Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Without warning a loved one dies. Most likely a second or third party is at fault or negligent. Nothing will ever be the same. While it may be painful to confront the reality of wrongful death, now is the time to find a renowned wrongful death law firm in New Jersey or Pennsylvania to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey allow two years to file and the last thing you want to happen is miss your opportunity to act.

Another reason to find a lawyer sooner vs. later is that when you wait, details become fuzzy and evidence is lost. Closure helps in your healing process which is another reason not to postpone.

Your loved one died because of negligence. Negligence means not taking prudent care. Negligence can apply to a doctor who failed to provide adequate prenatal care or a doctor who prescribed the wrong drug without checking the chart or patient history. Negligence can be when a food company fails to list nuts as an ingredient and your loved one was allergic to nuts. Negligence can be the car you drive, the car seat your toddler is placed in, the airbag that fails to open during an accident. Negligence can be the bartender who over served the drunk driver who crashed through a stop sign. Negligence might be a faulty heating blanket that catches on fire or a ladder that should've been recalled. Wrongful death negligence spans many incidences.

You will be compensated for pain and suffering which in turn is physical or mental anguish. You and your family could be entitled to damages as a result of how your loved one's life has affected daily tasks, life's little pleasures, and your overall well-being.

Pennsylvania Wrongful Death: What's a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Worth?

The Pennsylvania Survival Act governs how much the deceased's estate will recover any damages the deceased would have provided to his or her family had he or she lived. The Pennsylvania Survival Act includes earnings, medical expenses, funeral expenses, estate administration expenses, survivor's emotional pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

Who can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit?

The immediate family of the deceased has the right to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. That would include children of the deceased, spouses of the deceased, and parents of the deceased.

The amount of damages awarded will depend on the immediate family's relationship to the deceased. Compensation for damages might include reimbursement for a spouse's right to companionship and affection; loss of future income; medical expenses; future services missed; property damages if appropriate; and punitive damages if the negligence was found to be of a criminal nature.

A financial settlement will never replace a beloved family member but it will help take the strain off the family and provide financial security and personal closure.

Wrongful death holds an individual, group, or corporation accountable for causing injury to another person. Not only does a wrongful death settlement provide relief to the immediate family but deters the negligent party from causing further harm to others.

Peter Kent is the best-selling author of 50 books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.