Wrongful death is the death of an individual due to reckless or negligent actions of another party. Filing suit in the event of a wrongful death would be an attempt to recover monetary damages from the responsible party. The Powers & Santola, LLP would represent the filing party in the court, often for a percentage of the settlement money awarded.
It implies that a person could sue the responsible party in an unlawful death. Find below some considerations to think about before hiring the law firm.
Who qualifies for filing the wrongful death claim?
An important consideration would be who qualifies for filing a wrongful death claim. The spouse of the deceased could file the claim. If there were no spouse, the children of the deceased would qualify to file the claim. However, being born out of wedlock does not exclude a child from pursuing the wrongful death lawsuit. In the event, there is a surviving spouse and children, all of them could become claimants in the wrongful death claim.
If there was no spouse or surviving child of the deceased, the law has set guidelines on who could file the claim. Consulting a qualified law firm has been the best way to determine whether someone has been legally eligible for filing the claim.
Cost of hiring a law firm
Another important consideration to finding a proper law firm is the cost. The most commonly charged wrongful death attorney fee would be a percentage of any settlement money awarded to the filing party.
Usually, it is 25% of the total amount won in the claim. However, the law stipulates that in case, the spouse has filed a suit; she would receive around one-third of the total financial considerations.
Benefits of working with a contingency law firm
The benefits of a law firm working on a percentage would be that there is no upfront retainer fee. The law firm would be paid only if they win the case.
Reputation of a law firm
The reputation of a potential wrongful death law firm has been an important consideration. Hiring a law firm that has not won many wrongful death cases in the past may not be a good option. Lawyers accused of shady or underhanded practices should be avoided.
To win, it would be in your best interest to find and hire a qualified law firm having the best interest of the client in mind instead of earning potential profits. It ensures that the law firm would do its best to win the claim rather than winning the money.