What Happens If Your Loved One is Killed in a Car Accident?

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If you’ve lost a loved one due to a reckless or drunk driver, you may wonder what your options are for compensation. While money is a poor substitute for your pain, suing often provides the only solution left to hold the guilty person accountable. While you can sue a negligent driver directly in Missouri, there are some pitfalls to the process. Here, we’ll discuss wrongful death actions is Kansas City, MO car accidents.

 

Understanding Wrongful Death Actions

Wrongful death lawsuits are a kind of tort or personal injury claim filed on behalf of a deceased victim as opposed to the victim themselves. In a wrongful death action, the family of the victim and the victim’s estate can file a lawsuit against a negligent party. Generally speaking, parents, children, spouses, and anyone who was financially or otherwise dependent on the deceased may be named in a wrongful death suit.

Damages include:

  • Medical expenses accrued by the victim for treatment related to an injury they did not survive;
  • Funeral or burial costs;
  • Pain and suffering of the victim prior to death;
  • Lost wages that the victim would have earned if they were still alive;
  • And emotional damages including emotional trauma, loss of consortium, loss of moral guidance.

 

How a Top-Quality Wrongful Death Attorney Helps Your Family Recover

In cases like these, we bring in a number of expert witnesses. These include accident reconstruction specialists, financial advisors who can calculate the loss of earned income, and investigators who speak to witnesses, police, and secure any surveillance footage that may have captured the accident as it happened.

We then file a lawsuit against the negligent driver emphasizing the emotional impact to you and your family while calculating economic damages for the loss of your loved one. 

 

Things to Consider When Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against a Negligent Driver

It’s important to understand the role insurance plays in car accident claims. In the event that your total damages exceed the negligent driver’s insurance policy, you will be filing a claim directly against them secured by their personal assets. In the event that they don’t have assets of major value, once you win your suit, you become the equivalent of a creditor who is owed money by a debtor. The at-fault driver can turn around and file for bankruptcy. If they make less than the state median, they can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and discharge the debt completely. On the other hand, now they have a bankruptcy on their record. This is in addition to any criminal or administrative fines. 

Too often, plaintiffs find themselves forced into the position of doing a cost-benefit analysis on whether or not it’s worth it to file a wrongful death lawsuit in a car accident claim.

The attorneys at the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm will research the negligent driver and determine whether or not it’s in your best interests to file a lawsuit. In some cases, it will be. 

 

Talk to a Kansas City, MO Car Accident Attorney Today

If you’ve been injured in a car accident or, God forbid, lost a loved one, the car accident attorneys at the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm can help. Talk to us today for a free consultation.

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The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is made up of some of the nation’s foremost legal minds in the mass-tort field. That’s why our clients & co-counsel partners choose us.

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, and Co-Chair of the Law & Briefing Committee in MDL 2846:

In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2974:

In Re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2924:

In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation

Along with the aforementioned MDLs,

Plaintiff’s Counsel has prosecuted thousands of cases across other Multi-District Litigations and Mass-Torts, including:

MDL No. 3043:

Acetaminophen ASD/ADHD Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2753:

Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2782:

Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 627:

In Re: Physiomesh Litigation, MCL

MCL No. 633:

In Re: Prolene Hernia System Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2750:

Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2641:

Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2326:

In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2606:

Benicar (Olmesartan) Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2666:

In Re: Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2591:

Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation

MDL No. 2936:

In Re: Smity’s/CAM2303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 630:

In Re: Proceed Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2543:

In Re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation

MDL No. 2004:

In Re: Mentor Corp. ObTape Transobturator Sling Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2187:

In Re: C. R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2325:

In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2327:

In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2387:

In Re: Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 251:

In Re: Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

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The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is one of the nation’s leading mass-tort & personal-injury law firms. The founding partners, Adam & Robert, have been selected to serve on steering committees for some of the largest pharmaceutical mass-tort cases.

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