Wrongful death cases are hard to prosecute and hard to win. With the help of the right Atlanta wrongful death lawyers however, you can get the help you need and the settlement that you deserve. Knowing what the process of a wrongful death suit is can help you to figure out what is going to work for you and what is going to actually happen if you take a case to court. 

What is A Wrongful Death?

It is always helpful to take a look at what a wrongful death suit is before you try to actually try to file one. A wrongful death is classed as any death that is the result of the negligence or actions of another person. This means if you were in a car accident, for instance, and the accident was the fault of the person driving and you passed, your family could file a wrongful death suit on your behalf. 

Wrongful deaths are more common than you might imagine and they can happen nearly anywhere. These deaths can take place at your home, someone else’s home, your place or work or even at a store or other public area. It is always best to take the time to talk with a lawyer if you feel that you do have a wrongful death suit on your hands and if you can file one. 

First Steps

The first part of a wrongful death suit is the actual wrongful death. This means the process of death and the accident or event that caused the death. With a wrongful death you do have to think about the fact that not all deaths qualify as a wrongful death. If you have a loved one that has passed as a result of what you believe is a wrongful death, it is always best to talk to a lawyer about what might work and about what the process for filing is. 

After the event that caused the death, the next step is to contact a lawyer. A wrongful death suit cannot be file by just anyone. These suits cannot be filed by anyone that does not have a direct or vested interest in the person that passed away. This means that a spouse, a relative, a child or a very close friend can file a wrongful death suit if someone that they cared about passes away. 

You can file a wrongful death if your spouse passes away, if your sibling, parent, aunt or uncle passes, even cousins in some cases. You do have to have a direct connection to the person and your does have to have been altered by their passing. This is to prevent just anyone from filing a suit for someone that they have never met before for instance. 

Proving the Case

The next step is going to be working with the lawyer to help build the case and to help prove a few things. The first thing that your lawyer has to prove is that there was a duty of care. This means that they had some duty to make sure that you made it out of the situation that caused the passing, alive and well. A good example would be an employer. 

Your employer has a duty of care to make sure that you make it through your whole work day without being gravely injured. The next thing that your lawyer must prove is a breach of duty. This means that your lawyer is going to have to prove that there was a duty of care that was breached or that was defaulted on. 

Again, using the work example, your employer has a duty to ensure that you have a safe work space and that you are going to be able to make it through your work day without grave injury. Your lawyer must prove that they either did something or neglected to do something that would have kept you safe. The next thing that has to be proved is the causation. This means an accurate and full report or explanation of what happened. 

This is going to help prove the case and help provide the information that is needed to prove the case and to actually build a case that is going to warrant and secure a settlement. The last thing that your lawyer is going to have to do is prove the damages. This means that they are going to have to be able to tell the court what happened and formulate a settlement that fits what happened. 

How Long Do I have to File and How Can a Lawyer Help?

In Georgia you have two years from the date of the incident to file a wrongful death suit. This means that if the event happened on January 1st, 2022, you would have until January 1st, 2024 to make file the claim and start the case. There are numerous ways that a lawyer is going to be able to help you with your wrongful death case. 

The first is with figuring out if you have a case or not. They can help you determine if you have a case or if there is a cause for you to file, and if you are going to be able to file and potentially get a case. The next thing that they are going to be able to do is help you to figure out what sort of case you have and how much you can potentially get from this type of case. They can help you build your case, lay it out so that the court gets an accurate idea of what happened, and they can help with any questions that you might have. 

It is always best to have a lawyer on your side to help with the process, to help ensure that you are going to actually get a settlement. Wrongful death suits are tough, they often rehash things that you would rather not think about. They might make it seem like your loved one’s death was their fault. 

With the help of the right lawyer, you can get the help and support that you need, as well as the backing that is needed to get a great settlement that is going to help you move on. Money is not going to bring your loved one back, but it can help pay for things like the funeral, and any lasting debt they may have, and can offer those left behind a bit of financial support so that you can start to recover and can start to truly heal.