Greenville Car Accident Wrongful Death Claim
Any type of car accident that leads to a death of an individual when the accident is not their fault can be a car accident wrongful death case.
Death does not have to occur as an immediate result of the car accident. If the individual is injured and later died from those injuries, then that would still be a wrongful death claim.
If your loved one suffered a fatality as a result of a car accident in the Greenville area, contact a Greenville wrongful death attorney to start the process of your claim today.
Common Accident Scenarios
Oftentimes in Greenville, fatal car accidents occur on the major roadways and highways in the area such as Highway 264. However, a car accident can occur anywhere in the county.
There are a number of ways that a person can experience a wrongful death in a car accident Some of the most common fatal car accidents include:
- Intersection accidents
- People failing to yield to red lights
- Inappropriately approaching intersections controlled by stop signs
- Speeding
- Inattention
- Drinking and driving
In reality, any kind of destructive driving issues can lead to car accidents in Greenville resulting in a wrongful death.
Driver fatigue leading to inattention is probably the number one reason for truck accidents that lead to wrongful death.
Damages
Damages will most likely include:
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses from the incident
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of services
- Loss of kindly offices and income to be replaced
If the at-fault driver was behaving in a criminal manner, such as drinking and driving, the case would have enhanced damages, such as punitive damages. Often, the behavior of the defendant can drive the different damages that may be available to the family.
There is no damage cap in North Carolina other than a cap on punitive damages for $250,000.
Motorcycle Accidents
Any motorcycle accident that leads to injury or to death at the time of the accident or later if the person succumbs to their injuries is a wrongful death action involving motorcycles.
The negligence standards for a motorcycle accident wrongful death claim are the same in any type of car accident. Oftentimes, what is different in motorcycle accidents is that there tends to be a jury bias or insurance company bias against individuals that ride motorcycles, believing that they are inherently unsafe by the fact of driving a motorcycle.
Motorcycle drivers must wear helmets at all the time while operating a motorcycle.
Truck Accidents
There is not any trending as far as who would tend to be involved in a truck accident wrongful death case. One thing that is for sure is that if there is a tractor trailer accident there is going to be a substantial loss of property and potentially life, because of the sheer nature of the size and weight of these vehicles.
Because of certain federal motor carrier requirements, trucks commercially operated on the roads in Greenville have to carry a certain minimum amount of insurance, which is higher than the minimum amount of insurance involved with a passenger vehicle.
As a result, there is often more money available to the families in a truck accident wrongful death claim. More resources can be spent by the wrongful death attorney, such as experts, to help prosecute certain damages for a wrongful death action.
Role of Insurance Companies
In these types of accidents, the insurance company by the nature of having more limits, has more reason to hire their own attorneys, engineers, and people to descend upon an accident scene very shortly thereafter. In these cases that they are highly defended, there are a lot of resources when dealing with a commercial insurance policy, because of the very nature of so much being at stake.
Role of an Attorney
The surviving legal representative of the person in the accident should get in touch with an attorney as soon as possible and let the attorney guide the family as far as what they need, even during this time of grief.
If it was an accident involving a truck, tractor trailer, or commercial vehicle, the family should try to get a car accident wrongful death attorney involved as soon as possible to have the investigation start.
