Eagle River Wrongful Death Attorneys
No one can adequately prepare for the untimely death of a loved one. Legal action may be your last thought when someone’s negligence changes your life forever. However, the initial days and weeks following an accident provide critical moments for documenting your loss to demand justice. A compassionate wrongful death attorney can pursue your legal fight, allowing you the space and time you deserve to grieve.
Contacting our Eagle River Wrongful Death Attorneys at Farnsworth & Vance provides access to the trusted support and legal representation of a team that will offer critical guidance in your time of loss. Many families lose the critical compensation they need to move forward successfully into the future. We want to protect your right to file a claim and demand maximum compensation.
How a Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You
An accident scene and the evidence documenting a loved one’s death begin changing or may even become lost within minutes and days of a wrongful death occurring. Many of these minor disturbances to evidence are unintentional. However, critical information can be lost or deleted to protect a negligent party.
A wrongful death attorney with our team can immediately go to work for your family by filing requests for information about an accident under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We will also send a preservation of evidence letter to an entity that may be liable for a loved one’s death to safeguard the evidence in a claim. Your legal advocate will take every necessary step to gather evidence and prevent you and your family from suffering additional trauma. An Eagle River, AK, wrongful death lawyer with our firm can also provide these services for you:
- Mediating on your behalf with the insurance company
- Filing all paperwork applying to your claim
- Working with expert witnesses to prove negligence
- Interviewing eyewitnesses to the accident
- Providing updates as we make progress in your claim
- Filing legal actions, when necessary, within the statute of limitations
Revisiting the scene of an accident, hearing the details of a loved one’s death, and collecting other graphic evidence depicting a tragic incident should never fall to grieving family members. The respect and service we provide to you strive to alleviate overwhelming legal tasks and protect your compensation. Client testimonials share our willingness to offer support in life’s most challenging moments.
Why Choose Our Eagle River Wrongful Death Lawyers
The Farnsworth & Vance team builds our client representation on life experience. As personal injury lawyers, our attorneys have faced situations similar to those of our clients. Our diverse backgrounds also provide the skills to take large insurance corporations head-on. While no amount replaces your loss, we will relentlessly pursue maximum results for you.
Together, we bring decades of experience to our firm to benefit Alaskans. We offer sound guidance to you throughout the legal process. When you have questions, we strive to provide honest, straightforward answers to frequently asked questions that apply specifically to your claim.
Eagle River, AK Wrongful Death Claims We Represent
Negligence occurs in many forms. Proving that someone’s actions are the cause of a loved one’s death is complex. Contact a wrongful death lawyer immediately if an incident leads to a fatal loss. We will shoulder the legal burden for you and help determine if an at-fault party is liable for damages.
The ability to file a wrongful death claim is not reliant on the at-fault party facing criminal charges. It is often disheartening to many families that no criminal action is taken. Wrongful death statutes in Alaska law allow you to see accountability through financial compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance company, highlighting the importance of hiring a wrongful death attorney should you lose a loved one in the following accidents.
Car Accidents
Sources cite human factors as the probable cause of 92.6% of traffic accidents. Car accidents in Alaska continue to claim innocent lives, leaving devastation in their wake. Speeding, inclement weather, alcohol use, and wildlife incidents are only a few of the causes of fatalities. Negligence can even exist in a crash involving dangerous weather conditions. Car crashes in Eagle River, AK, may also lead to wrongful deaths in the following incidents:
- Pedestrian Accidents: Pedestrians remain some of Alaska’s most vulnerable road users because their protection against a moving vehicle is minimal. The previous seven year’s data suggests an average of 12 pedestrians die annually in Alaska.
- Bicycle Accidents: Bicycling fatalities in Alaska are currently declining. However, even one bicycling death in Eagle River is too many.
- Motorcycle Accidents: Motorcyclists often face scrutiny in crashes, with others falsely accusing them of being unsafe. You possess the same rights as other motorists in utilizing Alaska roadways safely.
Trucking Accidents
Eighteen-wheeler incidents may impact multiple vehicles and lives in Alaska at once. Their disproportionate size and weight are no match for standard cars. Semi-truck accidents are often fatal and devastating. As the industry’s demand grows, trucking companies frequently retain continual legal representation to protect their interests.
Holding trucking companies liable for your damages can be challenging, with insurance companies often offering much lower compensation to settle a claim quickly. While a wrongful death lawyer in Eagle River, AK, cannot guarantee a specific outcome in your claim, the claims we represent often prove more beneficial for clients. Fully representing your damages can provide the best outcome for your claim, benefitting your family’s recovery.
Medical Malpractice
All medical professionals, including medical offices and hospital administration, owe patients a duty of care during treatment and to hire qualified providers. You may have a wrongful death claim when medical professionals act outside the standard of care a patient should receive, causing your loved one’s death. While medical malpractice claims are some of the most challenging, our wrongful death lawyers are skilled at tackling challenging medical malpractice cases.
Firearm Accidents
Annual statistics indicate that 48,000 firearm-related deaths occurred in the United States. American Indians or Alaska Native individuals are more vulnerable to firearm deaths. Gun owners, manufacturers, and sellers may owe you for damages when a loved one dies because of a gun or firearm incident in Eagle River, AK.
Aviation Accidents
Alaskans depend on airplanes as a vital transportation mode, mainly to access rural areas and the lower 48. Securing evidence in an aviation accident requires a wrongful death lawyer to navigate state and federal laws and possess a knowledge of the ruggedness of the Alaskan terrain and its impact on documenting an aviation accident. Our team can work with investigative specialists to pursue timely documentation of an aviation accident, even in harsh environments.
Other Accidents Resulting in Wrongful Death Claims
Motor vehicle accidents are not the only cause of wrongful deaths. Learn more about these common types of accidents resulting in wrongful death in Alaska. Fatalities may occur due to the following:
- Workplace accidents
- Defective products
- Premise liability
- Criminal acts
Let us take the steps to represent a wrongful death claim for your family in Eagle River, AK. We can explain and complete the legal steps for filing a claim or lawsuit for wrongful death in Alaska. In some instances, filing a survival action on behalf of a loved one for damages is possible should time exist between the moment of injury and their death. You have the right to seek compensation for their pain and suffering at that time. However, separate legal actions can be filed simultaneously for a wrongful death claim and survival action.
Steps to Take After a Wrongful Death in Eagle River, AK
Contacting Farnsworth & Vance as soon as possible to discuss a wrongful death claim allows us to take charge of the overwhelming tasks ahead of you. Because each case is unique, we can access evidence for you or walk you through accessing critical documentation for your claim. Our greatest successes come by giving families who have lost a loved one hope and a legal avenue for recovery.
Retain the information of anyone who contacts you about a wrongful death. We can reach out to them to secure information about the incident and strive to protect you from further emotional damage. The initial moments after learning of a loved one’s death can create a wave of emotions, making it challenging to grasp the specifics of an accident and vital information. A wrongful death attorney with our team can take these steps for you.
Potential Compensation in an Eagle River Wrongful Death Claim
A comprehensive evaluation of your situation is necessary to determine all your damages. Losing a primary income earner or home care provider can financially devastate your family. We focus on protecting your family now and into the future, recognizing that the impact of this loss can last indefinitely.
While some losses are more straightforward to quantify in a monetary amount, others are more challenging. Regardless, the emotional and financial impact of wrongful death on families can come in shockwaves that penetrate even the strongest families who struggle under their weight. Compensation for these damages may be available to you.
Economic Damages
Covering the financial costs to your family in these uncapped damages is possible. Your wrongful death lawyer will fight for these damages in their entirety. Retain invoices, receipts, and employee pay stubs of your loved one to document the following costs:
- All medical expenses or ambulatory services resulting from the incident
- Burial costs
- Lost future income benefiting your family
- Property damage
- Loss of inheritance
- Loss of household services costs
- Out-of-pocket costs
Failing to account for all these costs is possible in times of distress. A thorough review of all costs is vital to your recovery.
Non-economic Damages
Living with the emotional impact of wrongful death can be debilitating. However, these losses have no specific value, making them more challenging to quantify and easier for the insurance company to dismiss. Our relentless legal advocacy in compensating you for these damages will strive for the highest value available for the following damages:
- Emotional and mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship or parental guidance
Other non-economic damages may also be available to you. Alaska statutes place a cap of $400,000 on these damages or calculate the deceased’s life expectancy in years multiplied by $8,000, whichever is more.
Punitive Damages
In some instances, a wrongful death lawsuit proceeding in court may secure punitive damages as a form of punishment for a negligent party’s actions. A court may order these damages when outrageous acts, those committed with malice or evil motives, or an act committed with reckless indifference toward your loved one occurs. We will leave no stone unturned in seeking compensation for your family.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Alaska?
Unless the beneficiary of a deceased’s estate is a minor, filing a wrongful death claim must occur within two years of the date of your loved one’s death. Speaking with our wrongful death attorneys in Eagle River, AK, as soon as possible can help ensure you do not miss the legal time limits. Because exceptions may apply to any case, waiting may impact your ability to file a lawsuit and seek compensation.
Who Can File an Eagle River, AK Wrongful Death Claim?
A spouse or any heirs of the deceased may seek compensation through a wrongful death claim. The estate’s representative or an executor can file a claim on their behalf if one is named by the deceased in a will. The court will appoint a personal representative when there is no will to name an individual for this duty.
The Alaska courts have established a priority list of individuals who have the right to serve in the capacity of personal representative when one has not been named. You may request appointing a person without priority by filing a petition for formal probate.
The court may appoint multiple parties as personal representatives. Co-personal representatives can collaborate to make the best decisions for the parties involved.
Contact our Eagle River Wrongful Death Attorneys
The Farnsworth & Vance team offers understanding and compassion during life’s most unimaginable moments. You deserve legal representation that puts your best interests first. Schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced wrongful death lawyers to protect your claim and demand justice for your loved one. We are available 24 hours a day by phone when you call 907-416-9066. You may also fill out our online consultation form.