The sudden loss of a loved one in an accident can be incredibly traumatizing to surviving family. You and your family might be struggling with complex grief, and you may be wondering how you’ll make ends meet if you lost your family’s primary breadwinner. If your spouse, parent, or child passed away in a car accident, truck accident, construction accident, workplace accident, or passed away while working, the wrongful death lawyers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law are here to help you.
Wrongful death damages can cover both economic and non-economic losses related to your loved one’s death. You and your family may be entitled to receive money to pay for medical bills your loved one incurred before he or she passed away, lost income your loved one may have been able to provide to your family, lost inheritance, and funeral or burial expenses. You and your family may also be able to seek compensation for pain and suffering that your loved one experienced before he or she passed away, in addition to “loss of consortium” or lost guidance you and your loved ones experienced because of your family member’s untimely death.
Our Pittsburgh wrongful death lawyers have over 35 years of combined legal experience and take great pride in their work ethic, commitment, & litigation skill.
If you have lost a loved one suddenly in an accident, please accept our deepest condolences. Losing a child, parent, or spouse unexpectedly can be devastating. Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law is a wrongful death law firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that helps families seek compensation to pay for medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost income, and other losses after the sudden death of a family member due to the negligence or neglect of another person or party.
Who is Entitled to Make a Wrongful Death Claim in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
Under Pennsylvania law, generally only a surviving spouse, child, or the parents of a deceased person are entitled to make a wrongful death claim. If a person passes away with no spouse, children, or parents, but a person’s death results in losses to their estate, a personal representative may be entitled to make a claim for wrongful death damages to the estate. While in most cases, the law restricts who can file a wrongful death claim to a spouse, child, parent, or personal representative of the estate, there are certain exceptions where other family members may be entitled to make a claim. For example, if a grandparent is raising a child like a parent, a grandparent may, in certain circumstances, be entitled to make a wrongful death claim. Other surviving family members may be able to receive money from a wrongful death claim through the distributions they would receive from a deceased family member’s estate if they were included in the will or inheritance. Wrongful death claims can sometimes be complicated. If you have questions about whether you are entitled to make a claim or receive money through a wrongful death settlement, reach out to the wrongful death lawyers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law.
What Circumstances Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
There are several situations that can lead to wrongful death. If your loved one was involved in a car accident due to another driver’s negligence or neglect and passed away because of his or her injuries, you may be entitled to seek damages for injuries he or she sustained before death. You may also be entitled to seek damages for pain and suffering your loved one experienced before he or she passed away. Finally you may also be able to collect damages for losses you and your family endured after your loved one passed away. If your loved one died in a work accident, you and your family may be able to collect survivor’s benefits through worker’s compensation insurance. These benefits may include wages your family has lost because of your loved one’s death. If you entrusted your loved one’s care to a nursing home and your loved one passed away because he or she wasn’t provided adequate care, you and your family may also be entitled to make a wrongful death claim. Finally, if your loved one was killed due to a violent act, you and your family may be able to seek damages for wrongful death. If a loved one was killed due to domestic violence or was caught in the cross-fire during a shooting, you and your family may also be able to seek compensation for your losses. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wrongful death lawyers at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law are here to help you understand your rights, determine if you have a claim, and offer guidance on the next steps.
Wrongful Death and Complicated Grief
The loss of a loved one can lead to grief, which can include feelings of anger, guilt, sadness, numbness, and sorrow. Over time, these feelings generally ease and a person is able to move forward with life. This doesn’t mean that there might not be moments of intense grief or recollections of the grief. It just means that with time, a person is able to function and live life despite the grief. Sometimes, however, a person might develop something known as complicated grief. With complicated grief the feelings associated with the loss don’t ease, and interfere with a person’s ability to resume normal life activities. Complicated grief can include feelings of pain, sorrow, and rumination over the loss of your loved one that don’t fade with time. It can also include a focus on your loss without the ability to focus on other things, problems accepting the loss of a loved one, ongoing numbness, detachment, or the feeling that life has no meaning now that a loved one has passed, and inability to start new relationships or enjoy existing relationships. People with complicated grief may isolate themselves, be unable to participate in work or other activities, feel depressed, blame themselves, suffer with immense guilt, ruminate about ways the death could have been prevented or avoided, feeling like life isn’t worth living, or wishing you had passed away with your loved one.
There are certain risk-factors for complicated grief. Some of the risk factors include the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one in a car accident or other preventable accident, or the violent death of a loved one. The death of a child can also result in complicated grief. The sudden loss of a loved one can leave many issues unresolved. For example, you and your family may not have been able to say goodbye to your family member. In some cases, individuals report having unfinished business with a loved one who passed away suddenly. For example, if you fought with your spouse before he went to work and then he passed away in a workplace accident, this kind of situation can bring up complicated grief.
Complicated grief can be worked through. Seeking counseling and therapy can be incredibly helpful, but many families may not always be able to afford this care. A wrongful death attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law can review the impact that the loss of your loved one has had on your life and can help you seek compensation from responsible parties to pay for your care. You deserve to live a full life. Your loved one would want you to. Let the compassionate and caring attorneys at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law help you seek justice on your loved one’s behalf.
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Contact a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Law Firm Today
If you have lost a loved one in an accident, please accept our deepest condolences. The wrongful death lawyers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Scanlon & Wojton: Attorneys at Law are here to help you. We can review your claim, help you seek damages for your losses, and fight for justice on your loved one’s behalf. We only get paid if you win. Reach out to our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wrongful death lawyers today.