The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported just over 5,000 fatalities from large truck accidents in 2019. If one of your loved ones has been killed due to negligence or misconduct, hire a truck accident wrongful death lawyer.
During this difficult time, we are here to help however we can. If you have any questions about a potential wrongful death case, get in touch with Lytal, Reiter, Smith, lvey & Fronrath and schedule a free case evaluation with a leading Florida West Palm Beach wrongful death lawyer. Call 561-655-1990 or send us a message now to get the conversation started.
How Wrongful Death Truck Accident Cases Work
Florida Statute 768.19 covers wrongful death in Florida, including wrongful deaths during or as a result of a truck accident. The statute states that wrongful death occurs when a wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person causes the death of another person.
For wrongful death claims in Florida, Florida Statute 768.21 says that any potential beneficiary to be included in the claim. Each beneficiary’s relationship will be defined in the claim, and the claim can also include the decedent’s estate. Each person or representative’s relationship to the deceased person will be analyzed and used in judgment.
Losses and Damages to Claim
Many types of losses and damages can be recovered in court and rewarded in the form of compensation. Florida Statute 768.21 outlines the damages that each type of family member or beneficiary may recover:
- A survivor can recover the value of lost support and services from the date of the decedent’s injury to the death, with interest, plus future loss of support and services from the injury/death.
- The surviving spouse can recover the loss of companionship and protection, plus mental pain and suffering, from the date that the injury/death occurred.
- Minor children, and all children if there is no surviving spouse, can recover lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, plus mental pain and suffering from the date of the injury/death.
- Parents of deceased minor children can recover mental pain and suffering damages from the date of the injury. For deceased adult children, mental pain and suffering can be recovered by the parents when there are no other survivors.
- Medical or funeral expenses paid by any survivors.
- A personal representative for the decedent’s estate may recover loss of earnings, loss of prospective net accumulations, medical or funeral expenses, and more.
You may be wondering how to calculate the value of lost support and services or even the value of parental companionship, mental pain and suffering, and more. Wrongful death cases can be very difficult to navigate alone – please get in touch with the team at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath to put your case in the hands of seasoned professionals with a reputation of success in these cases.
Proving Fault
Truck accidents that result in the death of a loved one are most often due to negligence or a wrongful act, which may be the fault of the truck driver and/or the trucking company. During truck accident cases, more parties can be held liable for damages Additionally, truck drivers and trucking companies have to follow the FMCSA regulations, allowing for more potential areas where negligence can occur.
To prove negligence in a truck accident case, you must be able to prove that a truck driver and/or the trucking company breached the standard duty of care, whether intentional or unintentional, and caused the damages. Actual loss, damages, injury, or suffering happened as a result, including death.
Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Cases
To qualify to collect compensation through a legal claim, all wrongful death cases must be filed within two years from the date that the accident occurred which caused the death, according to Florida’s statute of limitations. Outside of the two-year time frame, the family member or any beneficiary will most likely not be able to recover any damages caused by wrongful death.
Contact Us Now to Get Your Free Consultation
Whether you have questions about a case or are ready to move your case forward, a trusted truck accident wrongful death attorney at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, lvey & Fronrath is here to help. We’d love to hear more about your case and help you figure out what your legal path may look like. You don’t pay until we win.
Schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation at your convenience. Call 561-655-1990, chat with us online, or send us a message to get started.
