Fairfax, VA Wrongful Death Attorney

Compassionate Wrongful Death Attorneys Seeking Justice for Families in Fairfax, Virginia

Anyone who has lost a loved one understands how devastating these situations can be. However, when a death has been caused by another person's negligence and could have been prevented, the grief that a family experiences can be even worse. In addition to coping with the emotions of a tragic loss, a family may also experience multiple types of financial and personal difficulties. Fortunately, they can take steps to address these issues by filing a wrongful death claim.

While legal claims cannot restore what has been lost because of a wrongful death, they can provide the financial stability that a family needs to move forward. Shevlin Smith, P.C. works with families in Fairfax and Northern Virginia to determine what steps to take after the loss of a loved one due to negligence. Our attorney will handle these cases with sensitivity and honesty while providing a family with personal attention and ensuring that their needs will be met.

Situations Where Wrongful Death Claims May Be Filed

In any situation where someone failed to take the proper steps to prevent a person's death, the victim's surviving family members may take steps to file a wrongful death claim. These cases may address fatal injuries in situations such as:

Auto Accidents

Motor vehicle crashes can result in fatal injuries due to high-speed collisions or other factors that cause severe bodily harm. A car accident may have been caused by a driver who was distracted, speeding, or committing another violation. Motorcycle accidents may occur when drivers do not notice motorcycles or do not drive safely, and motorcyclists are more likely to suffer fatal injuries in collisions.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

Pedestrians and cyclists may suffer fatal injuries when they are struck by vehicles. When a driver runs a red light or commits another type of violation, they may strike a person on foot or on a bicycle, and they may be held liable for their negligence.

Drunk Driving Accidents

Deaths caused by intoxicated drivers should be preventable. A drunk driver is more likely to take dangerous actions, and physical and mental impairments can lead them to lose control of their vehicle, resulting in fatal injuries in crashes.

Truck Accidents

Commercial trucking accidents can be especially dangerous, since 18-wheelers and other large trucks can inflict fatal injuries in collisions. Multiple parties could be held liable for a wrongful death in a truck accident, including a truck driver, trucking company, cargo loading companies, or maintenance providers.

Defective Products

When products that have been designed defectively, have manufacturing defects, or are unsafe for other reasons, a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer may be held responsible for a wrongful death that has occurred. Fatal injuries may be caused by defective products such as auto parts, medical devices, medications, household products, or other items.

Medical Malpractice

When a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider fails to follow the proper procedures or makes mistakes that should have been preventable, patients may suffer fatal injuries. A wrongful death claim may address medical malpractice such as misdiagnosis of cancer, surgical errors, or birth injuries.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Address

Family members may be able to recover compensation for the losses they have suffered because of the wrongful death of a loved one. The compensation paid in a wrongful death claim can address a family's financial losses and the personal impact of a person's death.

In many cases, funeral and burial expenses will be the most immediate financial concerns affecting a family after a person's wrongful death. These expenses can be significant, and a family may struggle to cover the costs of a memorial service and a person's burial or cremation. A wrongful death claim can make sure these costs will be fully covered.

When a person received emergency treatment or other forms of medical care prior to their death, their family may begin receiving medical bills that they may be unable to pay. A wrongful death claim can provide compensation for all medical expenses that were related to the injuries that led to a person's death.

The loss of the deceased person's income and financial support can have a long-term economic impact on a family. Family members may have depended on those earnings to cover expenses such as rent, mortgage payments, utilities, and groceries. The sudden loss of income that was used to support a family can be devastating. A wrongful death claim can provide a family with compensation for the income the person would have earned during the rest of their career. It may also address health insurance or other benefits that the person would have provided to their family members.

A family may be compensated for the loss of services that a person provided to their household. This may cover household work, childcare, and other contributions that a person would have been expected to make in the future. This can help a family address these losses and pay for services that will be needed.

A family's personal losses may be addressed, including the loss of care, comfort, companionship, and guidance. Compensation may be paid to a spouse for the loss of companionship and intimacy with their partner, and children may be compensated for the loss of a comforting parental relationship. A wrongful death claim may also address the grief, sorrow, and mental anguish suffered by family members because of the loss of their loved one.

Contact Our Fairfax, VA Wrongful Death Lawyer

At Shevlin Smith, P.C., our lawyer works with families who have lost loved ones to ensure that the responsible parties can be held accountable. He will take steps to obtain the compensation that a family needs to put their lives back together, avoid financial problems, and address the emotional trauma that they have suffered. Contact our Fairfax wrongful death compensation attorney at 703-591-0067 to schedule a free, confidential consultation.