Losing a family member due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful actions is one of life’s most devastating experiences. Beyond the profound emotional grief and loss, families often face immediate financial hardships when they lose a person who provided income, care, or support for daily needs. The sudden absence of your spouse, parent, child, or other family member creates a void that can never truly be filled, but the law recognizes that families deserve compensation when these deaths result from preventable circumstances.
Wrongful death law provides a legal mechanism for surviving family members to seek justice and financial recovery when their relatives die due to another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions. At The Stein Law Group, we understand that wrongful death cases involve far more than legal proceedings—they represent families seeking accountability for the loss of their most precious relationships while trying to secure their financial futures during an incredibly difficult time.
Understanding Wrongful Death Claims
Wrongful death claims arise when someone dies due to the negligent, reckless, or intentional actions of another person or entity. These cases allow surviving family members to pursue compensation for the financial and emotional losses they suffer as a result of their relative’s death. Unlike criminal cases that focus on punishing wrongdoers, wrongful death claims are civil matters designed to provide monetary compensation to help families cope with their losses.
New York and New Jersey have specific statutes that define who can file wrongful death lawsuits and what types of damages are recoverable. Generally, only certain family members or personal representatives of the deceased person’s estate can bring these claims. The laws also establish time limits for filing wrongful death lawsuits, making prompt legal action essential to preserve your family’s rights.
Wrongful death cases require proving that the defendant’s actions or negligence directly caused your family member’s death. This involves demonstrating that the defendant had a duty to act with reasonable care, breached that duty through negligent or wrongful conduct, and that this breach directly resulted in the fatal incident. The legal standards mirror those used in personal injury cases, but wrongful death claims focus on the impact of the death on surviving family members rather than the deceased person’s pain and suffering.
The burden of proof in wrongful death cases requires establishing liability by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it’s more likely than not that the defendant’s actions caused the death. This standard is lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” requirement in criminal cases, allowing families to pursue civil remedies even when criminal charges aren’t filed or result in acquittals.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases
Wrongful deaths can result from various types of accidents, medical errors, criminal acts, and dangerous conditions that could have been prevented through reasonable care and safety measures. Each category of wrongful death case presents unique legal challenges and requires specific knowledge of applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards.
We handle wrongful death cases resulting from numerous causes throughout New York and New Jersey:
- Motor vehicle accidents involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians
- Medical malpractice including surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and medication mistakes
- Construction accidents due to unsafe working conditions and equipment failures
- Defective products that cause fatal injuries to consumers
- Nursing home neglect and abuse leading to resident deaths
- Workplace accidents in industrial, manufacturing, and service industries
- Police brutality and excessive force incidents
- Slip and fall accidents on dangerous property conditions
Motor vehicle wrongful death cases often involve complex investigations to determine fault and identify all potentially liable parties. These cases may involve multiple drivers, vehicle manufacturers, or government entities responsible for road maintenance and design. Commercial vehicle accidents can implicate trucking companies, cargo loaders, and maintenance providers in addition to drivers.
Medical malpractice wrongful death cases require extensive analysis of medical records and consultation with medical professionals to establish that healthcare providers deviated from accepted standards of care. These cases often involve delayed diagnosis of serious conditions, surgical errors, medication mistakes, or failures to properly monitor patients during treatment.
Damages and Recovery in Wrongful Death Cases
Wrongful death damages are designed to compensate surviving family members for the financial and personal losses they suffer due to their relative’s death. These damages recognize both the economic support the deceased person would have provided and the intangible losses associated with losing important family relationships.
Economic damages in wrongful death cases include the income and benefits the deceased person would have earned over their expected lifetime. This calculation requires analysis of the person’s age, health, education, work history, and career prospects to determine their likely future earnings. We work with economists and vocational professionals to develop accurate projections that account for salary increases, promotions, and other factors that would have affected lifetime earnings.
Medical and funeral expenses incurred as a result of the fatal incident are also recoverable as economic damages. These costs can be substantial, particularly when victims survive for periods requiring extensive medical treatment before succumbing to their injuries. Funeral and burial expenses represent immediate costs that families shouldn’t have to bear when deaths result from others’ negligence.
Non-economic damages address the loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support that family members experience when they lose their relatives. These damages recognize that family relationships provide intangible benefits that have real value, even though they can’t be precisely quantified in monetary terms. The amount of non-economic damages depends on factors like the closeness of family relationships, the deceased person’s role within the family, and the impact of their death on surviving relatives.
Punitive Damages and Multiple Defendants
In cases involving particularly reckless or intentional conduct, punitive damages may be available to punish wrongdoers and deter similar behavior. These damages are relatively rare but can significantly increase recovery when defendants acted with conscious disregard for safety or engaged in intentional harmful conduct.
Many wrongful death cases involve multiple potentially liable parties, which can increase the total compensation available to families. Construction accident deaths may involve contractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners. Medical malpractice deaths can implicate hospitals, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies. We investigate all potential sources of liability to maximize recovery for our clients.
Contact The Stein Law Group for Wrongful Death Representation
Wrongful death cases require compassionate legal counsel who understands the profound impact these losses have on families while possessing the legal knowledge and resources necessary to hold responsible parties accountable. At The Stein Law Group, our founder Adam J. Stein brings extensive wrongful death experience developed through work at prominent law firms where he handled complex civil litigation matters involving fatal accidents and medical malpractice. His admission to both New York and New Jersey state bars allows him to represent families throughout both states’ court systems during these difficult times.
We understand that wrongful death cases involve grieving families who are dealing with emotional trauma while facing potential financial hardships from losing important sources of income and support. Our contingency fee structure means you pay no attorneys’ fees unless we successfully recover compensation for your case, allowing your family to pursue justice without additional financial burden during an already overwhelming period. Contact The Stein Law Group today at (717) 384-2599 or through our contact form to schedule your confidential consultation and learn how we can help your family seek accountability for your tragic loss.