Charlotte Wrongful Death Attorney

If you have lost a family member due to a fatal accident, not only have you lost the companionship and affection of a loved one, but you’ve also lost the value of their services and financial support. While your loved one cannot be replaced, a wrongful death lawsuit is a legal tool used to provide financial compensation to surviving family members. In North Carolina, wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death. If the fatal accident was caused by another person’s carelessness or recklessness, then a wrongful death lawsuit may be brought after the death of a parent, a spouse, a child — or even an unborn child. A wrongful death lawyer in Charlotte, NC can help you seek the justice you deserve.

The Charlotte wrongful death lawyers at the law firm of Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, have significant experience representing clients in lawsuits after the loss of a family member. We have represented family members in hundreds of wrongful death lawsuits, arising from situations including:

• Car accidents
• Construction site accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Emergency room errors
• Birth injuries
• Defective products
• Premises liability
• Trucking accidents
• Motorcycle and bicycle accidents
• Playground accidents

Contact our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation with a highly skilled wrongful death lawyer in:

• Concord
• Gastonia
• Huntersville

We will evaluate the circumstances behind your accident to determine if you have a valid wrongful death claim.

Examples of Recent Wrongful Death Lawsuits

In the medical malpractice field, our law firm recently obtained a $1.2 million settlement for the family of a patient who died after a physician failed to properly diagnose a disease. Read more about our law firm’s recent achievements for our clients.

What Compensation is Available from a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

As difficult as it may be to consider, a wrongful death lawsuit places a monetary value on the loss of a close family member. For example, if a husband is killed, the wrongful death lawsuit may compensate his wife for lost future wages from her husband’s employment. If a child’s parent is killed, then the wrongful death action may compensate the child for the loss of the parent’s guidance and estimated future financial assistance.

Wrongful death lawsuits require a wrongful death lawyer to work in close consultation with financial experts and family specialists. This team’s job is to develop a complete picture of what it means to have lost this family member — and then to translate that loss into a dollar amount that will then be demanded in formal legal action.

Few things can leave a large dark hole in your life like the unexpected death of a family member. When the passing of a close member resulted from an accident, medical malpractice, or another person or entity’s recklessness, negligence, or wrongdoing, the surviving family members may feel angry and powerless at the same time.

There are many questions that a person may have about the death of his or her loved one, but there is usually no one to answer them — no one except our Charlotte wrongful death attorney from Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC.

You may have a right to bring forth a wrongful death claim when your loved one dies as a result of a car accident, truck accident, pedestrian accident, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, premises liability accident, and other types of accidents.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in North Carolina?

Not all surviving family members are equally eligible to pursue a wrongful death claim in Charlotte or elsewhere in North Carolina. Unless the decedent had a will in which he or she named the personal representative of the estate before his or her death, North Carolina law would appoint the estate’s personal representative.

Afterward, the estate’s representative files a wrongful death claim on behalf of the deceased’s surviving family members. “It is not rare for the surviving spouse, adult child, or parent to be appointed as the estate’s personal representative in North Carolina,” says our Charlotte wrongful death lawyer.

Which Damages Can Be Recovered in a Wrongful Death Suit?

When pursuing a wrongful death claim in Charlotte or elsewhere in North Carolina, the surviving beneficiaries may be able to seek damages for:

• The medical bills incurred after the accident but before the death
• Burial and funeral costs
• Pain and suffering endured by the deceased before death
• The amount of income the deceased could reasonably have been expected to earn and provide for the family had he or she lived
• Mentorship, companionship, guidance, support, care, protection, assistance, and other services that would have been provided by the deceased to his or her family members
• Punitive damages against the defendant

Not every wrongful death claim includes punitive damages. Punitive damages, which are meant to punish the defendant, are available to the surviving family members only when another person’s or entity’s malice or willful conduct was responsible for killing the deceased.

How is Compensation Distributed Among the Heirs in a Wrongful Death Case?

When bringing a wrongful death claim in Charlotte or elsewhere in North Carolina, the personal representative of the estate may pay necessary expenses and litigation costs including attorney’s fees.

When compensation is awarded to the heirs of the deceased, the money awarded in the settlement or verdict will be distributed in the given priority:

• To compensate the estate for any expenses associated with the litigation
• To pay the attorney’s fees
• To pay for the burial and funeral expenses
• To cover the reasonable medical and hospital costs not exceeding $4,500 (these expenses cannot exceed 50 percent of the amount of the remaining damages recovered after paying the attorney’s fees)
• The remaining portion of the settlement is distributed among the heirs according to the Intestate Succession Act

Contact our Charlotte wrongful death attorney at Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, to get answers to your other questions.