Naperville Wrongful Death Attorneys
After you’ve lost someone you love because of a preventable accident, the pain can be unbearable. We understand that this is a very difficult thing to process. Wrongful death claims can involve many different types of accidents. If you believe that the person you love was lost in a way that could and should have been avoided, then our Naperville wrongful death attorneys want to hear from you as soon as possible. We want to fight for you and your family’s rights to get justice for this terrible event. Please call us as soon as you possibly can so we can set up a free, initial consultation for you. Get started with us today.
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Defining Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is a type of civil case that involves accidental and preventable deaths due to someone else’s carelessness or negligence. Your family can bring a wrongful death claim if you lost someone because of negligent conduct that directly impacted the well-being of your loved one and lead to their death. Essentially, if you are able to show that had the liable party acted in a different manner your loved one would still be alive today, you should reach out to our Naperville wrongful death attorneys to file a claim as soon as you possibly can to see what you and your family are entitled to. During your free first consultation with our lawyers, you can learn what you and your family might be entitled to and learn about the path to getting justice. We will be seeking money damages for the damages you face as a family who lost a loved one, as well as for the pain and suffering that your loved one went through before they left this life. If you think that you are entitled to wrongful death compensation, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We will get started working on your case as soon as possible. We care about your justice.
The Plaintiff for Your Case
It’s a common question for people to come to us during their first consultation and ask us who the plaintiff of the case is going to be. In other words, who is going to be the one responsible for filing the wrongful death case? Generally speaking, there is a hierarchy we consider when determining who should be the plaintiff. Please note that the plaintiff isn’t going to be the only one to receive the compensation. If there was a spouse of the deceased, they are typically going to be the first person we look to as the plaintiff. If the deceased person was not married but had children, then the adult children will be the plaintiff. If the deceased neither had children nor was married, then the parents or guardians of the deceased would file the wrongful death claim. There are even some instances in which the closest family member is a sibling. If there are only minor children, meaning the deceased was not married when they died and their parents are no longer alive, then a guardian or representative of those children can file the claim on the children’s behalf. When you meet with us, we can go over the relationships that the deceased had and we can give you a clear answer to your questions about who should be bringing the wrongful death claim. We hope that you reach out to our Naperville wrongful death attorneys as soon as possible to get this cleared up.
Collecting Wrongful Death Case Damages
As mentioned, you will be seeking money damages from the liable party for your wrongful death damages. This is what sets these civil cases apart from other types of personal injury cases, as well as criminal cases involving homicide. While the criminal cases involving the intentional death of a person means that person is going to face legal penalties and possibly prison time, you are seeking money damages for all of the ways that this accident has impacted your life. You are not necessarily trying to put someone behind bars. Wrongful death is for instances where someone made a mistake and that mistake cost your loved one their life. This is common with car accidents and other types of personal injury accidents that end in tragedy. When you are looking at the type of compensation that you and your family will receive, you have to look at the two categories for damages in these types of cases. The first category covers any ways that you will experience a financial loss because of the passing of your loved one. This includes:
- Burial and funeral costs
- Medical bills that were spent trying to keep your loved one alive after the accident or incident
- Wages that your loved one would have brought to the family if they had not been killed in this tragic accident
- Damage to property, such as car that was totaled in the accident that killed your loved one
- Pain and suffering that your loved one had to endure after the accident or event that led to their death
The other type of damages that you are going to be able to recover, if you have a successful wrongful death claim, is the damage that your family feels emotionally after you lose someone in an untimely manner. This compensation can cover the following:
- The loss of companionship and guidance from your family member
- The loss of the role that person played in the household and the value that it came with
- Your emotional and mental anguish related to the grief you feel from losing someone in an untimely manner
Just like every person’s life is going to be completely unique, a wrongful death case is going to be different for everyone. It’s so important that you hire Naperville wrongful death attorneys who have the experience needed to successfully handle a case with its own nuances. When there are a lot of family members involved, the damages will be divided between them and it won’t just go to the plaintiff, in most cases. The court might be able to step in and decide how to divide the compensation award, if no one can come to an agreement independently away from a judge. We hope that you reach out to us as soon as possible to set up a free, first consultation to go over the details of your case and determine what next actions you should be taking to get justice.
Illinois Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death Claim
Every state in the country has a set amount of time from the date that you lost someone or the date of the accident that led to the demise of your loved one to the end of your eligibility to file a claim. This deadline is called your statute of limitations. This deadline is for civil cases only and not for homicide cases like criminal cases. There is no statute of limitation for murder, but there is for an accident that caused a death. Illinois allows two years from the date of the incident, during which time you and your family can bring a claim to receive compensation. The sooner you act to reach out to Naperville wrongful death attorneys, the better off your chances for a full and fair result will be.
Call Our Naperville Wrongful Death Attorneys Today
If you’ve lost a person that you love in a preventable accident, we are sure that this is an extremely difficult time for you and we want to be there for you while you go through the wrongful death claims process. We will build a strong case for you and your family to get the justice that you are entitled to. Please don’t wait to reach out to us. We know that this is a tough time and you have a lot of emotions to process but this is a time sensitive issue and we want you to get fair results. Acting quickly is imperative. Call our Naperville wrongful death attorneys today to set up your free, first consultation and get started on the path to justice.
