Not everyone walks away from the average personal injury accident. Whether a person passes at the scene of the accident or at a later time due to accident related injuries, an offending party’s negligence can have devastating impacts on the loved ones of a deceased victim. Should you find yourself contending with the abrupt loss of a loved one due to negligence, you might not know where to turn.
Wrongful death lawyers in Bethpage understand how shocking a wrongful death can be. That is why the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe offers services to families contending with post-accident grief. We want to help you hold the party responsible for your loved one’s passing liable in civil court.
Quantifying Wrongful Death Cases in Bethpage
Classifying a wrongful death can be difficult. It can feel, in the wake of a loved one’s passing, that all deaths are wrongful. However, you can only take legal action under the umbrella of wrongful death when the passing of a loved one was both untimely and the result of someone else’s negligence.
As such, wrongful death cases tend to go hand-in-hand with other forms of personal injury. You may have the right to file a wrongful death case if your loved one passed at the scene of the accident or while seeking treatment. You may even have the right to take action if complications from an initial accident result in a death several years down the road.
New York Only Allows Certain Parties to Act After a Wrongful Death
Unfortunately, parties surviving a passed loved one may not have the right to pursue legal action on their behalf. In New York, the law states that only a personal representative or proprietary executor may take action on a deceased individual’s behalf. If you do not fit into one of these roles, you can seek out the aid of these parties but not an active case.
That said, of course, you can benefit from a wrongful death case leveled against the party allegedly liable for your loved ones untimely passing. You can even work with an attorney to see a personal executor or elected in the wake of your loved one’s passing should your loved one not have filled this role ahead of time.
It is in the best interest of any party confused by their legal options in the wake of a loved one’s death to meet with a wrongful death lawyer in Bethpage. Our team can walk you through the legal possibilities available to you while respecting your need to grieve.
How to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Bethpage, New York
Should you have the opportunity to file a wrongful death claim on a loved one’s behalf, the process of compiling that claim looks similar to building a personal injury case. You must have established, with the help of evidence, that another party engaged in negligence or recklessness that resulted in your loved one’s passing.
You do this by establishing a duty of care. Duty of care describes the responsibilities one party has to another to take reasonable action to keep that party safe. Individuals who fail to abide by their duty of care can cause the kind of accidents that result in severe injury or death.
The important thing, however, is that you must present evidence of this violation. Your evidence can range from video footage to bystander testimony to input from expert witnesses. What’s more, our team can help you gather this evidence so as to protect your mental well-being while still building your case.
Who to Hold Responsible for a Wrongful Death
It can be tricky to determine who to hold liable for a loved one’s untimely passing. In most cases, you should follow what evidence you have available to you. For example, if you survived a car accident and found evidence of distracted driving, it may be natural to hold a driver accountable for your loved one’s passing.
Make sure, however, that you examine the circumstances of a loved one’s passing in full and without bias. For example, in our distracted driving example, a driver’s distraction may not have led to an accident where a mechanical malfunction did. In this case, the car’s manufacturer, mechanic, or previous owner may be liable for your loved one’s passing.
The Value of Your Wrongful Death Claim
When you go through the stress of filing a wrongful-death claim on a loved one’s behalf, you make it easier to contend with that left one’s financial absence in your life. This approach may seem mercenary, but it gives you the space to emotionally address your loved ones absence without the additional pressure of undue expenses.
For example, a wrongful death claim allows you to demand that the party liable for your loved one’s passing help you pay for funeral expenses. You may also receive non-economic damages for the pain of losing a loved one, or even loss of companionship or consortium.
You can discuss which damages may apply to your case and how you can calculate the value of them during an initial case consultation with a Bethpage wrongful death attorney.
Bethpage Wrongful Death Attorneys Offer Their Support to You
Losing a loved one in an avoidable accident is unspeakably painful. In the wake of such a loss, it may be difficult to even consider pursuing legal action against the offending party. You can, however, lean on the wrongful death lawyers in Bethpage to guide you through your recovery. At the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, we can build your wrongful death case while you focus on supporting your family.
For more information on how we provide legal support to families contending with a wrongful death, you can schedule a case consultation with our team. We are available to discuss your case over the phone at 516-358-6900. You can also contact one of our representatives through our contact form. Lastly, visit and subscribe to the Cohen & Jaffe YouTube Channel for more information about how we help in situations like these.
For a free legal consultation with a wrongful death lawyer serving Floral Park, call 516-358-6900
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information and may not be applicable in your jurisdiction.
