If you’ve experienced the tragic death of a spouse, parent, or child in an accident in Tampa, Florida, call Apex Law Firm, PLLC. Taking assertive legal action can help you get compensation to navigate the aftermath of your loved one’s wrongful death and ensure that the at-fault party is forced to take responsibility for their actions. Working with our experienced Tampa wrongful death lawyers can help you maximize your recovery.
Apex Law Firm, PLLC offers skilled, honest, effective legal representation when Tampa’s grieving families need it most. As award-winning Florida trial attorneys with 26+ years of combined experience, we’ve helped our clients win over $30 million in personal injury settlements and jury awards.
Force the case results you deserve by trusting us to fight for your family, too. We offer a free consultation. Call our law office at (813) 444-5212 today.
How Apex Law Firm, PLLC Can Help Your Family After a Fatal Accident in Tampa, FL
Getting compensation for the sudden and unexpected death of a family member won’t be easy. The at-fault party and their insurance company will fight your wrongful death claim every step of the way. Don’t settle for less than you deserve. Instead, level the playing field and force a fair fight by hiring an experienced Tampa personal injury lawyer to represent you.
Choosing Apex Law Firm, PLLC means working with top-rated Florida attorneys recognized as leaders in civil litigation by Super Lawyers and Avvo.com. We’re known as skilled negotiators who won’t back down until our clients have been made whole. When defendants refuse to take accountability for our clients’ suffering, we don’t hesitate to escalate matters to trial.
Focus on grieving your loss and trust our skilled and knowledgeable legal team to take charge of your wrongful death case by:
- Carefully investigating the underlying circumstances of your family member’s fatal injuries
- Assessing causation and liability
- Gathering critical facts and evidence needed to build a strong legal claim for damages
- Evaluating your family’s losses and calculating what your wrongful death case is worth
- Anticipating defense tactics, which may likely include assertions of contributory negligence
- Bringing in expert witnesses with relevant insight and knowledge
- Filing your wrongful death lawsuit with the Hillsborough County court clerk
- Fielding settlement offers for your family during negotiations with the defense
- Providing helpful guidance and legal advice as you consider your options
- Reject lowball offers and take your wrongful death lawsuit straight to trial, if necessary
We’re here to make life easier for you. We’re here to help you make things right. Count on our family to do everything possible to fight for yours.
Our Florida wrongful death attorneys in Tampa represent clients on contingency. You’ll pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
There’s no charge for an initial case review, so call our Tampa, FL, law office today.
What is a Wrongful Death Case?
If you were to get hurt in an accident in Tampa, Florida, because of someone else’s actions, state law would give you the opportunity to seek compensation from them through a personal injury lawsuit.
The right to sue and hold an at-fault party accountable shouldn’t be lost just because injuries are fatal. Florida preserves the right to recover compensation and demand accountability through its Wrongful Death Act.
Under the Wrongful Death Act, a claim for damages can be brought when:
- A person’s death is caused by “the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person,” and
- That person would have been entitled “to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued.”
Put another way, a wrongful death act can exist if an accident victim would have had the right to bring a personal injury lawsuit for damages if they’d survived.
Who Has the Right to File for Wrongful Death in Florida?
When the right to file a wrongful death action exists, it must be brought by the decedent’s personal representative.
The personal representative is typically named in the decedent’s will - usually a spouse, child, or other close family member or friend. If the decedent dies without a will (intestate), a Hillsborough County court judge can appoint a personal representative to handle related legal claims, including a wrongful death action.
The personal representative files the claim on behalf of the decedent’s surviving family members, which can include a:
- Spouse
- Child
- Parent
- Blood relative who was financially dependent on the decedent
The personal representative can also file a related survival action to benefit the decedent’s estate, which would pursue damages the decedent could have sought if they’d lived. However, survival actions are only appropriate in situations where a victim survives their fatal injuries for some time after they’re sustained. Damages awarded to the estate would be distributed pursuant to the victim’s will or Florida intestacy laws.
Advocating for Families in All Types of Wrongful Death Cases
At Apex Law Firm, PLLC, our Tampa wrongful death attorneys fight for families who’ve suffered the needless and devastating loss of loved ones as a result of:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Train accidents
- E-scooter accidents
- Boating accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Defective products
- Workplace accidents
- Construction accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Assault
If you suspect that your family member’s death could have been avoided if another person had simply exercised due care, don’t hesitate to call our Tampa law office to explore your legal rights. You may have the right to benefit from a civil tort action. Our wrongful death attorneys in Tampa, FL, can help you fight for a maximum recovery.
What Compensation Can Be Awarded in a Tampa Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
At the end of the day, a wrongful death lawsuit is intended to compensate an accident victim’s surviving family members. So, Florida law narrows the scope of recoverable damages in wrongful death actions.
If your family wins your wrongful death claim, you may be able to secure economic damages and non-economic damages for:
- The value of lost financial support your loved one would have provided if they’d lived
- The value of household services provided by your family member
- Loss of spousal companionship and protection
- Loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Medical or funeral expenses
The personal representative, through a survival action, can also request damages for lost prospective net accumulations of the estate and for the victim’s own pain and suffering for the time between when they were injured and died.
If your family’s wrongful death case makes it to trial, a jury can also award punitive damages if it deems it to be appropriate. Under Florida law, punitive damages can be warranted when a defendant’s actions are intentional or rise to gross negligence.
How Could Florida’s Comparative Fault Rule Affect My Family’s Wrongful Death Settlement?
Florida applies a modified comparative fault rule to most personal injury cases, including matters of wrongful death. Typically, the plaintiff’s shared fault affects their ability to recover compensation from a liable third party.
Damages can be awarded on a reduced basis as long as shared fault doesn’t exceed half.
In wrongful death cases, the decedent’s shared fault is taken into consideration. So, you won’t be able to recover compensation if a factfinder decides that your loved one was primarily responsible for their fatal accident or injuries. You can receive a limited monetary award if their assigned fault is less than 51 percent.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Florida?
Florida’s statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits is two years. The statutory filing period begins to run on the date of a victim’s death. If your spouse, parent, or child survived their injuries for some time, the statute of limitations might not align with the second anniversary of their accident. Instead, it would be the second anniversary of their death.
The personal representative of your loved one’s estate must file a wrongful death action before the filing deadline passes. Once time runs out, your family loses the right to benefit from a wrongful death claim. Additionally, the at-fault party can walk away without financial responsibility for your costs, trauma, and suffering.
Call Our Tampa Wrongful Death Lawyers for a Free Case Review
You may be entitled to compensation for the wrongful death of a family member in Tampa, Florida. However, getting the at-fault party or their insurance company to do the right thing can be a challenge. That’s where Apex Law Firm, PLLC can help.
Our Tampa wrongful death lawyers are skilled legal advocates who’ve helped clients win more than $30 million in monetary awards. We have a combined 26 years of experience handling complex legal disputes, and we’re prepared to do everything we can to fight for your family’s best interests, too.
We offer a free consultation. Contact our law office in Tampa today to speak with a member of our team about your wrongful death case.