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New York Wrongful Death Lawyer

The loss of someone you care for deeply is never easy, even when you expect it. When your loved one’s death occurs suddenly due to the negligence of someone else, life can feel completely out of control.

In addition to grieving the loss, you must deal with paying medical and funeral expenses and living without that person’s income if he or she helped to support the family.

Our wrongful death lawyers in New York understand that you are going through an extremely difficult time.

We are sorry for your loss and are here to help you recover the financial resources you need to move forward. Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm is widely respected in the New York City area for our depth of experience with matters related to wrongful death, medical malpractice, personal injury, and other situations where clients find themselves in a vulnerable position through no fault of their own.

We are champions for pursuing justice and believe that those responsible for the death of your loved one should be held fully accountable for it. While it might not have been deliberate, negligence is not an excuse when dealing with something as precious as human life.

What Is Wrongful Death In New York?

The term wrongful death explains the death of a person due to the reckless, negligent, or sometimes intentional actions of another person, group of people, or organization.

As your NY wrongful death lawyer will explain when you meet in person, the death of your family member must meet each of the following criteria to qualify as wrongful death:

  • A human being died.
  • Another person, group of people or organization caused the death through intentional, negligent, or reckless actions.
  • The surviving family member or members initiating the wrongful death lawsuit must demonstrate proof of financial suffering due to the unexpected death of the person.
  • The family has appointed a personal representative to initiate a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of the deceased individual.

When a person passes away due to someone else’s negligence, it can result in the filing of a wrongful death claim if it meets each of the above criteria.

If you feel uncertain how to authorize a personal representative to sue on behalf of the estate of your loved one, our New York wrongful death lawyers can assist you with this. This type of legal case can stem from all types of personal injury.

Some of the most common ones include car accidents, construction accidents, and medical malpractice wrongful death claims. We discuss some of the many other possible causes of wrongful death below.

Am I Eligible For A Wrongful Death Claim In New York?

Once you have established that your loved one’s death meets the criteria for wrongful death, it is up to you and your New York wrongful death attorney to prove that it occurred strictly because of the negligent actions of the other party.

That means the people or organization you are filing a lawsuit against must have had a legal obligation to provide your family member with an accepted standard of care. In other words, their profession or position required them to act within accepted standards and the defendant failed in that regard.

Although the cause of death might seem obvious, you need to prepare yourself for the types of defenses the legal team for the other party will attempt. For example, they may claim that your loved one is guilty of negligent actions that caused his or her own death or that someone else made the fatal error.

It will likely be difficult for you to hear these arguments, especially since your loved one is not here to offer input into what went wrong. We assure you that your wrongful death lawyer New York will aggressively challenge all arguments and force the defense to prove their claims.

The more they cannot do that, the more the case moves in your favor. Our attorneys are also prepared to clearly demonstrate how you are suffering financially since your family member passed away due to the other party’s negligence.

The following are just some of the possible causes of death that cause people to seek the services of a New York wrongful death attorney:

Who Files A Wrongful Death Claim In New York?

New York law only allows family members of the deceased to initiate a wrongful death lawsuit. If there is a surviving spouse, he or she gets the first right. Next in line would be children and survivors of deceased children of the person who died in the wrongful death case.

Possible Damages Recovered After a Wrongful Death in New York:

  • Natural or legally adoptive parents.
  • Siblings.
  • Children of siblings who have already passed away.
  • Grandparents.
  • Other lineal descendants.

In a successful wrongful death lawsuit, you should receive reimbursement for funeral expenses and the medical costs your loved one incurred due to the incident that eventually caused his or her death.

You are also eligible to receive the following three categories of compensation:

  • The loss of companionship, love, sexual relationship if applicable, and comfort that you received from your loved one who has passed away.
  • The financial equivalent of household services your family member provided, such as lawn maintenance, childcare, shopping, cooking, and cleaning.
  • The financial equivalent of the financial support your loved one would have contributed to the household if he or she had not been the victim of fatal negligence.

If the personal representative is suing on behalf of minor children, each child may be eligible to receive payment for the loss of instruction, nurturing, and various types of training that are impossible to replace outside of the parent-child relationship.

Contact Us Today To Speak With An Attorney

Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm understands that no amount of money can ever make up for the untimely death of someone you cared for so deeply.

We also know that you are in an extremely difficult situation that requires greater financial resources than you likely have right now and we want to help in this regard.

Please contact us to request a free review of your case.

The New York wrongful death lawyer you meet with will let you know if you have a valid wrongful death case and explain each of the next steps on your road to justice.