Michigan Wrongful Death Lawyer

Michigan Wrongful Death Attorney

If you’re searching for a Michigan wrongful death lawyer, our team is here to help your family navigate one of life’s most difficult challenges. Losing a loved one is overwhelming, but you can learn how to file a wrongful death claim to begin the process of seeking accountability.

Hire a Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

When you’re facing the loss of a loved one, you need to hire a wrongful death lawyer with the experience to make a meaningful difference in the outcome of your wrongful death claim. At Wigod & Falzon, we handle cases throughout Michigan, and we’re ready to advocate for your family, guide you through the complexities of Michigan’s wrongful death laws, and secure full and fair compensation in your wrongful death claim.

Wrongful Death in Michigan

According to MCL 600.2922, wrongful death is determined when someone dies due to another person’s or organization’s negligence or intentional act. In 2024, nearly 200,000 unintentional injuries resulted in death.

In these cases, survivors can file a wrongful death claim with the help of an experienced Michigan wrongful death lawyer at our law firm. This claim can help them secure compensation for the harm, losses, and suffering they endured after losing a loved one.

Who Is Eligible to File for Wrongful Death in Michigan?

In Michigan, the following relatives of the decedent are eligible to file:

• spouse
• children/descendants
• parents
• grandparents
• siblings

In a wrongful death case, the defendant’s liability is expressed in terms of financial compensation that the court orders the defendant to pay to the deceased’s relatives listed above, such as in cases resulting from a trusted Michigan distracted driving accident lawyer investigation.

What Damages Can Be Awarded in a Wrongful Death Claim?

When you pursue a wrongful death claim in Michigan, understanding the types of damages you could be eligible to recover is critical. At Wigod & Falzon, our Michigan wrongful death attorneys provide clear, comprehensive breakdowns of all the damages available under Michigan’s wrongful death laws so families can make informed decisions during this incredibly difficult time. Our attorneys can also help you develop a Michigan wrongful death claim strategy tailored to the specific needs of your family.

Damages are generally divided into economic losses, non-economic losses, and before-death damages, and each category reflects different aspects of the impact on your family. Economic losses reflect the tangible financial effects caused by your loved one’s passing, and they include:

• Medical bills related to the fatal injury and any costs incurred before death due to treatment or emergency care
• Funeral expenses
• Burial expenses
• Lost income or financial support
• Lost household services, like childcare, cooking, maintenance, or other domestic support

Non-economic losses, on the other hand, address the emotional and relational impacts that the loss of your loved one causes, like:

• Loss of companionship, guidance, and care
• Emotional loss of society and companionship

Other Damages in a Wrongful Death Case

Before-death damages acknowledge that the court might consider whether your loved one experienced conscious pain and suffering between the time of injury and their death. Any one or a combination of these damages can affect how the award is allocated through the estate, but they can also help to pursue compensation that reflects the full scope of your loss.

Courts calculate these damages based on documentation that could include earning history, benefits, life expectancy, and the nature of the family relationship. By accurately gathering this information, you can have a significant effect on the value of your wrongful death claim.

Our Michigan wrongful death attorneys help families compile and present this documentation so that we can pursue full and fair compensation using our case experience and knowledge of wrongful death laws.

Deadlines for Filing a Wrongful Death Claim

Timing is critical when you’re pursuing a wrongful death claim in Michigan. In many cases, the filing deadline is three years, but the exact timeline can vary depending on the circumstances, and some situations may have shorter limitations. It is important to speak to our team as soon as possible so that we can protect your right to file. We can also do the following:

• Preserve key evidence and accident documentation. Delays can result in lost or degraded evidence, making your claim more difficult to prove.
• Identify all potential defendants and insurance coverage. Time is needed to determine who’s legally responsible and what policies are available.
• Allow sufficient time to open the estate and represent a personal representative. Proper estate administration is crucial before a wrongful death claim can proceed.

If you don’t act quickly, you could jeopardize your ability to recover damages under Michigan’s wrongful death laws. At Wigod & Falzon, our Michigan wrongful death attorneys work quickly to make sure your claim is filed correctly, that deadlines are met, and that all possible damages are fully pursued.

Situations That May Give Rise to a Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim always arises because of the same tragic outcome, yet many situations can set these legal events in motion. It is a testament to how so many minor mistakes or careless acts by an individual or business can cause someone to pay the ultimate price, and in turn, lead to the responsible individual having to face accountability for their fatal error.

While no amount of financial compensation can replace the loss of a loved one, nor ease the pain of their absence, a wrongful death claim can help surviving family members pursue accountability and recover damages for the emotional and financial hardships they have suffered.

Our law firm understands that having the financial resources you need to rebuild your life is key for allowing grief to process and moving forward with dignity, even in these terrible circumstances. Wrongful death cases can arise from many different types of accidents and incidents. Below are some of the most common situations in which surviving family members may have grounds to pursue a wrongful death claim.

Fatal Car and Truck Accidents

Motor vehicle collisions remain one of the leading causes of wrongful death claims throughout the United States. Drivers owe others on the road a duty to operate their vehicle safely and follow traffic laws, but when a motorist acts negligently and causes a fatal crash, surviving family members may have the right to pursue legal action.

Common examples of negligence include, but are not limited to:

• Distracted driving, including texting while driving
• Speeding or reckless driving
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Following too closely
• Failing to yield the right-of-way
• Fatigued driving
• Driving aggressively due to rushing or road rage
• Driving with known mechanical defects in a vehicle

Commercial truck accidents can happen for the same reasons, but their impact can be much more deadly. Approximately 54% of truck accidents occur in rural areas, while about 26% happen on the busy interstates in Michigan, such as Interstate 94 (I-94), Interstate 96 (I-96), Interstate 69 (I-69), and Interstate 75 (I-75).

Commercial trucks can also have other risk factors, like speeding due to deadlines, distractions due to dispatch communication, and mechanical hazards like oversized loads.

In many cases, investigators may rely on police reports, witness statements, surveillance footage, electronic vehicle data, and accident reconstruction experts to determine how the collision occurred and who may be legally responsible.

Our firm can help with evidence gathering. Even if you believe a mistake was made by investigators on the scene or insurance assessors afterward, we can dive deeper into the details of the case to seek justice for your late loved one, you, and your family.

Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Accidents

While cars and trucks can cause accidents and result in the drivers or passengers in these vehicles dying due to the negligence of someone else, others are even more exposed on the road and close to it. Those who are on motorcycles, on bicycles, or even traveling on foot can suffer catastrophic injuries that lead to death or even be killed instantly by the negligence of drivers.

Sometimes these accidents can be caused by:

• Improper use of bike or pedestrian lanes by passenger vehicle drivers
• Failure to notice motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians while on the road
• Road rage incidents that can leave exposed individuals in greater danger

Though people traveling on foot, on a bicycle, or on a motorcycle have just as much a legal right to use the roads and sidewalks of Michigan as anyone else, they are often treated unfairly and can even be viewed with bias in court cases.

This is where our legal team comes in. Our skilled law firm can protect the rights of a person who died in an accident while walking, running, biking, or riding a motorcycle. Even if the motorist involved tries to make excuses to free themselves from accountability, we can examine the facts to pursue the fairest result.

Medical Malpractice

Healthcare professionals are expected to deliver treatment that meets the accepted standard of medical care, but, in many situations, the very professionals and institutions people depend on to save a loved one’s life can be responsible for their death. These institutions and providers can still be held accountable through legal action.

When doctors, nurses, hospitals, or other medical providers fail to provide appropriate care and a patient dies as a result, surviving family members may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice.

Whether it was gross negligence or a simple mistake, any preventable error or oversight that caused the loss of a life could be grounds for a wrongful death case with the help of our Michigan law firm.

Examples of medical malpractice that can lead to wrongful death claims include:

• Surgical errors that caused death, allowed fatal conditions to persist, or led to complications that ultimately caused death
• Improper diagnosis of a condition that resulted in unnecessary and fatal application of medication or procedures
• Improper diagnosis of a condition that missed a fatal problem that could’ve been prevented if treated properly
• Birth injuries that resulted in death
• Anesthesia mistakes
• Failure to monitor a patient’s condition, including failure to hear the patient’s and family’s concerns, as well as failure to pick up on warning signs that a qualified medical professional should’ve seen

Some facilities try to excuse medical malpractice claims by blaming the issue on an accidental mix-up of files, a lack of training for a specific care provider, a lack of funding, a problem with an equipment provider, or an overload of patients.

Excuses are not acceptable when the actions of the facility caused the loss of your loved one. We can help review medical records, staff testimonies, camera footage, and other key pieces of evidence to determine whether your loved one’s passing was due to a failure of the medical system. If it was, we can help you pursue justice.

Workplace Accidents, Facility Accidents, and Defective Products

Many workers give their all in their place of employment without a second thought, because they assume their employer will take safety seriously. But if a matter like a slip and fall due to hazards, falling objects, inadequate security, electrocution, fires, or other preventable risks caused your loved one to lose their life on the job, our law firm is here to help.

Even if a person doesn’t work at a facility, they have a right to expect a reasonable degree of safety. If lapses in professionalism caused hazards that took your loved one’s life, either instantly or due to prolonged injuries they sustained at the location, we can help you gather evidence and pursue a wrongful death claim.

Sometimes a company can even be held accountable for what happens in your home. If a loved one purchased a product that was defective and led to their death, you can also pursue a wrongful death claim by contacting our skilled legal team.

FAQs

Q: Why Don’t Some People File Wrongful Death Claims?

A: Some people don’t file wrongful death claims because they are unaware that wrongful death laws allow for this option. Others may be so traumatized by losing their loved ones that the concept of a legal process seems too daunting. A Michigan wrongful death attorney from Wigod & Falzon can help shoulder the burden of the legal process for you, seeking compensation to help you and your family heal during this challenging and traumatic situation.

Q: What if a Wrongful Death Claim Is Disputed?

A: If a wrongful death claim is disputed, our skilled law firm can help you address this opposition with calm and clarity by drawing on over 25 years of experience with these cases. We can build a strong case using facts and evidence to address disputes and pursue your claim until the final verdict.

Q: Can Multiple Parties Be Held Accountable in a Wrongful Death Claim?

A: Yes, multiple parties can be held accountable in a wrongful death claim. For example, a vehicle accident with a commercial truck could involve both the trucking company and their equipment manufacturer. A defective product wrongful death case could involve the product manufacturer and distributor. Our firm can help you hold all responsible parties accountable and pursue a fair settlement after the loss of your loved one.

Q: How Long Does a Wrongful Death Case Take to Complete?

A: There is no specific timeframe for the completion of a wrongful death case. Timelines can vary based on factors like case complexity, court backlog, number of accountable parties, debates regarding evidence and fault, and more. Our law firm can assess your situation and provide time estimates once we know the facts.

Q: How Helpful Is a Lawyer in a Wrongful Death Case?

A: A lawyer is extremely helpful in a wrongful death case. While no outcome is guaranteed, a lawyer can greatly improve your chances of a fair settlement. Though many people feel personally attached to their case, a lawyer can help translate these personal feelings and facts of the case into a professional argument that is more likely to be heard and received by the Michigan court system.

Examples of Recent Michigan Wrongful Death Settlements

Here is some wrongful death settlement information for Michigan State:

• $1.5 million settlement for a man hit by a garbage truck
• $1.2 million settlement for a passenger in a car crash
• $1 million settlement for a man shot and killed by a police officer
• $6.5 million settlement for a toddler found dead under a couch in her home
• $10 million for a teenager who died from heatstroke at basketball practice
• $7.5 million settlement for woman shot and killed by police

Michigan Wrongful Death Lawyer: Our Process for Getting You the Compensation You Deserve

We can explain all the steps involved in filing a wrongful death claim and work hard to protect your loved one’s rights throughout the process. We understand the sensitive nature of these claims, and we know how important it is for you to get justice.

For more information or to get help with a wrongful death claim, contact our team today for a no-commitment consultation. Call 248-243-4327 or Request Your Consultation

Michigan Wrongful Death Resources

• Learn how to claim lost wages after a fatal accident
• See how personal injury settlements are paid out to families