Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer
Losing someone because of another person’s careless, reckless, or medically negligent conduct leaves a family facing questions that may have no simple answers.
Have you lost a loved one in an accident in the Fort Lauderdale area? Florida law may allow your family to pursue compensation for legally recognized losses caused by the death.
A Fort Lauderdale wrongful death lawyer at Hollander Law Firm can examine what happened, determine who may be legally responsible, and develop the medical, financial, and factual evidence needed to pursue a wrongful death claim.
No amount of money can bring your loved one back. A successful claim can, however, address the financial losses caused by the death and hold the responsible parties accountable under Florida law.
Hollander Law Firm represents families in serious wrongful death matters involving motor vehicle crashes, commercial trucking collisions, medical malpractice, and other catastrophic events throughout Broward County and South Florida.
Contact us online or call (561) 347-7770 today to schedule a free consultation.
What Is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death occurs when a person dies because of conduct that would have entitled them to bring a personal injury claim if they had survived. Florida’s Wrongful Death Act applies when death results from a wrongful or negligent act.
Wrongful death claims in the Fort Lauderdale area can arise from many circumstances, including medical malpractice cases, commercial truck accidents, and serious car accidents.
Who Can File an Action for Wrongful Death in Fort Lauderdale, FL?
Florida requires the deceased person’s personal representative to bring the wrongful death action for the benefit of the surviving family members and the estate.
A spouse, child, or parent generally does not file a separate wrongful death lawsuit.
The personal representative may already be named in the deceased person’s will.
When no representative has been appointed, an estate proceeding may be necessary.
In Broward County, probate proceedings can be used to appoint a personal representative who has legal authority to act for the estate.
Who Can Benefit from a Wrongful Death Claim?
A Florida wrongful death claim can benefit the deceased person’s legally recognized survivors as well as the estate. The personal representative brings the lawsuit, but the compensation recovered may belong to different beneficiaries depending on their relationship to the deceased and the type of damages involved.
Potential beneficiaries include:
- Surviving spouse,
- Children,
- Parents,
- Blood relatives and adoptive brothers or sisters who were partly or wholly dependent on the deceased for support or services, and
- The estate.
The available damages are not identical for every family member. Florida law looks closely at the survivor’s relationship to the deceased and, for some damages, the survivor’s age and whether a spouse survives.
Note that for purposes of Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, “minor children” are defined as children under age 25.
What Types of Damages Are Available in a Wrongful Death Case?
Florida wrongful death damages depend on who survived the deceased, the relationship between them, and the financial and personal losses the death caused. The law separates damages belonging to individual survivors from damages recovered for the estate.
Loss of Support and Services
Survivors may recover the value of support and services they lost because of the death. Support can include income and other financial contributions. Services can include household work that the deceased regularly performed, which the family must now replace.
The value can require far more analysis than adding up recent paychecks. Employment history, expected career progression, benefits, taxes, retirement plans, the survivor’s relationship to the deceased, and the value of household services may all become relevant. For a deceased parent, those services might include childcare, transportation, cooking, and home maintenance.
Loss of Companionship and Mental Pain and Suffering
A surviving spouse may seek damages for loss of companionship and protection as well as mental pain and suffering. Minor children may recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, and for mental pain and suffering.
When there is no surviving spouse, Florida law extends certain child-related damages to all surviving children. Parents may also have claims for mental pain and suffering under circumstances defined by the statute.
These losses require evidence that gives the fact-finder a meaningful picture of the relationship that was lost. Testimony about the deceased person’s role in the family, parenting, shared routines, responsibilities, and plans can help establish damages.
Florida imposes an important limitation on wrongful death claims arising from medical negligence. Adult children cannot recover the specific companionship and mental-pain damages available under the child-damages provision, and parents of an adult child cannot recover the specific mental-pain damages provided to parents.
Medical and Funeral Expenses
A survivor who paid medical or funeral expenses related to the injury or death may seek reimbursement. Expenses charged to the estate or paid on behalf of the deceased may instead be recoverable by the personal representative for the estate, depending on how the bills were incurred and paid.
Losses Recoverable by the Estate
If the deceased survived for a period after the injury, the estate may recover the income they would have earned between the injury and death. Florida subtracts monetary support that survivors are separately entitled to recover during that period, so the same lost income is not counted twice. Noncash contributions to the family are not included in that deduction.
These damages can become significant when a person survives a catastrophic injury for days, weeks, or months before dying.
The estate may also recover the wealth the deceased would probably have accumulated over the remainder of their life. This is called “prospective net accumulations” and generally reflects future income that would remain after taxes and personal expenses, discounted to its present-day value.
Florida permits this recovery when the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or direct descendants. It may also be available when a deceased not considered a minor under Florida wrongful death law leaves a surviving parent, and no survivor has a claim for lost support and services.
Why Do I Need a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney?
A serious wrongful death case requires an investigation into evidence of liability, causation, and damages. While a lawyer is not required, they can help navigate the legal process and complicated laws.
Critical Evidence Can Disappear Early
The evidence needed to explain a fatal event may be temporary. Traffic camera recordings and business surveillance footage can be overwritten. Commercial trucks can return to service. Electronic vehicle information may be lost. Witness memories change. Companies may possess driver records, inspection documents, internal communications, or electronic data that the family cannot obtain informally.
Hollander Law Firm can identify the evidence that matters to the particular type of death and take steps to preserve and obtain it. In a trucking case, that may include ELD information, engine control data, dispatch records, maintenance history, driver qualification materials, and post-crash inspection evidence. In a fatal medical malpractice case, the focus shifts to the complete medical chart, imaging, medication records, laboratory results, operative documentation, hospital policies, and the precise timeline of diagnosis and treatment.
Deal with Insurance Companies and Defense Lawyers
Wrongful death defendants often have an insurance company and defense lawyers working to limit their financial exposure. Their job is to protect the defendant and the insurer, which means they may challenge fault, causation, the value of the losses, or the connection between the defendant’s conduct and the death.
That creates an uneven playing field for a grieving family trying to handle the claim on their own. Insurance companies understand how to investigate serious losses, evaluate legal risk, and build arguments that can reduce what they pay.
You deserve experienced counsel on your side who understands the same process and can recognize when the defense is trying to minimize the claim.
Legal representation matters because the other side is already represented by professionals whose interests are directly opposed to yours. Having a Fort Lauderdale wrongful death lawyer gives your family an advocate focused on protecting your position.
Causation Can Become the Central Dispute
Defendants frequently dispute whether their conduct actually caused the death. That issue can become especially difficult when the deceased survived an initial injury for days or weeks, had significant preexisting medical conditions, or died after a complex course of hospital treatment.
Medical malpractice cases present an even more demanding causation question. Proof that a physician or hospital departed from the standard of care does not establish the entire case. The evidence must support the conclusion that appropriate care would probably have produced a materially different outcome. That can require review by specialists who understand both the condition involved and the treatment decisions made at critical points in the clinical timeline.
Serious Claims Can Involve Several Responsible Parties
A fatal I-95 truck crash may implicate a driver, motor carrier, vehicle owner, or maintenance contractor. A medical negligence death may involve separate physicians, a hospital, an anesthesia practice, or another healthcare entity. Identifying the complete liability structure can affect available insurance coverage, the evidence that must be preserved, and how fault is ultimately allocated.
A Fort Lauderdale wrongful death lawyer will explore all avenues of liability and sources of potential compensation.
FAQs
Can Comparative Fault Impact My Right to Compensation?
Yes. Florida’s comparative fault rules can reduce wrongful death damages when the deceased person shares responsibility for the event that caused the death. In most negligence cases, damages are reduced according to the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased.
However, a party found more than 50% responsible for their own harm generally cannot recover under Florida’s modified comparative fault rule. Note, however, that the greater-than-50% bar does not apply to wrongful death claims arising from medical negligence.
How Much Time Do I Have to Sue for Wrongful Death in Florida?
Florida generally gives the personal representative two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and Florida courts recognize that a wrongful death claim ordinarily accrues on the date of death.
Missing the applicable deadline can prevent the estate and survivors from pursuing the claim.
The timing analysis can change in particular cases. A death caused by medical negligence can implicate Florida’s separate medical malpractice limitations and repose rules. So, families should not assume that simply counting two years from the death resolves every deadline question.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
Hollander Law Firm understands that a death can leave a family facing sudden financial strain at the same time it is grieving. You should not have to worry about paying hourly attorney fees or finding money up front to pursue a wrongful death claim.
That’s why we handle wrongful death matters on a contingency fee basis. You do not pay attorney fees up front, and we collect an attorney fee only upon obtaining a financial recovery under the written fee agreement. If you do not recover any compensation, you owe us no attorney’s fees.
Will My Case Go to Trial?
Possibly, although many wrongful death cases resolve through negotiated settlements. Whether settlement is appropriate depends on the strength of the liability and evidence, the damages that can be proven, available insurance or assets, and whether the defendants are willing to offer an amount that reasonably reflects the claim.
Hollander Law Firm evaluates settlement offers in the context of the evidence and the risks of continued litigation. When a case cannot be resolved on acceptable terms, attorney Gregg Hollander has courtroom experience to carry the claim forward.
Can a Child Born Out of Wedlock Be a Beneficiary?
It depends. Florida recognizes that a child born out of wedlock to a mother is included as a beneficiary. However, a child born out of wedlock to a father is only considered a beneficiary if the father recognized responsibility for the child’s support.
Speak with a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney About Your Family’s Loss
Your family deserves clear answers about what happened, who may be responsible, and what Florida law allows you to pursue. Hollander Law Firm has represented injured people and grieving families throughout South Florida for decades, and the firm has recovered millions of dollars through settlements and jury verdicts.
Gregg Hollander brings more than 30 years of legal experience to serious personal injury, medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death litigation.
Contact our firm online or call (561) 347-7770 for a free consultation to discuss your family’s loss and the legal options available in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page
To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:
- Definitions, Fla. Stat. § 768.18.
- Damages, Fla. Stat. § 768.21.
- Parties, Fla. Stat. § 768.20.
- Right of action, Fla. Stat. § 768.19.
- Limitations other than for the recovery of real property, Fla. Stat. § 95.11.
Visit Our Personal Injury Law Office In Fort Lauderdale, FL
Hollander Law Firm Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers
1975 E Sunrise Blvd Suite# 702
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Phone: (954) 287-0566
Hours: Open 24 hours daily
Free no-obligation consultation!