Nashville Wrongful Death Case Process

The process of investigating a wrongful death case depends on who is negligent and how an accident happened. Lawyers want to make sure that they can establish that it was negligence or reckless behavior that caused the death. They are going to get all the evidence that they can to establish that duty breach causation that resulted in their client’s loved one’s death.

A skilled wrongful death attorney should get involved immediately in any case because one hindrance a lot of times in a wrongful death case is the person is not there to testify what happened. For an accident with no witnesses, attorneys need to get involved early so a reconstruction expert can put together what happened, determine who is at fault, and figure out how it happened. They need to get photographs and videos.

Factors of Evidence in Wrongful Death Cases

When somebody has died because of neglect in a nursing home, attorneys have to put the case together by looking at the medical records, talking to former employees, and getting investigators and maybe an autopsy because the person cannot tell someone what happened to them. It is almost like detective work because the victim is not there to help with the case.

Duration of a Case

There is no specific timeline for the Nashville wrongful death case process. It depends on how complicated the case is. Some took a couple of months. Others took a few years. If it goes all the way through a jury trial and gets appealed, it gets to the Court of Appeals and it goes to the Supreme Court. It can take a long time. Sometimes the facts are obvious, attorneys can put the damages together quickly, and it can settle in a couple of months. They are all different.

Impact of Unique Case Factors

The first factor will be liability. Is liability in question? If it is, it will probably take longer to fight about that. Second will be damages. Is there any question that the negligent or reckless behavior caused the death of the person? If there is, it can take longer to fight about it. Those are probably the main factors that will determine the length of the wrongful death claim.

Role of Cause of Death

In some cases, the cause of death is very obvious. Therefore, the Nashville wrongful death case process often focuses on fault. It is a common defense of nursing homes and hospitals to express their certainty that possible mistakes would not cause death. Establishing fault can complicate cases involving medical negligence or nursing home neglect.

Hiring a Lawyer

A Nashville wrongful death case process can be deemed over once a check is received, the settlement papers are signed and everyone who is entitled to a portion of the wrongful death proceeds receives their checks. A wrongful death attorney can lock down evidence on behalf of their client. Therefore, if the case proceeds to trial, both the attorney and potential client can feel prepared. However, a lawyer’s role is to deal with the legal aspects so that the loved ones can go on with repairing their lives.