How much money can a family obtain after a fatal accident in Donaldsonville?

Donaldsonville, LA – Fatal accidents can be both emotionally and financially devastating for families. While the losses can vary greatly based on things like the age of the victim, the specific incident that caused their death, and the amount of resources they had provided for their family, there is a process for the family to receive as much compensation as necessary from the person or business responsible.

The total cost of a lost family member

It is likely that the victim will receive some kind of emergency treatment immediately after the accident. This can cost several thousand dollars alone. If the person survives their initial injury, but succumbs at a later point, there may be additional costs for hospital stays and the work of the doctors assigned to the person before they pass away. After the family member has died, there will need to be arrangements made with funeral homes, obtaining a burial plot, and other expenses tied to placing the person to rest.

Emotional costs

While a family’s emotional pain and other forms of suffering may not necessarily cost any money, it is possible for them to receive pain and suffering damages. This will compensate them for things like physical pain, trauma, mental health issues, and loss of the person’s companionship. Personal injury attorneys who have experience arguing for non-economic damages can attempt to get a large amount of pain and suffering compensation after a wrongful death.

Wrongful death lawsuits

The main remedy that the law provides for the family members of accident victims is a wrongful death lawsuit. This is a type of case that allows for various types of compensation like a negligence case, but costs for things like funeral, burial, and future lost income can be considered as well. Louisiana law allows the person’s spouse or children to bring the case, as well as other family members such as parents and siblings if the person had no spouse or children.

There is also a short statute of limitations on a wrongful death case. This means that the family should contact an attorney and start the process to file the lawsuit as soon as they can.

Families who file these kinds of cases should also realize that they are independent of any related criminal case against the defendant. The outcomes of the civil and criminal cases will not necessarily be the same, and there may be no criminal charges at all.

Meeting with local attorneys

Injury lawyers who work in Donaldsonville and other parts of Louisiana are available to assist with the process of an accident lawsuit. Miller, Hampton, and Hilgendorf is a firm that handles all aspects of car collision cases.

Firm contact info:

Miller, Hampton, and Hilgendorf

3960 Government St., Baton Rouge, LA 70806

225-343-2205