Protecting The Rights Of Families Filing Fatal Accident Claims
Losing a loved one always feels incredibly painful. Losing a loved one because someone else committed a negligent act that cost your loved one their life can feel even more devastating. Compensation through a wrongful death claim may not bring back your lost loved one, but it can provide you with much-needed compensation for the many damages you may have sustained.
Did you lose a loved one due to the negligence of another party? Working with a Wisconsin wrongful death lawyer can give you more insight into the compensation you deserve. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers for your free consultation.
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Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers: Help with Your Wisconsin Wrongful Death Claim
Losing a loved one may feel like your world has been turned upside down. A wrongful death claim cannot bring back your loved one, but it can provide you with the financial resources you may need to start rebuilding your life in the aftermath of that loss. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we offer caring, compassionate legal support and representation to help many of our clients achieve better financial freedom without increasing the stress associated with a wrongful death claim.
We provide the compassionate support you need.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we understand the many challenges you may face after losing a loved one: not just learning how to live without them, though that proves traumatic enough, but rebuilding your family’s finances. We provide compassionate legal support and advice to our clients to help them navigate those difficulties and increase the odds that they will recover the compensation they deserve.
We help aggressively pursue compensation for our clients.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we believe everyone deserves high-quality, award-winning legal services that can help them pursue the compensation they deserve after losing a loved one. We aggressively pursue the compensation our clients deserve in a wrongful death claim—from seeking all relevant evidence that can help establish who bears liability for those losses, to staying on top of the negotiations with the insurance company, to increasing the odds that the family will recover the compensation they deserve for those losses.
We make getting legal support in your Wisconsin wrongful death claim easier.
The cost of legal services should not stand between you and the compensation you deserve for losing a loved one.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we understand the many costs that can go along with a wrongful death claim, and we aim to help alleviate the burden of those costs for our clients. We start with a free case review to help us better understand what caused your loved one’s death, whether you likely have grounds for a claim, and what compensation you might stand to acquire for your loss. Then, we work with our clients on a contingent fee basis: you do not pay unless we win.
Did you lose a loved one in a devastating accident due to another party’s negligence in Wisconsin? Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today to learn more about the compensation you may deserve.
Compensation in Wisconsin Wrongful Death Claims: What Is Your Claim Worth?
Losing a loved one can wreak havoc on your finances and personal life, especially if you lose the primary breadwinner in your home. As part of a wrongful death claim in Wisconsin, you can often receive damages that can help you financially during this difficult time.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we cannot offer guarantees regarding the compensation you will receive for your loved one’s loss, which may depend on several factors regarding your claim.
- What factors caused or contributed to your loved one’s death? In many cases, you will find that an insurance policy covers the liable party, which means the insurance policy will provide coverage for losing your loved one.
- What coverage does that insurance policy offer? Many insurance policies will have specific limits that may govern what compensation they will offer. In many cases, however, your lawyer may find exceptions to that insurance policy that may increase the compensation you can recover.
- Do you have a lawyer on your side? A lawyer can help identify the damages you sustained because of the loss of your loved one, provide essential insights into what compensation you deserve, and fight on your behalf to help you maximize that compensation.
Many people find that working with a lawyer increases the compensation they can recover for losing a loved one, even once they consider their legal fees. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we help our clients look at the losses they may have faced financially as they navigated the loss of a loved one. Those losses can help shape your wrongful death claim.
Funeral and Burial Costs
The cost of a full funeral and burial can rise as high as $15,000, depending on your choice of service and other items in the package. You may also have to consider the cost of a cemetery plot or other additions to that package. Talk to your lawyer at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers about the expenses you faced for your loved one’s funeral.
Final Medical Expenses
In many cases, your loved one may have had considerable final medical expenses related to the accident. Talk to your lawyer about whether you may need to pursue compensation for those medical costs.
Loss of Income
Losing your loved one’s income can throw the entire family into a devastating financial spiral. Whether your loved one worked as the primary breadwinner, which would mean that your family lost most of your income, or your loved one provided supplemental income to the family, the loss of that income can prove devastating. Talk to your lawyer about how much your loved one made and how that income contributed to the family.
Loss of Services
In some cases, the value of the services your loved one performed for the family may rise higher than the income that your loved one provided.
For example, you may need to take into consideration:
- Childcare
- Eldercare
- Lawn care and maintenance
- Home maintenance
- Cleaning
- Cooking
After losing your loved one, you may have to pay someone else to take care of those tasks, which can burden your household income. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we will help you take a comprehensive look at the services your loved one usually provided for the family and how you can include them as part of your wrongful death claim.
Loss of Presence/Consortium
Losing your loved one’s presence can cause tremendous devastation as you rebuild after that death. In many cases, you may find yourself struggling emotionally with that loss. When you lose a spouse, you may struggle with the loss of consortium, including sexual connection and partnership. Losing a parent young can leave children without that source of advice and support, often when they feel as though they need it most. Talk to a lawyer about how your family has struggled with losing your loved one.
Wisconsin Wrongful Death Claims: The Basics
In Wisconsin, you have three years after the death of a loved one to file a wrongful death claim. However, if the wrongful death was from a motor vehicle accident than you generally only have two years after the death to file a wrongful death claim. After the statute of limitations expires you cannot generally file a wrongful death claim unless you can identify an exception that might allow you to extend the statute of limitations and file a claim. Talk to a lawyer about whether you have the right to file a wrongful death claim, even if the statute of limitations expires.
Each year, Wisconsin sees an average of 520 fatal car accidents.
Unintentional injury ranks third in Wisconsin’s top ten list of causes of death, topped only by heart disease and cancer.
Who Bears Liability for Your Loved One’s Death in Wisconsin?
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we look at several key things to determine liability in a wrongful death claim.
- Who bore a duty of care to your loved one at their death? An employer? A driver on the road?
- How did that party violate that duty of care to your loved one?
- How did that violation lead to your loved one’s death?
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we aim to identify all parties that may have contributed to your loved one’s death, which may provide you with more insight into who you can file that claim against.
Fighting with the Insurance Company Following the Death of a Loved One in Wisconsin
In many cases, you may find yourself fighting with an insurance company to get the compensation you deserve following the death of your loved one. Insurance companies, while they exist to provide compensation for devastating financial losses, may not make the process as easy as you might hope. You may have to fight to get the insurance company to recognize your losses and the other party’s liability.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we have experience dealing with insurance companies on various topics related to various losses. We aim to help our clients deal with the insurance company to maximize that compensation. We have the experience and resources to fight even the big-name insurance companies.
What to Do After a Wrongful Death in Wisconsin
Did you lose a loved one in a devastating accident due to the negligence of another party?
It can be helpful to follow these steps as you attempt to negotiate the compensation you may deserve.
- Do not try to talk to the insurance company alone. You may receive a low settlement offer that fails to consider your actual losses.
- Get in touch with a lawyer as soon as you can. A lawyer can help you determine how much compensation you may deserve for losing a loved one and how to pursue that claim.
- Keep track of all records of your loved one’s death: the accident report, the death certificate, and any medical information about your loved one’s final treatment.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we know how difficult it can prove to deal with a wrongful death claim on top of all the other challenges associated with losing a loved one. We help provide legal advice that can help you navigate your claim from beginning to end.
FAQ
My loved one did not die immediately after the accident. Can I still file a wrongful death claim?
Your family may have the right to file a wrongful death claim when your loved one passes away as the result of the negligent actions of another party, regardless of whether that loved one died immediately or sometime after the initial accident. Talk to your lawyer about your right to compensation if your loved one lingered after the initial incident until their death.
Who has the right to file a wrongful death claim in Wisconsin?
Generally, the family member with the closest relationship to the deceased will have the first right to file a wrongful death claim. That means the deceased’s spouse, children, or parents, in that order. If the deceased has no close family members, the deceased’s estate may have the right to recover compensation for final expenses.
Can more than one family member file a wrongful death claim in Wisconsin?
You can file only one wrongful death claim for the loss of a loved one, regardless of how many members feel the impact of that death. All family members with the same right to file a claim will need to work together to file that claim and figure out how to distribute the funds among themselves fairly.
Did You Lose a Loved One in Wisconsin Due to Someone Else's Negligence?
If you lost a loved one in Wisconsin due to the negligence of another party, having an experienced wrongful death attorney on your side can make a huge difference in your ability to recover the compensation you may deserve. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers at (715) 226-6149 to discuss your right to compensation.
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Review: 5/5
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“Team Nicolet were absolutely fantastic in the handling of my personal injury case. Russell and his team had an answer to every question I had - I always felt like I was being kept in the loop, that my case and well being were important to them and that they always had my best interest at heart. To add, Russell as well as being extremely professional is also also very personable - through a very turbulent time in my life I always found him to be very approachable, honest and with a huge amount of integrity!”
Review by: Matthew Roe.
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