Has your family recently lost a loved one in Paducah? Was someone else to blame for your family member’s death? If so, you could have the right to file a wrongful death claim demanding the at-fault party to compensate you for what they’ve taken from you.
However, wrongful death claims are challenging to pursue, especially for people still grieving the loss of a loved one. Instead of trying to handle the case yourself, get help from the Paducah wrongful death lawyers at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer.
Our firm is dedicated to helping people seek the compensation and justice they deserve. We’ve recovered more than $300 million and counting for injured people. We know how overwhelming your loss is and want to give you the Kentucky Courage you need to stand up to the people who hurt you.
Contact us today for a free consultation, and find out what our Paducah wrongful death lawyers can do for you.
How a Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Help You?
Don’t try to take on a wrongful death case yourself. Without the right lawyer, you could end up without the justice you deserve and the compensation you need. Our Paducah wrongful death attorneys can help with your case by:
- Identifying everyone liable for your family member’s death – Several parties might share the blame for your family member’s death. If so, you will need to file multiple claims to recover the full compensation available to you. Our experienced team can thoroughly investigate your case to identify anyone who might be legally responsible for your family member’s death.
- Handling all the legal work in your case – While you could be entitled to compensation for your loved one’s death, you don’t need the legal headaches that come with pursuing your rights. Our legal team can handle all the communication with the insurance companies, fight for your interests in settlement negotiations, and manage all the other legal work related to your claim.
- Pursuing maximum compensation – A family member’s wrongful death can create a ripple effect that impacts every area of your life. Our wrongful death attorneys can examine your case and document all the compensable losses you’ve suffered to maximize your potential compensation. Without an attorney’s help, you might leave money on the table.
How To Choose the Right Wrongful Death Lawyer in Paducah, KY
Choosing a wrongful death attorney is an important decision, and it’s critical you know what to look for when talking to different firms. Here are a few attributes to look for when hiring a Paducah wrongful death attorney:
- Experience – Wrongful death claims aren’t like other personal injury cases. They involve unique legal issues, and few personal injury cases are more emotionally fraught for the plaintiffs. It is essential to work with an attorney with experience handling wrongful death cases, who understands the issues at play, and who knows how to work with grieving families.
- Reputation – You could hire the first wrongful death lawyer you find online, but will they be the right one for you? Instead of making a snap decision, look for a wrongful death attorney with an established reputation and earned recognition from their peers. Awards from legal organizations and testimonials from satisfied clients show that an attorney knows what they’re doing and how to win complex cases.
- Results – The best way to assess any wrongful death lawyer is to examine their case results. No attorney wins all their cases, but you want a wrongful death lawyer with a proven track record of success. If an attorney hasn’t tried or won many wrongful death claims, you might be better off hiring someone else.
Most wrongful death lawyers in Paducah offer free initial consultations, during which you can ask them the following questions to determine if they’re right for you:
- What experience do you have with wrongful death cases? Ask the lawyer for specifics on cases they’ve tried, the legal issues involved, and how many cases they’ve won vs. how many they’ve lost. If they won’t answer your questions or you don’t like the answers, consider finding a different lawyer to represent you.
- How much does your firm charge? Any personal injury firm you talk to should provide a clear, concise breakdown of their fee structure. In general, personal injury lawyers do not charge fees unless they recover money for their clients. If a firm can’t or won’t provide the information you need, or you’re having trouble understanding its fee structure, look for a different firm.
- Will you handle my case yourself? Some large personal injury firms hand off the bulk of the case to associates, paralegals, or other staff. You want an attorney who will work on your case personally, as this shows they take it seriously.
- How can I reach you? It is perfectly fair to expect your lawyer to respond quickly to any questions or other concerns you have about your case. If you can’t reach your lawyer or they brush off your questions or concerns, seek out different legal representation.
What to Expect After Hiring a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
Here are the basic steps in a Kentucky personal injury case and what you can expect at each stage:
- Preliminary investigation – Your wrongful death lawyer and their staff will investigate how your family member died and who might be responsible. They will look at medical records, interview witnesses, consult with experts, and consider other evidence to build a case showing why your family deserves compensation for the loss you have been through.
- Filing a demand letter – Once the preliminary investigation is complete, your lawyer will send a demand letter to whoever caused your family member’s death, as well as any relevant insurance carrier. This demand letter will briefly describe the legal issues involved in the case and outline how much money you seek in compensation. The demand letter is the starting point for settlement negotiations with the insurance companies.
- Settlement negotiations – At this point, your lawyer and the insurance companies involved in your case will begin negotiating a potential settlement. Your attorney will handle all communication with the insurance companies with the goal of reaching a fair deal and sparing everyone the time and expense of a trial. The decision is always yours when it comes to accepting or rejecting a negotiated settlement.
- Filing a lawsuit – If a defendant or insurance company won’t offer a reasonable settlement, you’ll need to take your case to court. Kentucky’s statute of limitations for wrongful death cases gives you one year from the death to file in most cases, so acting quickly to protect your rights is essential. If you win at trial, the court will decide your compensation.
How Hard Is It to Prove Wrongful Death?
Kentucky law defines a wrongful death as any death caused by another party’s negligent or wrongful acts. If someone died because of another party’s actions or failure to act, the deceased’s estate likely has cause for a wrongful death claim. However, proving a wrongful death case is not easy due to the following four considerations:
- Burden of proof – The burden of proof in a legal case refers to the standard the plaintiff or prosecution’s case must satisfy for them to win. In a criminal case, the prosecution must establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But in a civil case, the burden of proof is much lower. In a civil trial, the plaintiff must demonstrate a defendant’s liability by “the preponderance of the evidence,” meaning the evidence shows it is more likely than not that the defendant committed the acts in question. Still, this is a high bar to clear.
- Evidence – Like in any other legal proceeding, wrongful death cases in Kentucky are built on the available evidence. In a civil proceeding like a wrongful death claim, the plaintiff’s evidence must outweigh the defense’s evidence for the plaintiff to win the case.
- Causation – In a wrongful death case, the plaintiff must provide evidence showing how the defendant caused the deceased’s death. This could be through the defendant’s negligence, such as in a fatal car accident, or their intentional behavior, such as stabbing or shooting.
- Damages – In addition to showing how a defendant caused someone’s wrongful death, the plaintiff must also show how the deceased and their family have suffered from the defendant’s actions and how financial compensation can make that right.
Compensation for Wrongful Death in Paducah
State law specifies which family members receive compensation in a wrongful death case and how much each member receives. According to the law, compensation in a Kentucky wrongful death claim breaks down like this:
- If the deceased has a surviving spouse but no surviving children, the surviving spouse receives all the compensation.
- If the deceased has a surviving spouse and surviving children, the spouse receives half of the compensation, while the children divide the remaining half.
- If the deceased has no surviving spouse but has surviving children, the children divide the compensation among themselves.
- If the deceased has surviving parents but no surviving spouse or children, the parents split the compensation. If only one parent survives the deceased, they receive all the compensation.
- If the deceased has no surviving spouse, children, or parents, the compensation goes to the deceased’s estate. From there, the compensation goes to the deceased’s heirs according to their will or intestate laws.
Compensation in a Kentucky wrongful death case can include money for:
- The deceased’s medical bills
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of emotional support (sometimes referred to as “loss of consortium”)
- Loss of the deceased’s income and other benefits, such as a pension or retirement benefits
- Pain, suffering, and mental anguish
- The value of the deceased’s household services
We Are Here to Help You Get the Closure You Deserve
Are you looking for a lawyer for a wrongful death claim in Paducah, KY? Then contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer today. We’re ready to give you the Kentucky Courage you need as we seek the compensation and justice you deserve. We look forward to meeting you and learning your story during a free consultation.
