Losing a family member because of another person’s negligence can leave your family facing profound emotional and financial consequences. Our Phoenix personal injury lawyers can investigate what happened, identify the responsible parties, and explain whether your family may have a wrongful death claim.
Call the Mercaldo Law Firm at (480) 227-8081 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a compassionate Phoenix wrongful death attorney.
Why Select The Mercaldo Law Firm for Your Phoenix Wrongful Death Claim?
At the Mercaldo Law Firm, we are dedicated to professional excellence in legal advocacy for our clients, especially in the most devastating cases of catastrophic injury and wrongful death. With our team behind you, your claim has the following advantages:
- Access to decades of experience, knowledge, and resources
- An entire legal team and staff dedicated to advancing your claim to a favorable outcome
- An attorney who takes a hands-on approach to observe the full financial and emotional impacts of your loss in order to make the most compelling claim for your family’s compensation
We offer a free case consultation and contingency-based payment, so you pay nothing until after we’ve recovered compensation for your family’s grievous loss.
When Is It a Wrongful Death Case In Phoenix?
Under Arizona 12-611, the state describes wrongful death as follows:
“When death of a person is caused by wrongful act, neglect or default…”
In other words, if the circumstances of the accident or injury that caused the death would have allowed the decedent to file a personal injury claim if they’d survived, then their closest surviving family member can file a wrongful death claim. The most common causes of wrongful death in Phoenix include the following:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Premises liability, such as structure fires, pool injuries, and elevator accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Assaults and acts of violence
A wrongful death claim is a civil court process that’s separate and independent of any criminal action in the case, such as DUI charges, and does not depend on a guilty verdict.
What Damages Can My Family Recover In a Phoenix Wrongful Death Claim?
Sometimes a family death has adverse financial consequences for the surviving family members, as well as the devastating grief from the permanent loss. A successful claim cannot return a lost loved one, but it brings them a voice for justice by recovering damages such as the following:
- Medical costs from before the death, funeral costs, and burial expenses
- The claimant’s loss of income
- The income the decedent would have earned for their remaining earning years, had they not passed
- Loss of benefits, such as health insurance and retirement contributions
- Loss of household services
- Compensation for the family’s emotional anguish and grief
- Compensation for a spouse’s loss of companionship and consortium, or a parent or child’s love and support
An experienced Phoenix wrongful death attorney carefully calculates your damages to maximize the compensation available to you in your claim.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim In Phoenix?
Like most states, Arizona limits those who can file a wrongful death compensation claim to those immediate family members who suffer the economic losses of the death. In Arizona, only a spouse, parent, or child may file a claim. If none of those come forward for a claim, a representative of the victim’s estate may file a claim. In these cases, the decedent’s will or the state’s intestacy laws determine the distribution of the compensation awarded.
Get Started Today by Calling The Mercaldo Law Firm
You don’t have to add a challenging legal process to your grief and distress after a loved one’s death. Instead, call the Mercaldo Law Firm at (480) 227-8081 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a compassionate Phoenix wrongful death attorney.