Statistically, hundreds of thousands of people die each year from a death that was preventable, a death that was brought upon by the actions or non actions of another person.
Wrongful death lawyers can help you fight the injustice of a system that is geared towards a privileged class of people.
The emotional scars from the loss of a loved one to an untimely death cannot be seen with the human eye but is felt within the human heart.
With the help of diligent wrongful death attorneys who actually care about your situation you can begin the healing process, when they bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice.
A financial settlement cannot bring a loved one back but it can punish the wrong doer in a way that will hurt them.
A wrongful death lawyer can also make sure that monetarily the victim's family will be taken care of for years or maybe even decades to come.
Here is a basic step by step process to get justice for a wrongful death claim.
Step One: You will need contact a wrongful death attorney to find one who will take your case.
Out of all these lawyers that you call there will be one who should see the merits of your case and accept the responsibility of representing you in your claim.
Step Two: Most wrongful death attorneys will try to get you a settlement right away but if the insurance company refuses to settle then your attorney will file a complaint to begin the wrongful death case.
At this point you will begin to be referred to as the plaintiff and the other person or company will be called the defendant.
You will now have the defendant served papers.
80% of wrongful death suits are settled out of court.
But assuming that the defendant disputes all claims that they have made a mistake that has taken someone's life then the next step begins.
Step Three: Now the discovery process will take place this is where both the defendant and the plaintiff get to see all witness depositions and any pertinent evidence from both sides.
Step Four: Before the case goes to trial, this is when both sides make their legal arguments.
This is when many motions take place such as a motion to suppress certain evidence or even to dismiss the case all together.
Your lawyer will take your case all the way to end as long as your case has merit.
Step Five: This is when the court system either with the judge or a mediator will have your lawyers and the defendant's lawyers try to come to a settlement to avoid costly trials and come to an agreement now instead of going into any further proceedings.
Step Six: This is when the trial date is set and it is when you decide if you want a jury trial or not.
Most wrongful death lawyers prefer a jury trial as juries tend to award much larger sums of money than non jury trials.
Now is when there will be witnesses and expert witnesses brought in to repudiate each other's findings.
At the end of the trial there will be a verdict.
Once the decision has been given both sides have the right to appeal the case verdict.
If you win your case and all the appeal processes have been exhausted then the defendant will be required to pay you.
If for some reason they do not pay there are many collection techniques that your attorneys have at their disposal in their collections arsenal that they may use to get you're awarded case judgment.