Walking away from a car accident that proved fatal for a loved one can be harrowing. Your entire life can transform in a matter of moments – but it can take years to recover.
The financial losses related to car accidents may not be as stark as the emotional ones, but they can still prove pressing. You can address the financial fallout of a fatal car accident with the help of fatal accident attorneys in Englewood.
Morelli Law Firm can help you bring negligent parties to civil court, where you can fight for your right to post-accident financial support.
Fatal Car Accidents Versus Wrongful Death
Understanding how to classify your loved one’s death in civil court can be exhausting for several reasons. To begin, revisiting the nature of your loved one’s passing can leave you emotionally bereft. Second, the legal ways in which this case may be classified can be confusing, particularly if you don’t have experience in civil court.
Fatal car accidents and wrongful death claims look similar on paper. Both address the unanticipated death of a loved one. However, fatal accident cases are narrower in their definition of loss than wrongful death cases. Fatal accident cases specifically address accidents. Wrongful death cases can cover medical malpractice and broader forms of negligence.
If you’re not sure how to classify a civil suit addressing a loved one’s passing, talk to a representative with our office. Our fatal accident attorneys in Englewood, NJ, can compassionately break down your case and ensure you’re taking the steps you need to pursue adequate compensation for your losses.
Reacting to Fatal Car Accident Settlement Offers
There are several parties that can instigate a fatal car accident. Some of these parties may be independent, while others may be affiliated with corporations. If you get into an accident with an active corporate body, that body may reach out to you with a fatal accident settlement offer. These offers are meant to deny you the right to civil action while providing for your needs.
Not all settlement offers are malicious. However, many people do not realize that they have the right to negotiate when offered a settlement. You can, in fact, bring a fatal accident settlement offer to our office without accepting it. There, we can estimate your possible compensation on our own and ensure that you’re not being cheated.
Our attorneys can even play a role in your fatal car accident settlement negotiations. If necessary, you can call on us to represent your best interests during conversations with an allegedly-liable party. So long as you do not sign anything before coming to our office, we can fight for your right to comprehensive compensation after a loved one’s fatal accident.
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How to Pursue Civil Action After a Fatal Car Accident
New Jersey states that only a personal representative of the party who has passed may pursue a fatal accident case on that party’s behalf. If you are not the personal representative of a deceased individual, you may not take legal action for them. Should your loved one not have assigned a personal representative prior to their death, the state will assign one to their case.
What are you supposed to do, then, if you can’t take legal action for a loved one? You still have the right to bring your concerns to a free case consultation. Our Englewood fatal accident lawyers can address your case with you and see if there aren’t other ways you can pursue compensation for your losses.
That said, if you can take legal action, your next steps are clear. You must file a claim detailing liability and your losses if you want your loved one’s case to appear in civil court.
We Calculate Your Possible Compensation
The primary benefit of a fatal car accident claim is that you have the chance of winning compensation for yourself based on your loved one’s passing and affiliated losses. You need to submit an estimate of your compensation alongside your initial claim if you want a court to consider your request.
Estimating your possible compensation sees you add together your economic losses along with your non-economic losses. Your economic losses after the passing of a loved one can include:
- Medical expenses related to your and your loved one’s care
- Property damage incurred in an accident
- Lost opportunities for work
- Lost wages due to time spent recuperating/mourning
- Medical aids needed to restore your previous quality of life
You need to present bills or other forms of evidence when listing these expenses to serve as evidence of your losses. Once we have an estimate of your economic losses, we can apply fatal accident multipliers to your case. You can reference these multipliers as well as state precedent to determine the value of losses like:
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of companionship
Our team can explore every avenue for compensation available to you after a loved one’s passing.
File Your Fatal Car Accident Claim Within New Jersey’s Statute of Limitations
Breaking down the statute of limitations on a fatal accident case can be tricky. On the one hand, these claims can be considered personal injury claims. By that logic, your deadline should be defined by N.J. Stat. §2A:14-2. If you file under this deadline, you’ll have two years to act on your loved one’s losses.
That said, the crossover between fatal accident and wrongful death cases could see the wrongful death statute of limitations applied to your claim. N.J. Stat. §2A:31-1 (2021) notes that these cases must also reach a county clerk within two years of the day your accident occurred.
While the deadline by which you must submit your claim may not vary, the means through which you file will. You can discuss how these different statutes may impact your case when you meet with a fatal accident attorney in Englewood, NJ.
We Help You Address the Loss of a Loved One in Court
Recovering from the loss of a loved one takes time. You deserve the space you need to grieve and recover. Our attorneys can make that easier. When you collaborate with Morelli Law Firm, you can fight for the financial support you deserve after a loved one’s fatal car accident.
You can learn more about your right to financial support during a consultation with an Englewood fatal accident attorney. Reach out to request a free case evaluation today. We’re available to set a date for your consultation over the phone or via our online contact form.