Hays Wrongful Death Lawyers

Coming to terms with the death of a loved one is difficult enough, but the situation can be traumatic if that person passed away due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing.

Wrongful death lawyers have extensive experience with these types of situations. They understand what surviving family members and loved ones are going through on a personal level. They also know that surviving loved ones have ways of recovering compensation, which can help them move forward as best they can.

Compensation can help pay for funeral costs and medical bills that accumulate while trying to care for the decedent. Compensation can also help replace lost income that the decedent would have otherwise provided. In addition to compensating for financial losses, money recovered in a settlement or court award could be used to compensate for non-material losses, including the support, supervision, guidance, companionship, and more that the deceased would have provided to their loved ones.

Recovering compensation almost always requires retaining the services of a wrongful death attorney.

How Will an Attorney Help in a Hays Wrongful Death Case?

While surviving loved ones try to cope with their loss and make the necessary arrangements, an attorney and their legal team can get to work on a wrongful death case. Wrongful death lawyers have experience in these matters, and they typically have a thorough process for investigating a claim and building a case. The early steps of an investigation can go a long way to making a forceful claim that is ultimately successful when it comes to recovering compensation.

With a strong case in hand, wrongful death lawyers can push for a settlement that surviving loved ones can agree to, or take the claim to court in pursuit of a positive judge or jury verdict if an agreement cannot be reached. The compensation that wrongful death lawyers recover can be used to cover funeral expenses and any medical costs associated with treating the decedent before they passed.

Compensation can also help surviving loved ones move forward through the loss of companionship, support, supervision, guidance, and income that the decedent would have otherwise provided.

When wrongful death attorneys agree to take on a case, they typically follow a legal process that includes conducting an investigation, filing a claim, discovery, negotiation, and potentially a trial.

Investigation

When an attorney agrees to take a wrongful death case, the first stage is to investigate everything associated with the situation. The plaintiff is responsible for proving a party is liable, and this requires evidence. Wrongful death attorneys will talk to any witnesses and collect evidence as part of this initial stage.

Filing

If an investigation has produced significant evidence, attorneys will move forward with filing a wrongful death claim. This formal complaint is submitted to a court, and it includes a detailed argument for why a party or parties should be held liable for the wrongful death. The success or failure of a wrongful death lawsuit often depends on this filing, and it requires an experienced hand in order to get it right.

Discovery

At this point in the process, both sides of a lawsuit will exchange information regarding the evidence and witnesses that will be presented at a trial, should the process reach that stage. This formal part of every legal action is meant to avoid a “legal ambush” so that each side can prepare an adequate response to the evidence and witnesses the other side is presenting.

One of the most common steps in a discovery is taking depositions. Using either written statements or videotape, either side of a lawsuit can take depositions from the opposite party or of any witness that will be presented. All sides are allowed to be present during oral depositions. These allow both parties to know what witnesses will say at trial, and depositions can also be used for witnesses who won’t be able to appear in person.

Negotiation

Civil trials can be long and costly for all parties involved. Because of this, many parties feel it is to their benefit to negotiate a settlement and avoid going to trial. In Kansas, our experienced Hays wrongful death attorneys help negotiate a fair settlement.

Trial

If a wrongful death lawsuit goes to trial, both parties present evidence in court and make their case. A jury or judge will then decide the outcome and potentially award compensation. Typically, plaintiffs can recover greater compensation if they go to trial, but the legal fees associated with the trial can be much greater than fees associated with reaching a settlement. Our experienced attorneys consult with our clients to determine if a trial is the right course of action.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death Claims

If your loved one recently passed away, you have our deepest condolences. We understand that this time is incredibly difficult, and it can be a very confusing time for most people. You may be wondering if your situation qualifies for a wrongful death claim. At the same time, it is difficult to determine that without consultation, there are many common situations that lead to wrongful death claims. These include:

• Car accidents. While some accidents are caused by random events or acts of nature, most accidents are the result of negligence. This can take the forms of distracted driving, driving while under the influence, speeding, or mechanical failure due to defective parts or poor maintenance.
• Medical malpractice. Doctors are obligated to provide a certain level of care, and if they fail to provide adequate care, they could be held responsible for a wrongful death lawsuit.
• Construction accidents. Construction companies, property owners, and subcontractors are all responsible for keeping workers safe on a construction site. If any of these parties take shortcuts when it comes to safety and it leads to a fatal accident, they could be held responsible.
• Defective products. When we buy medications, medical devices, car parts, and other consumer products, we expect that they will be safe for any reasonable person to use. Serious defects in some products can lead to accidents, and when this happens, the companies that made, handled, or marketed the product could be held responsible.
• Acts of violence. When someone is killed due to a violent act, it is typically handled by the criminal justice system. However, the criminal justice system does not recover compensation for surviving family members. Also, finding someone guilty of a violent act requires proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a much higher bar than proving liability in a wrongful death lawsuit. Because of this, surviving family members will often pursue a wrongful death lawsuit if the person they feel is responsible for their loved one’s death was found innocent in a criminal court.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Kansas?

In Kansas, a wrongful death claim is usually brought by the decedent’s heirs-at-law. These are surviving family members who are also to inherit from the decedent’s estate. Typically, this includes any surviving spouse, children, dependents, siblings, parents, and grandparents. Under Kansas law, any heir can join a wrongful death lawsuit and get involved in the case if they have sustained damages. State law also says that the compensation recovered in a wrongful death lawsuit benefits all heirs-at-law, regardless of whether they joined the lawsuit.

It is also possible for the deceased person’s estate to file a claim called a survival action. This legal claim attempts to seek compensation for injuries and damages the decedent endured while battling their injuries. If the decedent suffered significant conscious pain and suffering, lost their ability to earn an income, or incurred medical expenses during their battle with injuries, their estate could file our survival action to recover compensation for those losses. A survival action is commonly associated with medical malpractice when a treatment the decedent received caused them to suffer and ultimately pass away.

Statute of Limitations for Filing a Hays Wrongful Death Case

Statute of limitations is the legal term used to refer to the deadline for filing legal action after an event has taken place. For situations involving criminal law, this means the length of time that law enforcement has to charge someone with a crime after it has been committed. For situations involving civil law, this means the amount of time an injured party has to file legal action against a potentially liable party.

Statutes of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim vary from state to state, and in Kansas, surviving loved ones have two years from the date that the deceased passed away. After two years, surviving loved ones may have forfeited their right to file a claim. A court may extend the statute of limitations in some situations involving an heir-at-law who is minor.

Compensation You Can Recover

When calculating the compensation someone can recover in a wrongful death case, attorneys and a court will consider many different factors, such as:

• The age of the decedent
• The decedent’s earning capacity
• The extent of fatal injuries
• The role the responsible party had in the death
• The emotional and financial needs of surviving loved ones
• The impact of the death on surviving loved ones

When someone files a wrongful death lawsuit, they can recover compensation for economic damages, non-economic damages, and sometimes punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Compensation for economic damages is relatively straightforward. This compensation is for financial and material losses associated with a person’s death, which might include medical bills, funeral costs, and lost wages that the decedent would have earned. These damages are relatively easy to calculate and difficult to dispute.

Non-Economic Damages

Compensation for non-economic damages is more difficult to identify and quantify. These damages can include pain and suffering of surviving loved ones, mental trauma, loss of companionship, and more. Even though these damages are difficult to quantify, they are not considered less important than economic damages and could even be considered more important in some situations.

For example, if a young child lost their father due to someone else’s negligence, they are losing much more than their father’s income. In Kansas, our Hays wrongful death lawyers and the courts will use legal precedent in similar cases in an attempt to quantify non-economic damages.

Punitive Damages

In some situations, negligent or willful actions will be so egregious that a court will award punitive damages to punish the party found liable for a wrongful death. The goal of punitive damages is to deter the responsible party from similar behavior in the future. Punitive damages are not awarded in all cases and are awarded at the discretion of the court.

Let Our Team of Hays Wrongful Death Lawyers Support You in Your Time of Need

At Bretz Injury Law, we understand that the sudden passing of a loved one can be traumatic and confusing. Over the years, our Hays wrongful death lawyers have been there for many families, helping them process the situation and move forward with their lives.

We keep our firm intentionally small to give more personalized service during difficult times. We’re also highly successful, having won more than 98 percent of the cases we’ve pursued and recovering more than $300 million over the course of three decades. We are willing to reach a settlement that is in our client’s best interest, but we’re also not afraid of taking a claim to trial.

Contact us today to find out how our legal experts can offer a sympathetic ear, support in your time of need, and strong legal assistance.