After a fatal accident, families often face a lot of uncertainty. A loved one with severe injuries could survive for some days or weeks. In that brief and painful time, they may well lose almost everything to medical costs, loss of their income, and more. However, just because they pass, does not mean you cannot pursue compensation on their behalf for the losses they suffered prior to death.
A York survival actions lawyer could help you under whether your loved one’s estate could file a survival action. At Clark & Howell, our wrongful death attorneys are here to help you learn more about what your legal rights are if someone else was responsible for your relative’s death. You and your relatives may also have a claim for your own losses through a wrongful death action.
Understanding the difference between these two types of lawsuits is an important place to start: a survival action is filed to pursue losses on behalf of the injured person who died, and a wrongful death claim pursues damages for the losses their family incurred as a result of their death. In Maine, the compensation from a survival action goes to the deceased’s estate, just as they would have gone to the injured person during life.
A person severely injured in an accident could survive for some time before death. After their death, any claim for damages that they had during their lifetime will survive them, which may include:
Their estate representative can pursue that claim through a survival action. Contact our York survival actions attorneys today for help filing a survival action.
Even after a death, a survival action claim for compensation will still be affected on whether or not the deceased shared any responsibility for the incident, and by how much. To make a successful claim, an injured person must share less than half of the fault for what happened under 14 Maine Revised Statutes § 156.
For example, a court could find that someone had 10 percent of the fault in their accident. In that case, the person still has a right to compensation but the amount is reduced by that 10 percent. If a person had 50 percent of the fault, the claim would be barred. Call our survival actions lawyers in York today for help protecting your claim and fighting against insurance companies shifting blame.
Most claims go through an insurance settlement process, especially for motor vehicle accidents. Once someone files a claim, the insurer reviews the evidence and decides who, in their estimation, was at fault in the accident and liable for damages.
However, insurance companies are known for shifting blame to avoid paying these claims. The facts in the accident report may or may not be accurate. Without an experienced survival actions attorney in York, it is hard to know whether or not the insurer’s report is fair. Our attorneys can conduct an investigation and shield you from pressure to accept a low settlement offer.
No two wrongful death cases are ever the same. Every family has a burden of grief that belongs to them alone. At Clark & Howell, our York survival actions lawyers know the pain of what you have lost, and we are here to help seek justice on behalf of your loved one. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and gain a compassionate legal advocate for your case.
(207) 363-5208
(207) 363-5208