Long Island & New York Wrongful Death Attorney

Flushing, Queens, Brooklyn, NYC, Garden City, Nassau & Suffolk County NY Wrongful Death Attorneys

How a Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You Recover Compensation

Wrongful death is a legal term that means someone has died due to the intentional or unintentional wrongdoing of another person or entity. Losing a loved one is a tragic experience and often creates hardship for surviving family members. The shock, grief and economic burden can be extreme, especially when the loved one played a vital role in providing for the family.

To pursue a case to recover compensation, New York wrongful death lawyers must prove that the defendant's wrongful conduct caused the death. They must also prove that if the person had lived, grounds would have existed to pursue legal action. Another element of a wrongful death case is showing that one or more surviving family members have suffered loss as a result of the death and that damages exist to bring a case.

Who Has the Legal Right to File a Wrongful Death Case?

In New York, when an individual dies, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate has the legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In addition to losses incurred by the estate, the wrongful death lawsuit can also seek damages for losses on behalf of the heirs or beneficiaries.

What Compensation for Damages Can Be Recovered?

Types of damages that New York courts award in wrongful death cases include:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medical, hospital, nursing and health care expenses prior to death
• Future lost wages and lost benefits
• Lost companionship and services that the person would have provided to family members, including guidance and care for surviving children
• Pain and suffering the individual experienced prior to his or her death

How Can an Attorney Help You Recover Compensation?

Aside from proving that grounds exist for a lawsuit, the attorney also assists in determining the amount of the compensation to pursue for damages.

Determining damages may require consulting with financial experts, who have experience calculating future lost wages or benefits. If the case goes before a jury, the attorney will need to be convincing when presenting the rationale behind the costs for damages.

Wrongful death can occur as a result of many different types of incidents, including car accidents, construction accidents, nursing home neglect or abuse, slip and fall accidents and medical malpractice, to name a few.

If a loved one has died because of another’s wrongdoing, speak with an experienced wrongful death attorney.

At Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP, we offer a free initial consultation to discuss the death and whether grounds exist for pursuing a lawsuit.

Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we win. Call us at (516) 344-1900 or contact us online.

For help close to home, see our Garden City wrongful death lawyers.

From our offices in Garden City, Flushing and Brooklyn, we represent injured people throughout New York City and Long Island, including Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Nassau and Suffolk counties.