Recovered Over $300 Million for Our 7,000+ Clients
Rolla, Missouri, is the county seat of beautiful Phelps County, home of the Mark Twain National Forest in the scenic Ozark Highlands. Rolla is a quiet little city, but tragic accidents do sometimes happen here. Some of those accidents are fatal.
When a loved one dies in an accident caused by someone else, surviving family members are left with both grief and a growing list of unexpected expenses. Knowing that the accident didn’t need to happen only makes the situation worse. If you’ve lost a loved one in an accident in Rolla, Missouri, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the person responsible for your tragic loss.
Wrongful death claims are essentially the same as personal injury claims, except that the person injured in the accident did not survive their injuries. Liability in wrongful death cases is usually based on negligence. If the accident was the fault of a person who didn’t take reasonable care to avoid injuring others, you can hold them liable for your losses.
Holland Injury Law is a personal injury and wrongful death law firm serving Rolla, Missouri, and other communities in Phelps County. We’ve been fighting for the rights of bereaved family members for over 30 years. If you’ve lost someone you loved in Rolla, Missouri, contact Holland Injury Law for a free consultation today.
Personal injury and wrongful death are closely related legal actions. Under Missouri law, a wrongful death is defined as any death caused by circumstances that would have entitled the victim to file a personal injury lawsuit if they had survived. If your loved one was killed in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be able to collect compensation through a wrongful death claim.
There are three classes of people entitled to file a wrongful death claim in Missouri. In order of priority, these classes are:
There can be only one wrongful death claim per defendant for any one death. The members of the first class of plaintiffs have the first opportunity to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If there is no one in that category, the members of the second class have an opportunity to file a suit.
Compensation in a wrongful death case that goes to trial is determined by a jury, after considering factors such as:
The services and support the deceased would have provided include:
If the deceased person suffered losses after being injured but before passing away, survivors may be able to collect compensation for those as well. These include:
When determining damages, the court can consider any aggravating circumstances that make the accident especially heinous. However, the surviving family members cannot collect damages for grief or bereavement.
If your case settles, the insurance company and your lawyer will review the same factors a jury would consider.
Like personal injury cases, wrongful death cases are usually based on negligence. Negligence happens when someone fails to take reasonable care to avoid injury to others. If a person fails to take reasonable care when they should have, and someone dies as a result, then there is a good basis for a wrongful death claim. However, to win such a claim, you must be able to prove that the at-fault party failed to take the appropriate level of care.
To win a wrongful death claim, you must prove that:
Accidents that can result in a wrongful death case include:
Any situation that could have led to a personal injury case if the victim had survived can become a wrongful death case if the victim dies. For instance, if a drunk boater kills another boater in a collision, or if a negligent construction contractor builds faulty scaffolding that collapses and causes a death, then the surviving family members can file a wrongful death suit.
A wrongful death case is much harder to pursue without the help of an experienced lawyer. When you file a claim with the insurance company, they will do everything they can to avoid paying you a significant settlement. They may deny your claim entirely, or they may try to claim that your losses were minimal. They may make a lowball offer in the hope that you will accept it and they can avoid paying a fair settlement.
It’s tough to stand up to the insurance company on your own. A skilled wrongful death lawyer can help by:
The statute of limitations in a wrongful death suit is shorter than in a personal injury lawsuit. You have five years after an accident to file a personal injury suit, but Missouri’s statute of limitations gives you only three years after a death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If you’ve lost a loved one in an accident caused by someone else, contact a wrongful death lawyer immediately.
The loss of a family member is always a painful experience, but the medical expenses and sudden loss of income can also throw a family into financial crisis. To get back on your feet and get justice for your loved one, you can file a wrongful death claim.
A wrongful death lawyer in Rolla, Missouri, can help you pursue compensation from the person who caused the loss of your loved one. Holland Injury Law is a personal injury and wrongful death law firm serving Phelps County for over 30 years. In that time, we have recovered over $300 Million for our 7000+ clients. If you’ve lost someone in Rolla, Missouri, due to an accident, contact Holland Injury Law for a free consultation today.
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