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A Las Vegas Lawyer Can Discuss A Nevada Wrongful Death Claim

After you have suffered the loss of a family member, it is extremely difficult to think about filing a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages for the emotional and financial losses you and other family members have endured. You have to make the funeral arrangements, contact relatives, settle the estate of the wrongful death victim and deal with working through your own grief. It is a lot to consider at a point in your life when it may be hard to get through each day. Don't overlook the positive benefits of Grief Counseling to help you through the grief process. Once you feel that you are able to discuss your legal right to pursue a Nevada Wrongful Death lawsuit, contact Vegas Lawyer for a free consultation.

A Las Vegas Lawyer Can Explain Nevada's Wrongful Death Law

Nevada law provides for recovery in the form of a claim for wrongful death You may have a legal right to such a claim if the death of your family member was caused by the misconduct of a person or company. This legal right is granted by statute which means that the Nevada legislature saw fit to create a cause of action so you and your family members could recover for the devastating financial and emotional losses you suffered when your loved one died because of the misconduct of someone else. Contact a Las Vegas Lawyer to discuss whether your family has a viable Las Vegas wrongful death claim under Nevada's statute.

Recovery Is Allowed For Financial & Emotional Losses

Under Nevada's Wrongful Death Statute, the deceased's heirs could have a right to receive compensation in the form of money damages for their loss of companionship, loss of society, loss of probable support - grief - or sorrow, loss of comfort, loss of consortium, as well as damages for pain, suffering or disfigurement of the decedent. In addition, the damages recoverable by the personal representatives of a decedent's estate can include special damages (such as the deceased's medical expenses), which were sustained or incurred before death, as well as funeral expenses, and exemplary or punitive damages, that the wrongful death victim would have recovered if he or she had lived, but do not include damages for pain, suffering or disfigurement of the decedent. These are the types of damages which a Las Vegas Lawyer may be able to negotiate for you in the settlement or litigation of your wrongful death case. These damages may not be the same in many other states, so you should talk to a local personal injury attorney if you live in another state.

Case Law Interpreting the Nevada Wrongful Death Statute

There have been several cases in which the Nevada Supreme Court has interpreted Nevada's Wrongful Death Statute. Here are some of the Court's decisions which have been made over the years: In a Nevada wrongful death claim, the heirs' damages, based on the lost earning capacity of the decedent, can include present and future loss of support. In Nevada, since common law does not provide a wrongful death cause of action, Nevada's statutory remedy is exclusive and the types of damages listed in the wrongful death statute are exclusive. With respect to the Nevada Wrongful death statute, for pain and suffering to warrant compensation in a Nevada wrongful death claim, the pain and suffering has to be consciously experienced. This means that under the pain and suffering provision, plaintiffs may only recover for that part of the "loss of the hedonic value of human life" the decedent consciously experienced before he or she died. The Supreme Court of Nevada has allowed the use of an economist to assist in determining the damages in a Nevada wrongful death claim. In Nevada, the word "heirs" (as stated under the former and similar wrongful death statute) included an illegitimate child irrespective of the lack of formal acknowledgement by the deceased father of the child. The right of action under a former Nevada wrongful death statute was personal and not community property. This means that one spouse's contributory negligence cannot bar recovery by the other spouse. In a claim for wrongful death, Nevada has expressly recognized that pecuniary loss can go beyond the contributions of shelter, food, money or property, and that the society, care and attention of the deceased are viable "services" to the survivor bearing a financial value, which may be compensated. The common law gave no remedy in damages for a wrongful death suit, so whatever standing the plaintiffs may have is found in the wrongful death statute of Nevada. The remedy, exists purely by statute and is therefore is exclusive. (Note the above rules are always subject to change by later decisions - Consult a Las Vegas Lawyer to get the current law on any Nevada personal injury issue).

Contact A Las Vegas Lawyer To Evaluate Your Wrongful Death Claim

The above statute and cases show that wrongful death issues can be complex. You don't necessarily have to learn all of these concepts immediately because a competent Las Vegas Lawyer can simplify the legal points and help you to comply with any filing deadlines which might affect your right to recovery. Whenever you are ready to discuss your right to a claim for wrongful death claim, contact a Las Vegas Lawyer for a free case evaluation. You can discuss wrongful death or any other personal injury matter, in a free consultation with David Matheny, Esq. of the law firm of Dempsey, Roberts & Smith, Ltd. Our office is located in Las Vegas, Nevada and we provide legal representation for wrongful death and other personal injury claims throughout Nevada.

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