If another person’s negligent actions caused your loved one’s death in Mobile, AL, the estate may be able to recover compensation to hold the at-fault party accountable. A Mobile wrongful death lawyer from the Morris Bart law firm may be able to help.
The team from the Morris Bart law office in Mobile will review your case at no cost to your family during a free initial consultation. We can answer your questions, determine if you are eligible, and explain how these cases work in Alabama.
Why Choose Our Mobile Wrongful Death Lawyer?
- We have more than 40 years of experience and won over 5,600 cases in 2022 alone. Our law firm has what it takes to pursue the justice and results that you deserve for a wrongful death case, even if that means taking your case to trial in Mobile County.
- Our wrongful death attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis to keep things affordable for our clients. With this payment arrangement, you will only pay our attorney’s fees if we successfully secure financial compensation for your case.
- We take a personal approach to our cases. We know the emotional turmoil you are going through after the loss of a loved one. Our law firm will make sure you have everything you need during this difficult time.
For a free legal consultation with a Wrongful Death lawyer serving Mobile, call (251) 298-8380
How Our Mobile Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Help With Your Case
Wrongful death claims in Alabama are not easy to navigate without legal knowledge and experience. No matter how polite an insurance claims adjuster seems to be, he or she does not want you to collect maximum financial compensation for the death of your loved one. Insurance companies are for-profit businesses that put their bottom lines before their clients. You may need an attorney to help you recover just compensation for a wrongful death claim.
A wrongful death lawyer in Mobile will have the qualifications to help you stand up to an insurance claims adjuster and ensure the protection of your rights as a claimant. Your lawyer can investigate the fatal incident, identify the at-fault party or parties, collect evidence, hire experts, and help your family file a claim before Alabama’s deadline. Then, your lawyer will use aggressive negotiation tactics to fight for maximum financial compensation for your case. Meanwhile, you can focus on what matters: spending time with your loved ones and healing from a tragedy.
Pursuing Compensation for the Death of a Family Member in Mobile
A Mobile wrongful death lawyer from the Morris Bart law firm may be able to pursue your claim or sue the liable party on behalf of your family. During your free consultation, we can explain if you are eligible to file this type of action. Only the estate can take legal action after a wrongful death in Mobile. All money damages are paid to the estate, as well.
Damages You Can Seek
Alabama’s wrongful death laws are somewhat unusual. Under case law, only punitive damages are recoverable through a wrongful death claim or legal action. This was reaffirmed in 2012 by the State Supreme Court in Hall v. Coastal Anesthesia, P.C.
In this type of legal action based on the death of a loved one, you will not be able to recover any financial or intangible compensatory damages. Instead, wrongful death actions build a case against the at-fault party and seek to hold them responsible for the death.
Many states allow families to seek damages that include medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other expenses and losses. The only damages available in Alabama are those that penalize the wrongdoer for their actions.
Is There a Cap on Punitive Damages in Alabama?
Alabama has a cap on punitive damage awards in most personal injury cases. This cap is a maximum limit of $1.5 million in punitive damages, meaning a plaintiff cannot receive more than this, regardless of how much a judge or jury awards. However, this cap does not apply to punitive damages in wrongful death cases.
Alabama Code Section 6-11-21(j) specifically says that the state’s cap on punitive damages does not apply to actions for wrongful death or intentional infliction of physical injury. This means that in personal injury cases involving a fatality, there is no cap on the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded to the deceased individual’s estate.
Click to contact our Mobile Personal Injury Attorney today
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Mobile, Alabama?
Many states allow surviving family members to file wrongful death claims themselves, often with help from legal representatives. In Alabama, however, the law only permits the personal representative or executor of the deceased person’s estate to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative may be someone who was named in the decedent’s will or estate plan.
Due to the unexpected nature of wrongful death, however, it is common for there to not be a will left behind. In this case, the courts will appoint a personal representative, often by selecting a surviving family member of the deceased person to file the claim. The representative will bring the legal action on behalf of the estate.
There is an exception in wrongful death cases involving a diseased minor. In Alabama, a minor is someone under the age of 19 years old. In this case, the law gives the decedent’s parent or legal guardian six months from the date of death to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. Once six months have passed, the personal representative of the minor must file, instead.
When Can a Loved One’s Estate Start a Wrongful Death Action in Alabama?
Under the wrongful death laws, Ala. Code §6-5-410, the estate of a person who died can take legal action when:
- There is evidence to prove the other party acted negligently or carelessly
- Their wrongdoing caused the victim’s accident and injuries
- The victim died from their injuries
In any case, when the victim who died would have had a potential personal injury claim had they survived, their estate may be able to seek wrongful death damages. This includes many types of injury incidents and accidents, including:
- Car accidents
- DUI and DWI collisions
- Motorcycle crashes
- Pedestrian accidents
- Tractor-trailer collisions
- Construction accidents
- Medical malpractice injuries
- Slip and fall cases
- Other premises liability accidents
- Defective products injuries
If you have questions about who can take action on behalf of the estate, whether you have a case, or what you need to do to get started, the Morris Bart law office in Mobile wants to speak with you about your case. Let us evaluate the strength of your case and explain how we may be able to help.
Proving Negligence in an Alabama Wrongful Death Case
In Alabama, the burden of proving fault in a wrongful death case rests with the filing party, also known as the plaintiff. The burden of proof in civil law is a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning enough evidence to establish that the defendant is liable for wrongful death with at least a 51 percent certainty. It is also known as the “more likely than not” standard. Most personal injury and wrongful death cases are based on the argument of negligence.
Negligence means that someone has fallen short of the required or expected degree of care, resulting in harm to others. Negligence consists of three elements:
- Duty of care: a responsibility to act with the amount of care that a reasonable and prudent person would have in the same or similar circumstances. For example, motor vehicle drivers in Alabama have a duty of care toward others to act safely behind the wheel.
- Breach of duty: an act or omission that does not meet the duty of care requirement. This could be an act of carelessness, recklessness or intentional wrongdoing. An example would be a motor vehicle driver texting while driving, speeding or driving drunk.
- Causation: a causal connection between the defendant’s breach of the duty of care and the victim’s fatal injury or illness. In other words, the decedent would not have died were it not for the defendant’s negligent or wrongful actions.
In Alabama, a wrongful death claim is meant to punish a wrongdoer for causing the death of another person. However, this does not mean a crime must have been committed. A wrongful death lawsuit can result in punitive damages for the estate based on the defendant’s negligence alone. Proving the elements of negligence requires clear and convincing evidence.
Gathering Evidence in a Wrongful Death Case
One of the benefits of hiring an attorney from Morris Bart is having someone search for and collect evidence for you to help prove your wrongful death case. We know where to look for evidence, records and information that can help establish your case against an at-fault party. Our attorneys are excellent storytellers who can present the evidence found in a compelling way. Since your loved one is not available to testify about what happened, we will give him or her a voice using all the evidence we can find.
Available evidence in a wrongful death case may include:
- A police report
- Eyewitness statements
- Medical records
- A coroner’s report
- Expert testimony
- Photographs from the scene of the accident
- Video footage of the accident
The evidence will need to show that the defendant(s) owed your loved one a duty of care, breached or violated this duty, and caused the injury or illness that ultimately took the victim’s life. Although a criminal conviction against the defendant is not necessary to prove wrongful death, if there is a conviction related to your loved one’s death, this could be used as evidence of wrongdoing in a civil case against the same defendant.
What Is My Wrongful Death Case Worth?
How much you might receive in punitive damages for the wrongful death of a loved one in Mobile will depend on the case. There is no one-size-fits-all settlement awarded in wrongful death claims in Alabama. Instead, an amount in punitive damages will be determined after careful consideration by a judge and jury. The best way to understand how much your wrongful death case might be worth is by consulting with an attorney at Morris Bart during an in-depth review.
Punitive damage awards are based on the circumstances of the case. Their goal is to punish the defendant for wrongful acts, deter others in the community from committing similar wrongs in the future and preserve human life. Therefore, factors that may determine the value of a wrongful death lawsuit can include the actions and negligence of the defendant, whether the defendant intended to injure or kill the decedent, and how much survivors have suffered because of the wrongful death.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Mobile Wrongful Death Attorney?
It is normal to be concerned about the potential price of hiring an attorney to represent your family during a wrongful death claim. After all, your family may already be dealing with funeral and burial costs, your loved one’s final medical bills, and a loss of income from a breadwinner. That is why, at Morris Bart, we operate on a contingency fee basis.
Contingency fees mean that we charge $0 upfront for our legal services. We only charge attorney’s fees if and when we win a case. If we do not secure financial compensation for your wrongful death claim, you will not pay our lawyers a dime for the services already rendered. That is our no-win, no-fee guarantee.
If we secure punitive damages for your loved one’s wrongful death in Mobile, we will deduct our fee as a percentage of the overall amount collected on your behalf. That way, your family does not have to pay our lawyers out of pocket, win or lose. The amount of our percentage rate will depend on the case and circumstances. We are always transparent and upfront about our fees.
Alabama’s Wrongful Death Claims Deadline Could Affect Your Right to File
As with personal injury claims under Ala. Code §6-2-38, the wrongful death statute in Alabama gives you two years to sue the party for the death that occurred because of their wrongdoing. Many steps must occur before you are ready to begin a lawsuit, so it is best to contact our law firm as soon as you can following the death of your loved one.
This includes investigating the death, identifying the at-fault party or parties, developing a strong case, and attempting an out-of-court settlement.
Only the personal representative listed in the estate plan or named by the state can sue the at-fault party in a wrongful death action. If they fail to do so before the deadline arrives, they could lose the right to sue later.
Speak with One of Our Mobile Attorneys About Your Loved One’s Death
At the Morris Bart law firm, our team wants to help families who lost a loved one because of another person’s wrongdoing. Like you, we want to ensure those who took your family member’s life are held responsible for what they did and prevent similar action in the future.
Let us review your case today for free. Call (251) 298-8380.
Questions?Call (251) 298-8380
to find a Morris Bart office near you.
