The emotional devastation that comes with the news of a loved one’s death from a fatal car accident in Newnan is only the first of a series of losses. Another serious element of the fallout is the financial uncertainty your household is suddenly, and unfairly, facing. To get relief from your financial concerns and justice for your loved one’s wrongful death, contact our team for top-quality legal help from a Newnan fatal car accident lawyer.
Finding the At-Fault Party
In any car accident, but especially those that result in fatalities, parties involved look to evade blame and point fingers anywhere else to avoid having to pay victims compensation. As a result, finding fault is often a process requiring extensive investigation. Fortunately, when you have representation from a fatal car accident lawyer in Newnan, GA, you can rest assured that such an investigation will occur.
Your lawyer will collect:
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- Traffic and/or security camera footage
- Relevant information about all involved drivers
- Relevant information about involved vehicles
- Relevant input from experts
Proving the At-Fault Party’s Negligence
You must prove the at-fault party’s negligence to collect a settlement. There are several elements to proving negligence.
Duty of Care
The at-fault party only owes you compensation if they first owed your loved one a duty of care. Every driver on the road owes all other drivers sharing that road a duty of care. They must avoid unsafe behaviors and perform safety-producing behaviors. For example, drivers should not drive recklessly and should obey all traffic laws.
A car accident wrongful death often results from a driver or other party’s failure to fulfill their duty of care to the victim.
Breaching Duty of Care
After proving the at-fault party owed your loved one a duty of care, your fatal car accident attorney in Newnan, GA, will show how that party breached, or failed to meet, that duty.
Proving Causation
Finally, you must show the at-fault party’s breach of duty of care and not something else caused the accident that led to your loved one’s death. For example, if a speeding driver crashed into your loved one’s vehicle, your Newnan fatal car accident lawyer will work to prove that the driver’s speed and recklessness, not a broken traffic signal or vehicle malfunction, caused your loved one’s death.
Once these elements are covered, your lawyer will show how the loss of your loved one brought you measurable damage and seek recovery for those damages.
Determining the Correct At-Fault Party Is Essential
Filing against the wrong party can completely derail your settlement pursuit. You can only collect if you prove the at-fault party’s negligence. If you file against the wrong party too quickly and without a proper investigation, you risk losing the opportunity to recover your losses.
After examining your loved one’s accident, your fatal car accident attorney in Newnan may determine that these, or other entities, owe you compensation:
- Car or car-part manufacturers: Those who produce cars and car parts owe drivers the assurance that the cars are safe and their parts are in working order. If defective brakes, steering, or other systems caused the accident, the car or car-part manufacturing companies may be responsible for damages.
- Another driver: Driver error, recklessness, or negligence may be the cause of your loved one’s accident, in which case you would file against that party and most likely seek compensation from their insurance company.
- A commercial driving company: If your loved one’s accident was with a bus, truck, or another commercial vehicle, your lawyer will also investigate the driver’s employer. Companies are required to vet their drivers, keep track of their safety records, and ensure compliance with regulations regarding the number of hours they can work.
- Government offices: Depending on the site of the crash, either town, county, or state government offices are responsible for keeping the roads safe for travel and ensuring all traffic signals are working. If a government office failed to perform its assigned duties, it may hold responsibility.
Filing against a government entity requires specific and more complicated procedures, but your Newnan fatal car accident attorney will know what steps to take.
You Deserve a Stable Financial Future
Your loved one’s wrongful death will leave you with emotional wounds and financial uncertainty. A car accident death attorney will help you work toward financial certainty so you can focus on healing.
What to Expect from a Wrongful Death Settlement
No two wrongful death settlements are exactly the same. However, you can expect your attorney to pursue recovery for:
- Income loss: Your attorney will calculate how much your loved one would have earned over the course of their career, factoring in retirement and any other relevant benefits.
- Medical costs: Your loved one may have survived the accident only to succumb to their injuries after medical intervention
- Property loss: If your family vehicle or other property was damaged or destroyed in the fatal car accident, your fatal car accident attorney in Newnan help you recoup those losses
- Emotional pain: The emotional trauma your household experiences because of your loved one’s death matters and warrants compensation.
- Punitive damages: All other elements of your settlement compensate you for losses. While you may collect a financial award for punitive damages, this payment is meant to punish the at-fault party for their extreme negligence and serve as a deterrent for other potential offenders.
It can be hard for victims to recognize and value the losses incurred by their loved one’s death. Fatal car accident lawyers have the knowledge and experience needed to pursue thorough and deserved, compensation.
Get the Settlement You Deserve
When someone else’s negligence causes another person’s death, the victim and the victim’s surviving loved ones deserve financial restoration and justice. Contact our team to schedule a free consultation with a fatal car accident lawyer in Newnan.
Your lawyer will listen to you with compassion and fight fiercely to hold the at-fault party accountable. We look forward to hearing from you and working toward justice.
