Losing a family member due to someone else’s careless or malicious actions is a tragedy. The emotional toll can be immense, and you may face financial struggles due to expensive burial costs and losing your deceased family member’s income. You may also struggle to find closure even if the person responsible for your family member’s death faces criminal charges.
The Phoenix wrongful death lawyers at Triumph Law Group can help you find justice for a family member’s death by representing you in a personal injury claim. While no amount of money will make up for a lost member, your compensation from a wrongful death claim can provide much-needed financial support during a trying time. A wrongful death action also provides a chance to hold someone legally accountable for your family’s death. You don’t owe us any fees unless you recover compensation, and you can call 602-595-5559 now or complete our contact form for a free consultation.
Why You Need a Phoenix Wrongful Death Attorney
The last thing you need after a family member’s death is the stress and hassle of a complex legal case. While you may want justice for your family, your priority is to spend time with those close to you and work through your grief.
Our Phoenix wrongful death attorneys can handle the legal battle while you and your family heal. We can identify who’s liable for your family member’s death, gather evidence to support your claim, file the necessary paperwork, and represent you in settlement negotiations. If a trial is necessary, we’ll take care of the legal procedures and develop compelling arguments to present to a judge or jury. Let our personal injury legal team defend your family’s rights while you focus on other matters.
How Arizona Law Defines a Wrongful Death
Arizona law classifies as a wrongful death any death resulting from any “wrongful act, neglect or default” that would have been grounds for a personal injury claim had the deceased lived. In other words, a wrongful death is any death resulting from someone else’s careless, reckless, or intentionally harmful actions.
An unfortunately common example of a wrongful death is when someone dies in a car accident another driver caused. All drivers have a legal duty to follow traffic laws and avoid causing accidents. Therefore, a driver who kills another driver, pedestrian, or cyclist in a collision may be liable under Arizona’s wrongful death laws.
Arizona’s wrongful death law also covers deaths resulting from intentional violence. For instance, if someone dies from wounds sustained in a robbery, assault, or other crime, their surviving family would likely have grounds for a wrongful death claim against their deceased family member’s attacker. Talk to a Phoenix wrongful death attorney if you have questions about whether your family has grounds for a wrongful death claim.
Common Causes of Phoenix Wrongful Deaths
Wrongful deaths in Phoenix can happen in a variety of situations. Some of the most common causes include:
- Car Accidents – Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death in Arizona generally and Phoenix in particular. Many fatal car crashes happen because a driver was speeding, distracted, intoxicated, following too closely, drifting into oncoming traffic, failing to yield the right-of-way, or otherwise negligent.
- Truck Collisions – Semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles can weigh 10 to 30 times more than passenger cars, depending on the truck’s configuration and cargo. That extra weight makes them more likely to inflict catastrophic or fatal injuries in a collision. Common examples of negligence that cause truck accidents include speeding, tailgating, distracted driving, impaired driving, defective vehicle components, drowsy driving, and improper cargo loading.
- Motorcycle Crashes – Motorcycle riders and passengers are more exposed in crashes than people in cars or trucks, making them more likely to sustain severe or fatal injuries. Furthermore, many drivers don’t watch for motorcycles or disregard riders’ safety, increasing the chances of a collision. Common causes of fatal motorcycle crashes due to driver negligence include following too closely, turning in the path of an oncoming motorcycle, and drivers not checking their blind spots before merging or passing.
- Pedestrian Accidents – Pedestrian deaths are surging across the country, including here in Phoenix. Many pedestrian deaths are preventable and result from careless actions like distracted driving, speeding, not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks, and impaired driving.
- Bicycle Collisions – Like pedestrians and motorcycle riders, cyclists are more exposed to the force of a crash. This makes them more likely to die from their injuries in a collision. Some common causes of fatal bicycle accidents include distracted driving, impaired driving, drivers not accounting for dim lighting conditions, and drivers failing to yield the right-of-way at intersections or crosswalks.
- Medical Malpractice – Doctors, nurses, and others in the healthcare industry can make potentially fatal mistakes if they’re not careful. Some examples of potentially fatal negligence include diagnosis errors, wrong-site surgeries, leaving surgical tools inside patients, medication errors, poor infection control, and delayed emergency room care.
- Dangerous or Defective Products – Design or manufacturing defects in household appliances, medical devices, and other products can cause fatal injuries. Similarly, failure to warn users of possible risks can lead to fatal injuries. Common examples of dangerous or defective products include prescription drugs, vehicle components, children’s toys, and household electronics.
- Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect – Nursing home abuse and neglect are of particular concern in the Phoenix area due to the high number of elderly adults who live here. Nursing home residents can die from malnutrition, medication errors, and other forms of neglect. They can also die due to active physical abuse by staff or other residents if facilities aren’t careful in their hiring and safety practices.
- Violent Crimes – Assault, robberies, and other violent acts can lead to fatal injuries, particularly if an attacker uses a deadly weapon. While the attacker is liable for injuries they cause in these cases, property owners can also be partly liable if they fail to provide adequate security at a home or business.
Who Can File a Phoenix Wrongful Death Claim?
Under Arizona law, the people who can file a wrongful death claim include:
- Surviving spouses
- Surviving children
- Parents or legal guardians (on behalf of their deceased children or wards)
- The personal representative of the deceased’s estate, who is often (though not always) a member of the deceased’s family
Compensation in Phoenix Wrongful Death Claims
State law authorizes juries to award whatever compensation they decide is just and fair in a wrongful death case. With help from a capable legal team, your compensation in a Phoenix wrongful death claim can include money for:
- Your deceased family member’s remaining medical bills
- Lost income your family member would have earned
- Burial and funeral expenses
- Pain and suffering you and other family members have suffered
- The loss of comfort, love, support, and companionship from your family member (sometimes called “loss of consortium”)
Deadline to File a Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Arizona law requires you to file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of your family member’s death. This deadline applies from the date they died, not the date on which they sustained their fatal injuries. The distinction matters because people sometimes live for weeks or months after an accident before succumbing to their injuries.
Contact Our Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyers Now
You deserve a chance to hold whoever caused your family member’s death accountable for their actions. Triumph Law Group can help you seek the justice and closure you deserve. Contact us today or reach out online for a free consultation with our Phoenix wrongful death lawyers.
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