Reno Wrongful Death Attorneys
Seek Justice for Your Loss
WRONGFUL DEATH
Wrongful death attorneys specialize in semi-truck accidents, vehicular accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, air travel, premises liability, and product liability scenarios that involve wrongful death. In all these scenarios, the responsible party did not uphold the legal requirement to act safely and responsibly, which, although death was unintended, they are responsible for causing.
Losing a loved one is a tragedy that can be hard to overcome, especially when their absence comes with financial devastation and emotional suffering. When another’s negligent actions or recklessness causes that tragedy, referred to as wrongful death, it can be unbearable to cope with as many decisions need to be made.
Brent Harsh Law will treat your family with compassion while aggressively pursuing the maximum legal settlement for your wrongful death claim.
Although nothing will ever replace your loved one, qualified legal representation can help compensate for losses that occur when a loved one passes away, such as expenses incurred by the deceased before death, loss of survivors’ financial stability, pain and suffering, medical expenses, your own personal loss and end-of-life costs such as estate distribution and funeral planning.
When you schedule a free consult with Brent Harsh Law, you take vital steps to receive financial compensation and achieve justice for your loved one, yourself and other family members and above all things, closure.
What Is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death is a legal term that refers to situations in which a person dies as a result of another person, property owner, or entity’s actions or inaction. A wrongful death claim is similar to a personal injury claim, except that surviving members, not the injured person, file a lawsuit in civil court to seek compensation for their losses. To receive compensation, a Reno wrongful death lawyer hired by the family must prove the other party’s negligence or intentional harm led to a personal injury that turned fatal. With the assistance of a law firm, family members must also prove their relative’s death caused financial losses to them or the decedent’s estate.
Damages You Can Claim in a Wrongful Death Action
Besides being well-versed in the legal statutes and requirements for filing a wrongful death claim in Nevada, our wrongful death lawyers are adept at establishing the extent of the losses your family has suffered as a result of a death in the family. These losses might include:
While financial benefits can never replace your loved one, they can help your family grieve in peace, reduce the stress caused by your changing financial situation, and honor your family member’s memory. Additionally, these personal injury claims can send a clear message to others that it’s never acceptable to needlessly cause the death of another.
Can You File Criminal Charges for Wrongful Death?
Criminal charges and wrongful death claims are two separate legal actions. Wrongful death claims are civil matters, meaning the lawsuit is filed by the immediate family or decedent’s estate to seek compensation for financial, emotional, and social losses. On the other hand, criminal charges can be brought against a person or entity for violating specific laws, which is thereafter prosecuted by the local City Attorney or District Attorney Office. Sometimes, one personal injury situation can lead to criminal charges and a lawsuit. In some cases, the negligent parties can be found innocent of breaking a criminal law but still liable in a personal injury lawsuit.
If your loved one has been in a fatal accident, contact our law office to choose a Reno wrongful death lawyer who will pursue justice for your family.
How Common Are Wrongful Deaths?
While not every accident results in death, fatal accidents that lead to wrongful death actions are common in Nevada. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 2,026 people died in Nevada as a result of an accident in 2021. Of these accidental deaths, about one in five happened on our roadways.
Accidents can truly happen anywhere, including at work. In 2022, about 60 Nevada residents died as a result of a workplace accident or injury, including transportation injuries, exposure to harmful substances, interpersonal violence, and contact with objects or equipment.
These common situations do not always lead to fatal injuries, but they can. If your loved one died as a result of one of these common situations, they cannot tell law enforcement or a jury what happened to them. An experienced wrongful death lawyer will know what to say and to whom — police officers, witnesses, the insurance company — to determine how the accident occurred and establish liability for the wrongful act.
If you’re the immediate family member of someone who died unexpectedly as the result of a personal injury, wrongful death lawyers can assist your family in assessing whether you have a wrongful death claim.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases Our Reno Attorneys Win
Anytime Brent Harsh Law meets with surviving family members after a wrongful death occurs, our sole objective is to protect the family and help them secure the financial support they are legally entitled too. Brent Harsh Law has successfully handled wrongful death lawsuits in the following scenarios:
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How Do You Prove Liability in a
Wrongful Death Scenario?
One of the first tasks your personal injury lawyer will take on is to prove liability in your wrongful death case. This involves extensive evidence gathering, speaking with experts, and building a case that upholds the highest standard of proof.
Brent Harsh Law’s wrongful death lawyers will efficiently:
- Guide the legal process.
- Coordinate the decedent’s death investigation.
- Identify the relatives that have legal standing under Nevada law.
- Compile evidence that proves negligence by another party.
- Identify and interview witnesses.
- Be your advocate when communicating with insurance companies.
- Determine a monetary value for any current and future losses.
- Utilize expert testimony to support a strong claim.
- If necessary, file legal documents on your behalf.
- Negotiate a settlement.
- Litigate your case in court if necessary.
Our lawyers need to establish that your loved one took reasonable actions to prevent their injury and pursued medical attention, if possible, to treat any injuries. Then, we need to demonstrate that the other person, people, or entities involved failed to perform a duty of care to your loved one, that failure caused an injury, and that injury led to your loved one’s death.
How to Choose a Wrongful Death Attorney
If you live in Nevada or California, and your relative has recently passed away related to a fatal accident that occurred in Nevada, you may feel overwhelmed by the idea of filing a lawsuit. You should never navigate the legal system alone, especially when these cases can be incredibly complex and hard to prove in a court of law. Ultimately, you should choose a legal team specializing in personal injury lawsuits with a track record of success with wrongful death claims and putting families first throughout the process.
Our team at Brent Harsh Law will pursue justice for your family until you have relief from your suffering. If a wrongful death occurred, by helping you recover compensation, we can start to right the wrongs done to your family.
Take the First Step Towards Justice
With Our Wrongful Death Attorneys
While our team at Brent Harsh Law has decades of experience supporting families through wrongful death cases, we always treat each family’s circumstances as unique. We’ll work diligently to compile all evidence of wrongdoing, be your advocate with insurance companies, and file the most robust lawsuit necessary to win your family maximum compensation. Schedule a consultation with us to discuss your situation and explore your options.
How Can Our Reno Wrongful Death Law Firm Help?
Coming to terms with losing a loved one can be incredibly challenging when the death was caused by somebody else. Besides the unbearable grief you feel, the financial side effects of arranging a funeral, planning for life without them, and fighting for justice in court can be overwhelming.
You need a dedicated advocate during the legal process; hiring an experienced personal injury law firm with a track record of securing financial compensation for families like yours is essential.
The attorneys at Brent Harsh Law have successfully won cases across the following practice areas:
Questions About Wrongful Death Claims
When should I hire a wrongful death attorney in Reno?
You generally have up to two years following the death of the victim to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Nevada. Time is of the essence. You never want to wait more than a year to consult legal counsel as a few potential wrongful death claims have a one year deadline to file. Once this statute of limitations has passed, you will be barred from filing a wrongful death claim, though there can be exceptions within the scope of the law. Under Nevada Revised Statute 11.250(1), any child under the age of 18 who chooses to file a wrongful death lawsuit after a parent’s passing has two years after they turn age 18 to do so.
However, Brent Harsh Law always recommends those hoping to receive compensation for the pain and suffering of losing a loved one reach out as soon as possible to commence the legal process. The more time we have to gather evidence and build a case on your behalf, the sooner we can provide you with much-needed relief.
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit?
Under Nevada law, the heirs of the deceased person or a personal representative of the deceased person have the legal right to file a wrongful death claim within the statute of limitations. Heirs have the right to inherit from the deceased, and a personal representative may be an appointed estate executor. Typically, heirs include:
- A surviving spouse or domestic partner
- Surviving children
- Parents if the deceased person was unmarried and did not have children
- A sibling if there is no spouse, child, or parent
Do you need an attorney to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Nevada?
Finding a qualified attorney is essential when you live in Nevada and want to file a wrongful death claim. Nevada law requires that any heir or personal representative who wishes to file a claim do so under the representation of a licensed lawyer.
Can I pursue punitive damages as part of a wrongful death claim?
Punitive damages are damages meant to punish the defendant for particularly egregious behavior. In a wrongful death case, this means your legal team will gather evidence that proves the defendant acted beyond negligence, recklessly, or with intent to harm. These damages are not meant to compensate your family for the abovementioned losses but to punish the defendant. As this legal course of action requires specific evidence, you must have experienced Reno wrongful death attorneys by your side. Some accidents, such as driving under the influence, can result in punitive damages. Not every wrongful death claim has facts to support punitive damage. We help guide you through this aspect of the claim as well.
Can I afford a Reno wrongful death attorney?
At Brent Harsh Law, we understand how traumatic it is to lose your loved one because of somebody else’s negligent or reckless actions. It’s completely normal to be concerned about whether you can afford a wrongful death lawyer amidst everything you’re going through. Brent Harsh Law offers a free consultation, and any fees will be paid 100% out of the recovery, so the family does not have to come up with any money. Your family deserves compensation, and your loved one deserves justice; we’ll stop at nothing to ensure a positive outcome for your family.
Do You Have Questions?
We Have Answers.
If you or a loved one has suffered a wrongful death, it’s crucial you speak to a wrongful death attorney who will go above and beyond for you to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to speak with one of our experienced wrongful death lawyers.
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