Our firm, Best & Flatt, P.A., handles personal injury cases, including automobile accidents, some which involve a death. If a death is involved, the claim is known as a wrongful death case. If someone has died due to someone else's negligence or carelessness, it may be a wrongful death claim. For example, if a driver disregards a stop sign, or other traffic control device, and causes an accident which results in someone's death, this would be considered a wrongful death claim.

If any conscious pain and/or suffering was endured by the person prior to their death, a claim known as a survival action is generally initiated on behalf of the estate. This claim would include any medical bills incurred before their death. Wrongful death claims and the survival action are usually pursued at the same time so as to avoid duplication of investigation.

In order to pursue a wrongful death claim, an estate must be opened with the Probate Court who has jurisdiction, and the personal representative of the estate is the individual who hires the lawyer. The personal representative is also the plaintiff of the lawsuits that are filed. There are various damages that can be claimed in a wrongful death claim, such as funeral expenses, grief, emotional damage, and loss of the financial support of the decedent for any dependent beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are typically the surviving children and spouse.

We want to help. We've added a few helpful tools to this page: Below, you'll find a link to our wrongful-death-attorney blog which features tips and answers to your questions from a real live attorney. Feel free to ask your questions there. Also, we've posted an information video below. We are help to help.

If you are in need of a wrongful death attorney, give us a call at 803-252-1800 or visit our site for more information regarding how we can help you through filing a wrongful death claim.