Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyers
Attorney Representation in Phoenix, Phoenix Since 1996
How to Build an Effective Wrongful Death Case
If your family member has been the victim of a wrongful death matter, they will have lost their life as the result of someone else's negligence.
A wrongful death is defined as a death that results from a wrongful act or from negligence; a death that can serve as the basis for a civil action for damages on behalf of the deceased person's family or heirs. Building an effective wrongful death case is crucial when seeking compensation for the death of a loved one. Understanding the process of pursuing a wrongful death case plays an important role in building your case. Here is how a wrongful death case usually proceeds:
Contacting a Wrongful Death Attorney
If you think you might have a wrongful death claim, the first thing you should do is to contact an experienced wrongful death lawyer. The attorney will evaluate your case, and if you have a good claim, he or she may represent you. This does not mean that you need to hire a lawyer at this time. All it means is that if such an event occurred it is best to contact a Phoenix wrongful death attorney so that you can gather as much information as possible. You want to make sure that you get advice so that you know if your case merits an attorney or not. It may be that some investigation is necessary or that other documents must be obtained to see if you have a claim. An attorney can tell you all of the things that you should be aware of, including things like the statute of limitations so that if you want to pursue a claim you can. Gathering all the facts is what is important at this time.
If you do decide to hire an attorney for your Arizona wrongful death claim, the attorney will do all the investigation and probably may even need to hire experts. This is up to the attorney and the family members can then grieve while the attorney handles all the legal processes.
The attorney will start by filing a wrongful death claim with the insurance company. All sorts of processes will be conducted from there. Each case is different. What is most important is that if you do decide to hire an attorney that you hire an attorney who understands injury and wrongful death claims in Arizona. If the attorney is able to settle your claim they will discuss all the details with you. If they are not then they will have to file a lawsuit.
Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Your wrongful death attorney may try to settle the case by demanding damages from the defendants. If the case is not settled at this point, the next step is to file a document called a complaint with a court to begin a wrongful death lawsuit.
Discovery
After the lawsuit has been filed, both the plaintiff and defendant have an opportunity to obtain information from each other about the case. This part is called "discovery."
Wrongful Death Pre-trial Motions
Before the case is set for trial, attorneys for either side may make legal arguments about the case to the court, which usually take the form of legal motions.
Wrongful Death Settlement
As a case is nearing the time for trial, many states or courts insist that the attorneys meet with a judge for a settlement conference where the judge tries to help the parties work out a settlement. In some places, the parties are referred to mediation before a case can be set for trial, usually to encourage parties to settle their differences rather than resort to a costly court battle.
Wrongful Death Trial
A lawsuit will be set for trial before a judge or jury (the plaintiff gets to decide) if the parties are not able to settle out of court.
Wrongful Death Appeal
Either of the parties can appeal (have the case looked at again by another court) if there was a significant legal error in the trial.
Wrongful Death Collection
A lawsuit is finished when an appeal is completed or a verdict entered and the time for appeal has run out. The above are all processes that should be explained to you in more depth when talking to an Arizona wrongful death lawyer.
The attorneys at Breyer Law Offices can help you build a strong wrongful death case. Please call (602) 267-1280 for a free consultation.
