Long Island Wrongful Death Lawyer
We Are Very Sorry If You Have Lost A Loved One Due To The Accidental Or Intentional Carelessness Or Negligence Of Another Person. Are You Looking For A New York Wrongful Death Attorney To Aggressively Represent You Or Your Family To Help Prevent A Similar Incident From Happening To Another And While It Cannot Bring Them Back, You Should Be Compensated For Your Loss.
The unexpected death of a loved one is a difficult burden for the family and friends left behind. It becomes even heavier if that death could have been avoided. If it turns out that the death of a person could have been avoided because it was caused by the negligence of another person or party, then a wrongful death suit can be filed by an experienced New York wrongful death lawyer from our firm.
Why Choose Harrison Law Group for Your Wrongful Death Claim?
- Highly Reviewed & Rated – 5.0 rating on Google. See some of our client reviews below.
- Accidents Don’t Wait for Business Hours – Neither do the right lawyers. We have weekend and weeknight consultations available in person or through Zoom.
- Highly Responsive – We pride ourselves on fast response times when communicating with our clients. We will never let your questions or concerns go unaddressed.
- No Case Is Too Difficult or Complex – This is where tenacity and knowledge of the law matter. We do what is necessary, even in difficult cases.
- Experienced – Attorney and founder Brett J. Harrison and Attorney Robert J. Clasen hold over 50 years of experience in Trial Litigation.
- Empathy, Detail & Urgency – Your case is the center of your world. We work with empathy to ensure you feel heard, meticulous detail to ensure no aspect of your case is missed, and urgency to get you your money faster.
- Caring & Compassionate (truly) – We’re sorry for what happened to you or your loved one. Unlike large firms, you’re not part of an assembly line. We really get to know you and your situation. We have been helping people in Long Island and throughout New York for decades.
- Personalized Attention – We understand and respect that everyone’s needs are unique. We treat you with the attention you deserve.
- We Keep You Updated – Transparency is key. We do not just return phone calls, but we call you at least every 30 days for a status update on your case, and if there is no update, we call to see how you are doing.
- Office Visits Not Required – We understand you may have children or are simply in pain, and we respect your time. Documentation and signatures can be handled via text or email.
- Flexible Meeting Times – We will go above and beyond to meet your expectations, whether meeting with you after hours, on the weekends, or at your home, hospital, or office. We will make ourselves available for you 24/7.
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Call (631) 465-9797 or fill out the short form below. We will usually respond within 1 business day but often do so the same day, Don’t hesitate, your questions are welcome.
We respect your privacy. The information you provide will be used to answer your question or to schedule an appointment if requested.
Awards and Professional Associations
Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death
The statute of limitation to file a wrongful death claim in New York is Two Years from the date of the fatality. There are often different provisions on these statutes of limitations that make specific exceptions that may alter the time allowed to file a claim.
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What is Wrongful Death?
The legal definition of wrongful death is the death of a person due to the reckless, negligent, or even deliberate act of a person or entity. Such a case has four considerations:
- The death of a human being
- The death was caused by a person, group of people, organization, or other entity through negligent, reckless, or intentional actions or omissions
- The surviving family of the deceased must demonstrate financial suffering caused by the unexpected death of the deceased
- The family must appoint a personal representative of the estate of the deceased
In other words, a wrongful death is when what would have been a personal injury leads to a person’s death instead. A personal injury is an injury caused by another person’s negligence. Some examples include car accidents, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, intentional killings, aviation accidents, deaths due to defective products, dog bites, and many others. If they, or other types of personal injuries, lead to someone’s death, then a wrongful death suit can be filed. A wrongful death suit can also be filed if the victim’s death resulted from intentional misconduct. In such cases, the perpetrator may also face criminal charges related to the death, but a wrongful death suit is separate and different.
Types of Damages in New York Wrongful Death Cases
There are three types of wrongful death damages that can be awarded to survivors of a wrongful death victim. These are economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages mainly involve the potential contributions the victim would have made to the survivors had they lived a full life. This also includes the financial burden the injury and subsequent death of the deceased imposed on the family.
These include:
- Medical and funeral expenses
- The victim’s expected lifetime earnings
- The victim’s expected benefits, such as pension and medical coverage
- Loss of inheritance due to the untimely death
- The value of goods and services the victim would have provided
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages fall into two categories, the first of which is called survival actions. These are damages for the pain and suffering the decedent experienced before they died. That includes the pain’s severity, the suffering’s duration, and other related factors. The second category of non-economic damages is the loss suffered by the survivors of the decedent. That includes:
- Mental anguish and suffering caused by the wrongful death
- Loss of care, protection, nurturing, guidance, and advice of the deceased
- Loss of love and companionship caused by the untimely death
- Loss of consortium from a deceased spouse (loss of family relationship, ability to have children, and moral support)
- And more
Punitive Damages
When atrocious conduct is evident in the case of the defendant, punitive damages can also be awarded. They are not often recoverable in the case of government institutions and other protected entities, but in some cases, such as abuse of elderly people may be punished with treble damages.
These punitive damages are also paid to you (the plaintiff). In some cases, survival action damages can also be instituted. This action allows the survivor’s family to recover damages the deceased person would have been able to get in a personal injury claim had they survived.
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Determining the Damages in a Wrongful Death Case
A wrongful death case is a civil case, which means you have to prove a “preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, you have to show that there is better than a 51% chance that the death was wrongful, unlike criminal cases whose burden of proof must be “beyond any reasonable doubt.”
However, figuring out the damages to award to the deceased person’s dependents can be a real issue and can get somewhat complicated. It can sometimes require the testimony of expert witnesses, like economists, for the jury to determine the size of the damages. The court can then increase or decrease that award for various reasons. That is why you should hire an experienced New York wrongful death lawyer to assist you with your case. Our attorneys in Long Island can help you get the maximum damage reward that ensures the fulfillment of the needs of anyone financially dependent on the deceased.
There are a lot of factors that are taken into account when determining the damages in a wrongful death case. They include the following:
- The Decedent’s Age – The family of a younger person with more earning potential might get a bigger payout than the family of someone closer to retirement age.
- The Character of the Decedent – If the decedent spent their money responsibly, then their family will usually receive a more significant damage award than someone who was more irresponsible.
- The Decedent’s Life Expectancy – The family of someone in good health and who took care of themself is likely to get more than the family of someone in poor health or with a serious medical condition.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Any of the survivors of the decedent (the person who died) can sue, but a representative on their behalf must file the suit. That representative is generally the executor of the decedent’s estate. In New York and Long Island, the people on whose behalf the representative can file a suit include the following:
- The spouse of the decedent
- The children of the decedent
- The parents of the decedent
Siblings of the decedent and their extended family can file a claim if they were named as the personal representative or guardian of the estate.
What Needs to Be Proven in a Wrongful Death Case?
Since a wrongful death case is so closely related to a personal injury case, those close to the deceased must meet the same burden of proof as they would have, had the deceased person lived. That means they must prove that the negligence of someone else was the cause of the incident that led to the person’s death. That means the following conditions must be met:
- The perpetrator owed the victim a duty of care – This means that the person who caused the death should have acted responsibly toward the deceased. For example, a doctor has a duty of care to try and find the proper diagnosis and treatment options for their patients. A driver has a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians, which means they should follow the road rules and drive responsibly.
- The perpetrator breached their duty of care – In the examples given above, a breach would mean that the doctor failed to provide the correct diagnosis to their patient or that a driver ignored a stop sign and collided with another car.
- The breach of duty resulted in the death of someone else – In the examples given so far, the doctor’s malpractice left their patient’s condition untreated, eventually leading to their death. In the case of the driver, their collision after ignoring the stop sign caused fatal injuries to the driver of the car they ran into.
- The exception to these conditions is when a person intentionally kills another, in which case a wrongful death suit can be brought against them in addition to the criminal charges. As stated earlier, criminal charges are all about bringing punitive action to the guilty party, while the wrongful death suit is about getting financial compensation for the survivors of the deceased.
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Should I Get A Wrongful Death Lawyer?
Wrongful death may seem like a strange term. After all, you may think that any death not caused by illness or natural causes would be considered wrongful. However, wrongful death is a legal term that covers deaths that are not necessarily intentional—specifically deaths caused by negligence.
There is nothing that anyone can do to relieve the survivors of the emotional burden, but we at the Harrison Law Group can help to ease the financial burden of your loss.
Client Reviews – Harrison Law Group
Actual Words Clients Have Used to Describe Us & Their Experience
“Great job and great people to work with,” “they do everything the right way and get you all money and medical devices you need highly recommend ,” “Very satisfied with my settlement,” “They helped me through a car accident and always called to see how I was feeling and they were very compassionate and understanding with my situation,” “a very professional group and I highly recommend them,” “Harrison law group worked hard for me and I got better results then I expected,” “would definitely recommend them to my friends and family,” “they kept me informed of each step and checked in on a regular basis,” “The Harrison Law Group handled my case with professionalism and utmost care,” “they were quick to get me a response and kept me informed every step of the way with status on my case,” “a huge amount of compassion, understanding and commitment.”
If these things are what you are looking for in a law firm, then contact us to see how we can help you and your family.
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Our Location
We help families in Long Island (Suffolk and Nassau Counties), NYC, and throughout New York.
Locally, people come to us from Lindenhurst, West Babylon, North Babylon, North Amityville, Copiague, Farmingdale, Massapequa, Plainview, Melville, and South Huntington.
What To Do Now
We welcome your questions and want to understand your situation to help you move forward and get the compensation you or your loved one deserves. Call our office at (631) 465-9797 with questions and a description of your situation to see if we can assist or to schedule a consultation. Or you may simply fill out the form above on this page. Your form will be directly emailed to our office, and you can expect a reply within one business day and often within hours of the same day. All information you share is confidential.
Our Locations
Melville Office
Elmhurst Office
(By Appointments Only)