Jacksonville Wrongful Death Lawyer

You have the right to demand wrongful death benefits after a loved one’s fatal accident. You can work with a wrongful death lawyer in Jacksonville to highlight what instances of negligence give you the right to legal action and how you can effectively account for a deceased victim’s losses.

Whitley Law Firm and its Jacksonville personal injury lawyers believe in making the legal process accessible, especially to families struggling with the loss of a loved one. We bring 120+ years of combined experience to your case. You can count on us to answer any questions you may have about wrongful death action before representing you in and out of court.

Schedule a free case consultation with our personal injury attorneys today—that’s the Whitley Advantage.

What Qualifies as a Wrongful Death in Jacksonville?

In Jacksonville, a wrongful death claim arises when the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another party causes a person‘s death. G.S. 28A-18-2 allows the deceased person’s personal representative to file a lawsuit against the responsible individual or entity.

It must generally be proven that the defendant’s negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct was the cause of the victim’s death. In other words, you may have the right to demand justice on a loved one’s behalf if you’ve recently lost someone to any of the following:

• Instances of medical malpractice
• Serious auto accidents, including drunk driving accidents
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Product failures that compromised your loved one’s health
• Slip and fall accidents that resulted in fatal injuries
• Nursing home neglect

Our personal injury firm invites you to discuss these accidents and the negligent actions that led to them during a free, no-obligation case consultation. If you decide to work with our team to build a case against a negligent party, you can count on our contingency fee agreements to reduce your family’s financial strain while preserving your right to justice.

Do I Have a Wrongful Death Case?

If you lost a loved one in a deadly accident caused by the negligence or reckless actions of another, you could have a wrongful death case. However, not every fatal accident qualifies for compensation. If you want to argue that you have the right to pursue a valid wrongful death claim in North Carolina, you need to prove the following:

• The wrongful act, negligence, or misconduct of another party caused the death.
• If the deceased had survived, they would have been eligible to file a personal injury claim.
• The surviving family members are facing financial hardships due to the death.

Losing a loved one is incredibly painful, especially when their death resulted from someone else’s negligence or wrongful actions. In such situations, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim.

You should not face this difficult period alone; let us help. After reviewing the details of your case, our wrongful death attorneys in Jacksonville will determine if you have a valid case.

Should You File an Insurance Claim After a Loved One’s Wrongful Death?

If your loved one invested in life insurance or a similar policy prior to their death, you may have the right to pursue a claim with a relevant insurance company. However, it’s never in your best interest to speak with an insurance claims adjuster immediately following a fatal accident.

Unfortunately, adjusters rarely have your best interests at heart, even after a fatal collision. Most insurance companies will press you to give a statement about your losses or commit to accepting a settlement. In reality, you don’t have to provide a statement, written or verbal. You’re under no obligation to accept a settlement offer, either.

You always have the right to request a wrongful death consultation with an experienced attorney before collaborating with an insurance company or submitting an insurance claim. Working with an attorney can help you accurately fill out your claim, minimizing your risk of mistakes and making it harder for a provider to deny you support.

Our Team Can Communicate With Insurance Adjusters on Your Behalf

The grief that comes with a loved one’s sudden death doesn’t always put you in a good place to speak with insurance representatives. Fortunately, you’re under no obligation to handle those conversations alone.

Whether you need details about a loved one’s estate plan or help shooing a provider away, you can rely on our Jacksonville, NC, wrongful death lawyers to manage your communications with insurance claims adjusters.

Jacksonville Wrongful Death Lawyer Near Me (800)785-5000

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, only the personal representative or executor of the deceased person’s estate has the legal authority to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This person is usually named in the deceased’s will. If there is no will, they are appointed by the court. 

Family members cannot file the lawsuit unless they have been designated as the estate’s personal representative. The personal representative files the lawsuit on behalf of the estate and the deceased’s surviving family members, including a spouse, children, or dependents, to seek damages. 

Although the representative handles the case, any compensation awarded typically goes to the deceased’s heirs, according to North Carolina’s intestate succession laws.

When Should You Call a Jacksonville Wrongful Death Lawyer?

It’s hard to know what’s most important to do in the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death. Should you prioritize funeral services and estate planning, or should you call an attorney? Our team usually recommends getting in touch with a Jacksonville wrongful death attorney sooner rather than later. A lawyer can make it easier to:

• Communicate with insurance claims adjusters.
• Keep liable parties from invading your privacy or offering you insufficient settlements.
• Gather evidence proving that negligence contributed to your loved one’s death.
• Organize witness statements and expert witness testimonies.
• Stay on top of claim filing deadlines.

Scheduling a case consultation with Whitley Law Firm doesn’t obligate you to pursue a personal injury claim or finalize an insurance claim with an attorney’s assistance. You can use an initial consultation to discuss any questions you have about your right to pursue justice in a loved one’s name and how an attorney can make your life easier.

Whitley Law Firm Works on Contingency

But what about the cost of working with a lawyer? Do you have the funds to do so while dealing with a loved one’s post-life expenses? Fortunately, our wrongful death lawyers in Jacksonville work on a contingency fee basis. 

You don’t have to pay a dime to book a consultation with our team. You don’t have to put down a deposit or a retainer to start working with our staff, either. We only get paid if we win your case.

Jacksonville Wrongful Death Attorneys Offer Compassionate Legal Support

Many types of fatal accidents can lead to a wrongful death case. Regardless of the specific circumstances, if a person’s death was preventable and caused by the negligent or intentional actions of another party, their surviving family members may be entitled to fair compensation through the legal system.

In addition to wrongful death lawyers, our legal team also includes the following:

• Jacksonville car accident lawyers
• Jacksonville construction accident lawyers
• Jacksonville dog bite lawyers
• Jacksonville motorcycle accident lawyers
• Jacksonville pedestrian accident lawyers
• Jacksonville product liability lawyers
• Jacksonville truck accident lawyers

Partnering with our experienced team will significantly increase your chances of a successful outcome. With such a diverse group of legal professionals, we offer comprehensive support to our clients. Our attorneys are familiar with different types of accidents and know how to handle the specific problems that may appear in your pursuit of compensation.

How to Ask for Wrongful Death Damages

The death of a loved one is often considerably more expensive than you and your family might expect. Fortunately, pursuing a personal injury lawsuit allows you to ask for economic and non-economic damages as long as you can directly tie affiliated losses to a loved one’s accident.

The economic damages you can request when filing a wrongful death lawsuit should cover the medical expenses and other sources of financial strain that your family has to deal with immediately following an accident. These may include the following:

• Medical bills generated prior to a loved one’s death, usually affiliated with a loved one’s emergency care and/or ambulance fees
• Lost wages or loss of income tied to the deceased’s inability to return to work
• Future financial losses
• Property damage and restorative efforts
• Care for minor children or any parties orphaned by a person’s fatal accident
• Funeral expenses and mortuary services

You also have the right to request compensation based on your family’s non-economic losses—or losses that don’t generate traditional bills. These may include your emotional pain, loss of guidance, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, and reduced quality of life. 

Punitive Damages

If you take a loved one’s wrongful death case to civil trial, a judge may award you and your family punitive damages in addition to the damages you requested in your claim. Punitive damages, as their name suggests, punish a responsible party for their unchecked negligence.

However, you do not have the right to include a request for punitive damages in your initial claim, nor may you request them during a civil trial. It is entirely up to a judge to determine whether an accident victim should receive punitive damages. 

While going to trial increases your chance of receiving this kind of support, you shouldn’t count on it while outlining your claim. You can discuss what influence, if any, punitive damages may have on your recovery during ongoing wrongful death consultations with Whitley Law Firm’s attorneys.

What Kind of Negligence Causes Wrongful Death Accidents?

When stepping out into the world, everyone immediately takes on a duty of care. That duty dictates that each person must take reasonable steps to protect those around them from preventable harm. People most often violate that duty of care by engaging in negligence.

The term “negligence” encompasses a wide range of behaviors, some accidental and others purposeful. These behaviors, whether intentional or otherwise, actively endanger the people around the person who has stopped paying attention or decided to act recklessly.

Some of the most common examples of negligence can include the following:

• Speeding
• Drinking and driving or driving while under the influence of illegal drugs
• Failing to address environmental hazards, including potholes, sidewalk damage, and spills inside controlled environments
• Deliberately attempting to intimidate people in a shared environment, including reckless driving and tailgating
• Releasing untested or inefficiently produced products to an unprepared audience

You can discuss what specific instances of negligence may entitle you to pursue a wrongful death claim in a loved one’s name as more information about your loved one’s fatal accident comes to light.

Proving Negligence in a Wrongful Death Claim

If you want to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a loved one, you need to prove that someone who owed your loved one a duty of care violated that duty. A Jacksonville, NC, wrongful death lawyer can help you get the job done by connecting you with licensed accident investigators who can bring forward evidence like the following:

• Electronic evidence
• Environmental damage and physical debris from the scene of the accident
• Videos or photos of the accident
• Statements from bystanders
• Expert witness testimony, including statements from emergency responders, police officers, and coroners, as applicable
• Accident recreations, as applicable

Our attorneys can compile an investigator’s findings into a comprehensive narrative of negligence that details who owes you damages, why they owe you damages, and the value of those damages.

Know Your Case’s Statute of Limitations

As of 2024, N.C. Stat. § 1-52(5) gives you three years to file a wrongful death claim against the party responsible for your recent losses. Usually, that three-year clock starts ticking on the same day that your loved one dies. However, some exceptions may allow the state to extend your personal injury statute of limitations.

Unfortunately, if you miss the claim filing deadline, there’s a chance that North Carolina’s civil justices will not let you proceed with a wrongful death case. Your initial consultation with a wrongful death attorney in Jacksonville, NC, can help you better understand what wrongful death statutes apply to your case and how you can work within the deadlines they set. 

You can always count on our team to optimize your wrongful death claim with your filing deadline in mind.

Will North Carolina Police Officers Open a Criminal Investigation Into Your Loved One’s Death?

The civil attorneys working with Whitley Law Firm fight for your family’s right to financial compensation in the wake of an at-fault party’s fatal negligence. At the same time, North Carolina’s police officers can open a criminal investigation into the misconduct that resulted in your loved one’s death.

A Conviction and Your Civil Case

The civil and criminal elements of your recovery will typically operate independently from one another. However, a criminal conviction can have a positive impact on your wrongful death lawsuit. 

If North Carolina’s criminal courts convict a liable party of manslaughter or homicide, you can submit that conviction alongside other forms of evidence. Doing so will allow you to argue that someone else’s negligence caused your loved one’s wrongful death.

That conviction won’t secure you a wrongful death settlement outright, but it does significantly strengthen your argument for damages. You can talk to our personal injury attorneys about the specific role a conviction may play in your recovery.

Call Our Compassionate Jacksonville Wrongful Death Attorneys for Legal Support

You don’t have to let the negligence that led to a loved one’s untimely death compromise your family’s financial stability. North Carolina’s civil courts give you the right to fight for maximum compensation alongside a Jacksonville, NC, wrongful death attorney.

Whitley Law Firm’s legal team brings extensive experience to your pursuit of damages in the aftermath of a loved one’s death. We will highlight which tools you can use to begin filing a legal claim and how our team can represent you if your case goes to trial.

We understand that you’re going through a difficult time and that your family will never be the same again. That’s why our team utilizes our legal experience to handle these types of cases with the utmost care. You can trust us to fight not only for the justice you deserve but also for the chance to bring your family a sense of closure and peace.