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What Are Common Wrongful Death Lawsuit Mistakes?

dsmith June 1, 2021

If you lost a loved one in an accident caused by another party, you may want to talk to the best wrongful death attorney in your area about filing a lawsuit. But these legal actions are tricky, and mistakes are common. Here are a few of them:

Fighting With Your Family: When someone you love dies in an accident, it’s a tremendous emotional hardship for most of us. You may have tough conversations with your family and have to make some hard decisions. All of you will be in a fragile emotional state that makes emotions raw and tempers flare.

There may be some disagreements, but remember to try to soothe and trust each other. Arguing about money or other things during this time only makes things worse.

Talking Publicly About The Accident: The death of your family member may be reported in the news, but it’s vital to not comment to people about it, especially to the press. Any statement you make about the death can come back to haunt you during a wrongful death lawsuit, even if you’re sure the comment was armless.

Talking to the media can damage your credibility in the eyes of a jury, and you might downplay the liability of the other party by accident, which can ruin the case.

Talking To Insurance Companies: The insurance company for the liable party may want to contact you and offer a settlement, but you shouldn’t take the call. The insurance company wants to pay as little as possible. That’s why they may call you right away with a small offering of cash to end the matter. You should only have your attorney talk to the insurance company. Note that anything you say to the insurance company will be recorded and they will try to use anything you tell them against you. Just refer them to your lawyer.

Taking A Settlement Too Fast: Insurance companies differ in some ways, but all of them will try to offer you a fast, token settlement to settle the matter and avoid paying much more later. Once you take a settlement, you cannot go back later and file a lawsuit.

The best course of action when there’s an accidental death of a loved one by another party is to contact the best wrongful death attorney. If there’s a case, the attorney will tell you. At that point, you can have your attorney handle all legal discussions, including with insurance companies offering settlements.

Not Considering All Liable Parties: The liable party in the accident may be clear to you, but it can be more complex than you think. If the person was working at the time of the accident, their employer may share liability. It’s usually better to file suit against companies that share liability because they have more insurance and can usually more fairly compensate you for your losses. Remember these mistakes if you lose a loved one in an accident caused by someone else. You’ll have better odds of getting a good settlement so you can move forward.

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