North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawyers Answer Your Questions
- What is wrongful death?
- What is the difference between wrongful death and medical malpractice?
- Is there a statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim?
- Who can sue for wrongful death?
- How is the amount of damages determined?
Schedule your free consultation with a North Carolina wrongful death lawyer
There are no legal fees unless you receive compensation for your loss.
At Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau in Raleigh, North Carolina, our wrongful death lawyers never charge any fee for their time and expertise in evaluating a wrongful death case. If we agree to take your case, we represent you on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no legal fees unless we successfully resolve your case. Call (888) 479-4546 or (919)-899-9857 or contact Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau online to schedule a free consultation.
What is wrongful death?
The idea behind a wrongful death lawsuit is the wrongful death, in addition to injuring the person who died, also brought harm to the people who depended on that individual for financial and/or emotional support. The wrongful act might be:
- A negligent or careless act (e.g., careless driving or unsafe premises)
- A reckless act
- An intentional act such as deliberate murder
Your North Carolina wrongful death lawyer at Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau can explain our state's statute permitting a lawsuit to be brought by the decedent's relatives in the event of a wrongful act.
What is the difference between wrongful death and medical malpractice?
They are defined differently under the law. Wrongful death is a type of damage, while malpractice is a type of negligence. Just as not every medical malpractice case involves wrongful death, not every wrongful death case involves medical malpractice.
Is there a statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim?
North Carolina law requires that a wrongful death suit may only be filed within two years after the person's death. The state will not honor a wrongful death claim filed after the legislated timeframe, and the opportunity to recover damages for the family will be forever lost. Time is of the essence. Consult the skilled North Carolina wrongful death attorneys at Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau today.
Who can sue for wrongful death?
The representatives allowed to bring a wrongful death suit are defined by state law. In some states, it may be only a spouse and children. In other states, grandparents or other relatives may also be allowed to bring a lawsuit. Some states have enacted restrictions on filing when one family member would be suing another family member for the wrongful death of a third family member. In North Carolina, an experienced wrongful death lawyer at Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau can analyze your case and plain in detail what is required in order to sue.
How is the amount of damages determined?
Figuring the amount of money you can collect for a wrongful death gets complicated. Family members can recover payment for the injured person's medical bills and burial expenses.
But because the idea is that the survivors are injured by the absence of the person who died, you should also consider what probably would have occurred in the future. These damages may include:
- An estimate of the amount of wages the person who died would have earned if he or she had lived
- Pain and suffering experienced by the survivors due to the absence of the deceased person
Estimates of future earnings usually require testimony from an expert witness.
