Losing someone you love without warning is incredibly painful. It can be even harder to cope when their death happened because someone else was careless or failed to do what they should have done.
If you have lost someone you love, a Virginia wrongful death lawyer can help you figure out what to do next. They can review what happened and, if you have a case, work to recover money for your family’s losses and bring the at-fault party to task for their carelessness.
After a sudden loss, it is important to understand Virginia’s wrongful death law so you can make informed decisions. Since 1985, the Virginia Beach wrongful death lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp have helped families seek justice and hold negligent parties responsible for preventable deaths throughout the state.
What is a Virginia Wrongful Death Claim?
A Virginia wrongful death claim is filed by the personal representative of the estate for the benefit of the decedent’s statutory beneficiaries when the death was caused by another person’s wrongful act, neglect, or default.
It is handled in civil court, just like other personal injury cases. However, the people involved in the case may be different, and the way damages are calculated is not the same as in a typical injury claim.
Who is Allowed to File a Virginia Wrongful Death Claim?
Under Virginia law, a wrongful death claim must be filed by the personal representative of the person’s estate. This is the person named in the will, or, if there is no will, someone the court clerk appoints pursuant to the laws of the state.
Virginia law sets out specific classes of beneficiaries and priority rules, including dependency requirements in some situations.
If there is no surviving spouse, child, or grandchild, Virginia law allows recovery by the next statutory class of beneficiaries, which can include parents and siblings.
What Types of Accidents Lead to Wrongful Death Claims?
Wrongful death cases usually happen when someone else is legally responsible for a person’s death because they were careless or reckless.
Many wrongful death claims involve medical mistakes, car or motorcycle crashes, or dangerous products. But any time someone’s careless actions lead to another person’s death, there may be grounds for a wrongful death case.
What Damages Are Available in a Virginia Wrongful Death Claim?
In Virginia, the wrongful death law lists the types of monetary damages a family may be able to recover.
Wrongful death damages can include survivors’ sorrow/mental anguish and financial losses (income/services), medical expenses for the care and treatment related to the fatal injury, funeral expenses, and possibly punitive damages. Punitive damages may be available for willful or wanton conduct or reckless conduct showing a conscious disregard for safety, and are capped at $350,000.00, which is absurdly unfair, but the maximum Virginia allows by statute.
How Are Wrongful Death Damages Calculated?
Lawyers often need to hire an expert, such as a forensic economist, to determine how much money specific family members may have lost.
There are a few ways to estimate how much money a person will earn over their lifetime. This includes their age, how much money they made in the last five years, what kind of job they had, and how much schooling they finished.
Experts also consider the benefits they would have received but for their deaths, such as health insurance. They might also figure out how much the person helped the family by doing things like taking care of the kids, fixing things around the house, or doing other daily chores.
Economists take into account inflation and other economic changes over time. Lawyers often hire one or more experts to establish economic losses. If the case goes to trial, these experts will explain the losses in detail to the jury.
How Soon Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?
As soon as possible after a loved one dies wrongfully, you should talk to a lawyer. In Virginia, you usually have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
If you hire a lawyer early, they can start looking into things right away, when the evidence is still fresh and easier to get. If an investigation starts right away, it's less likely that important evidence will be lost or that witnesses will forget what happened.
How Do Wrongful Death Lawyers Get Paid?
Most of the time, lawyers who work on wrongful death cases only get paid if they win. In other words, you only pay the wrongful death lawyer’s contingency fee if you win or settle the case. They are paid a percentage of the money recovered under a written retainer agreement that a client signs before the case begins.
The fee can vary by case, so it's important to discuss it before you hire the lawyer.
In a wrongful death case, there are costs other than the lawyer's fee. Hiring expert witnesses and paying court reporting transcript fees are usually the most expensive items. These experts might be able to help figure out how much the case is worth or provide critical evidence as to what caused the wrongful death.
There may also be other expenses, such as research costs, travel, and forensic expenses, but these are not incurred unless they will help maximize the recovery.
Call Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp
If you recently lost someone you love because another person was careless or reckless, you may not know whether you have a wrongful death case, and it's important to know that these civil wrongful death cases can be pursued even if there are criminal charges pending relating to reckless or negligent motor vehicle cases. At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, our Virginia Beach wrongful death lawyers will carefully review what happened, explain your rights, and go over your legal options during a free case review.
We work hard to recover as much compensation as possible for our clients and their families. We also provide strong legal representation and personal support throughout every step of the process. For example, we recently secured a settlement of $3.5 million for the family of a man who died because of a truck driver’s negligence.
If you would like a free consultation, you can call us at (833) 997-1774 or fill out the short contact form on our website. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, so we can better serve clients throughout Virginia.
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