grieve while still making sure that legal processes are being handled. It can be hard to think about the legal process while you are still grieving, but you also don’t want to miss the chance to get the compensation.
Going to trial
Keep in mind that not every wrongful death case can go to trial, but you still want to prepare in case a settlement can be hard to reach. Your attorney can make every effort to avoid going for trial, so they will attempt to reach a fair settlement with the at-fault party. But there can sometimes be some factors or sticking points that can prevent reaching a fair settlement. When this happens, you need to get a trial-experienced lawyer on your side.
Likewise, you need to make sure that the attorney you intend to hire has trial experience. Some lawyers can only deal with settlements and don’t have trial experience. Therefore, you should find out the number of wrongful death cases the potential attorney has handled in the court and the outcome of those cases before you decide to hire them.
And, after the death of your loved one, you don’t want to communicate with the party responsible for the loss or their insurer. This is another reason why it makes sense to hire a wrongful death lawyer. When you hire a lawyer, the insurance company of the party at fault cannot communicate directly with you. Instead, they have to always get in touch with your attorney if they want to discuss anything.
Also, you should not try to negotiate any settlement yourself with the insurance company. You should remember that the insurance companies try to underpay you and can try to provide a settlement that is less than a fair compensation. It’s tempting to accept a quick settlement, but your wrongful death lawyer can make sure it’s also fair compensation.
An experienced wrongful death attorney can have access to a variety of experts. And, when you get a lawyer, you can also gain access to their experts. For instance, you may want a financial expert who can calculate the monetary value of your case. When fault is in doubt, the accident reconstruction expert can demonstrate to the judge, insurance company, or a jury how the accident occurred and the party that was at fault.
Other experts you can need include private investigators and doctors. The good thing is that your lawyer can hire them. Also, because your lawyer may be working on a contingency basis, you don’t need to pay these experts out of your pocket when you need them. Instead, their pay will come from your award or settlement after finalizing the case to make it an easy process.