Nothing can quickly heal the pain of losing a loved one in an auto accident. When people die from old age, you usually have years to prepare yourself for that death, but the same isn’t true when someone dies suddenly. In some ways, it is even worse when your loved one dies in an auto accident. Driving is highly regulated and is supposed to be relatively safe. New cars are designed to protect drivers and passengers from suffering serious injuries, often at the cost of the car. But sometimes even that isn’t enough. What happens if someone is killed in an auto accident?
The driver of the other vehicle may face criminal charges, especially if they were drunk or otherwise intentionally reckless. But no matter how much time another driver spends in jail, that can’t help you recover from the loss of your loved one. It especially won’t help if the loss of your loved one puts you and your family in financial distress. If someone is killed in an auto accident, what you need is financial protection for yourself and your family. That is where an experienced wrongful death attorney from Wapner Newman can help.
Legal Options After Someone Is Killed in an Auto Accident
Unfortunately, your legal options in Pennsylvania after a loved one is killed in an auto accident are limited. If you were hurt in a car accident due to the negligence of another party, you could file a car accident insurance claim against the responsible party or file a car accident lawsuit against them. However, neither option is available for the loved ones of someone who was killed in a car accident. While you may be eligible to receive survivor benefits from the driver’s car accident policy or file a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver, there are significant restrictions on those options.
The biggest restriction is set by Pennsylvania laws regarding death actions. According to these laws, only beneficiaries of the deceased can receive compensation from a lawsuit. Beneficiaries are limited to:
- Spouses
- Children
- Parents.
However, even if you are one of these individuals, you may not be able to file a lawsuit. Pennsylvania typically allows only the personal representative (usually the executor) of the deceased to file a lawsuit on behalf of the estate and the beneficiaries. If the personal representative does not start a lawsuit within six months of the date of death, though, any beneficiary may file a claim. That is the type of complicated rule that makes it important to hire a wrongful death lawyer when someone is killed in an auto accident.
While the law allows beneficiaries to get benefits after the death of a loved one, it limits who can take legal action and who counts as a beneficiary.
Legal Consequences for the Other Driver
When someone is killed in an auto accident, the authorities will investigate to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate. Typically, minor levels of carelessness do not amount to criminal charges. If minor carelessness is charged, it will probably be charged as a misdemeanor resulting in relatively small penalties. This may seem heartless, but the law recognizes that people make mistakes and shouldn’t be unreasonably punished for certain mistakes even when they result in the unfortunate death of another person.
Conversely, if the other driver was reckless, they will likely be charged with a felony and could spend decades in prison. Anyone driving under the influence of alcohol is almost certain to spend several decades in prison after they recklessly end someone’s life.
The other driver ending up in prison is a bit of a mixed blessing. If they are found guilty of any charges, you can use that as evidence of their responsibility in a lawsuit to get compensation. Unfortunately, if the other driver ends up in jail or prison, they are unlikely to be able to pay the compensation ordered by a jury verdict. If they have the right insurance, that will help. But insurance only goes so far.
Did you lose a loved one due to the careless or reckless actions of another driver? When someone is killed in an auto accident in Philadelphia, contact Wapner Newman at (800) 529-6600 to discuss your legal options.
Potential Compensation When Someone Is Killed in an Auto Accident
What type of compensation can you get if your loved one is killed in an auto accident? That depends on several factors.
The Type of Financial Dependence You Had on the Deceased
If you were fully dependent on the deceased, you are eligible to receive significantly more compensation than if you were only partially dependent on them. Children and a non-working spouse, for example, would typically get the most compensation for the sudden loss of income resulting from the death of a loved one.
Conversely, if the deceased was a child who was partially supporting you for some reason, you would receive less compensation. When courts or attorneys determine how dependent someone is, they also need to determine whether that dependence will change. Children will eventually become adults and get jobs. However, a disabled spouse is unlikely to ever be able to be independent.
The Income of the Deceased
A significant factor in determining how much compensation dependents can get after the loss of a loved one is how much money the deceased was earning in life. If your loved one earned $125,000 each year, you would get a lot more money in compensation than if your loved one was earning $40,000 each year. This factor also takes into account how much longer the deceased was expected to work and whether they were likely to get promotions or otherwise advance in pay in the future. Using the examples above, if the person earning $125,000 was likely to retire in a year or two and the person earning $40,000 was expected to work for another 30 years, the dependents of the person who earned less might be eligible for more compensation.
Whether You Are Responsible for Expenses Related to the Death
Beneficiaries or the personal representative of the estate can seek compensation for medical expenses, burial expenses, and estate administration costs that they are responsible for. This may include medical bills paid before the loved one dies if they didn’t immediately die in the car accident. To get these expenses reimbursed, you will typically have to show receipts that prove that you are responsible for them.
How Close You Were to Your Lost Loved One
No two relationships are the same. You may be extremely close to some of your children and barely talk to others. When courts award compensation for loss of companionship, they try to take into account how close the relationship had been.
If you and your spouse were heading toward divorce, for example, you would receive much less compensation for loss of companionship than if you had enjoyed a 30-year marriage filled with love. This is one of the more complicated factors to calculate, because there is no way to quantify a relationship. Even worse, no matter how much money you receive for the loss of companionship, it will never replace the person who was previously in your life.
Contact a Philadelphia Wrongful Death Attorney at Wapner Newman Immediately
If a loved one was killed in an auto accident, don’t wait to consult with our law firm. Pennsylvania law gives you only two years to file a lawsuit, and that time can disappear quickly when you are dealing with the fallout of a death.
Protect yourself and your surviving family after losing a loved one in a car accident. Contact Wapner Newman at (800) 529-6600 as soon as possible to schedule a free case evaluation.