Brooklyn Wrongful Death Lawyer
Click For Your Free Consulation
Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers has represented grieving families for over 25 years in wrongful death claims. Contact our law office in Brooklyn, NY, today at (718) 802-1600 for a free consultation. Our compassionate Brooklyn wrongful death lawyer will help you explore your legal options.
A wrongful death claim can’t bring your loved one back, but it can hold the responsible party accountable. Indeed, your family might be entitled to compensation for the loss you have suffered.
Table of Contents
Wrongful death claims are similar to already complicated personal injury law. However, they also overlap with New York probate law.
With complex legal rules regarding who can file a claim and the types of damages available, it’s important to seek the experienced legal representation you need.
At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel, LLC, we have fought for accident victims and grieving families like you for over two decades. We will fight for the compensation your family needs during this difficult time so you can focus on yourselves.
Brooklyn personal injury attorney Jay S. Knispel represents victims in all boroughs of New York City. He has secured life-changing jury awards and settlements for his clients and litigated multi-million-dollar cases. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the exclusive Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Choose our law firm to represent you in your case, and we will use our decades of experience to:
You deserve time and space to grieve. Trust our Brooklyn, NY law office to take over your claim and fight for maximum compensation for your family. Call The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel, LLC today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Wrongful death is a term used to describe any death caused by someone else’s intentional or negligent actions. A wrongful death can be the result of an accident, such as a car crash or medical malpractice, or it can be caused by intentional wrongdoing such as aggravated assault.
When a wrongful death occurs, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party. This type of claim is an option if your loved one could have filed a personal injury lawsuit but for their death.
In New York, wrongful death claims combine aspects of personal injury and probate law. Rather than falling under civil code like most states, wrongful death claims are made under the New York Estates, Powers and Trust Laws (EPTL).
New York law specifies who may file a wrongful death claim after someone’s death. In some states, surviving family members such as spouses can file a lawsuit directly against a defendant.
In New York, only the personal representative of your loved one’s estate can initiate the lawsuit.
This personal representative is someone who was named in the decedent’s will. Absent a will, or if the named personal representative declines to serve, the court can appoint a personal representative.
In most cases, a personal representative will still be a family member. Family members can request to be appointed by the court when there is no will.
Wrongful death claims are more complicated than personal injury cases in many ways, including the types of damages available and how the case is valued.
Through a wrongful death action, you can only recover the financial losses to your family. You cannot recover compensation for your pain and grief. However, the damages can still be difficult to calculate.
As a guideline, your claim’s value can depend on:
It’s important to note that wrongful death claims are often combined with survival actions. The value of a survival action can be even more complicated. This type of claim compensates for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, your loved one experienced before death. To value this claim, we consider how long your loved one survived, the type of treatment they received, and the severity of their injuries.
Experienced wrongful death lawyers in Brooklyn, NY, will work with leading experts to build a persuasive case and seek the maximum value of your claim.
Financial compensation is likely the last thing on your mind after the traumatic loss of someone you love. However, this loss can cause an unfair and difficult financial burden for your family. When someone else has caused your loved one’s death, the damages you seek can alleviate your family’s financial strain while you grieve.
To understand the types of damages available in your wrongful death claim, it’s first crucial to understand that most wrongful death lawsuits in New York are actually two claims. If your loved one survived for some amount of time after their injuries, you can seek damages through a survival action as well as a wrongful death claim.
The wrongful death lawsuit seeks damages for the financial losses surviving family members suffered.
These damages can include:
Under New York EPTL § 5-4.3, compensation in a wrongful death claim must be “fair and just.” Unfortunately, families cannot seek damages for loss of consortium, companionship, and grief.
By contrast, a survival action seeks damages for the decedent’s pain and suffering and “pre-impact terror” before their death. If your loved one had mental awareness before they died and was not killed instantly, you may be entitled to these damages.
Most wrongful death cases involve negligence which leads to a fatal accident. The most common type of wrongful death claim involves traffic accidents which kill an average of 1,000 people in New York each year. Most motor vehicle crashes are caused by human error. However, wrongful death cases may also arise out of criminal actions like homicide.
The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel, LLC is committed to representing grieving families in all types of wrongful death cases, including:
The type of accident or cause of your loved one’s death generally does not matter, if it can be shown that someone else was responsible. Contact our Brooklyn wrongful death lawyer to find out how we can help you hold the responsible party accountable.
Recovering damages in your wrongful death case will require proving the following elements:
Proving fault in a wrongful death claim will require a careful investigation of your loved one’s accident or attack.
We will gather and analyze evidence such as:
Depending on the cause of your loved one’s death, we may work with experts such as accident reconstruction specialists and medical experts to strengthen your case.
You have a limited time to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Brooklyn. The wrongful death statute of limitations is just two years under New York EPTL § 5-4.1. You must file your wrongful death action within two years of the date of your loved one’s death, or you may lose your legal right to recover damages.
However, a survival action has a different statute of limitations. This case must be filed within one year of the date of death or three years from the date of the accident, whichever is longer.
It’s incredibly painful to lose a loved one unexpectedly. When someone else causes your loved one’s death through carelessness, criminal behavior, negligence, or reckless conduct, you may feel even more helpless and angry.
You can count on a compassionate Brooklyn wrongful death lawyer at the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel, LLC to guide you through the legal steps necessary to hold the responsible party accountable. We will support you during your wrongful death claim and fight for the compensation your family deserves. Call our law firm today to schedule a free consultation.
Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – Brooklyn Office
26 Court St #2511, Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 395-2960
(718) 802-1600
Our personal injury law firm in Brooklyn, NY also provides:
New York City Office
450 7th Ave Suite 1605
New York, NY 10123
(212) 564 2800
Brooklyn Office
26 Court St., Suite 2511
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 802-1600
We are available to take your call 24/7