Wrongful Death

When someone loses their life due to the negligence of another person, this is the definition of wrongful death. The death may be caused by the actions of an individual or by that person’s failure to act (negligence). These types of accidents leave children without a parent, husbands or wives without their spouse, and cause severe and long term grief and devastation to families. The White Plains Law Office of Mark A. Siesel recognizes the tremendous impact of the death of a loved one. We will immediately investigate the causes of the accident, obtain statements from all witnesses, gather the necessary evidence, and retain the necessary accident reconstruction and financial experts to expeditiously and professionally handle your case, and to minimize any additional burden on you during this difficult time.

Our firm represents clients whose family members have lost their lives due to:

• Automobile accidents;
• Truck accidents;
• Construction and work related accidents;
• Pedestrian accidents;
• Medical malpractice;
• Premises liability; and
• Motorcycle crashes.

It is vital that you contact a lawyer as soon as reasonably possible, as the statute of limitation in wrongful death cases, meaning the time with which you have to sue the culpable parties, is shorter than in personal injury cases. The time constraints are even more critical in cases involving municipalities, such as cities, towns or villages, in which a notice of claim must be filed within 90 days of the date of the accident.

Wrongful death is a civil action rather than a criminal action. A member of the deceased’s family or a representative of the estate must file suit to collect damages for the deceased family member. The intent of the wrongful death law is to compensate family members who have suffered both monetarily and emotionally as a result of the death. Loss of companionship, lost wages and benefits, loss of parental guidance and emotional pain and suffering caused by the trauma are all elements of potential damages.

Equally important but less obvious is the loss of future earnings and benefits. These damages can be particularly significant if the deceased was the primary wage earner in the family. Because these damages are difficult to calculate, we will hire the necessary financial expert and economist to maximize compensation for your family, The economist perform careful calculations to anticipate the lifespan and earnings of your family member had he or she survived .

Loss of companionship is very difficult to calculate, and although it does not lend itself to empirical measurements, we will seek to recover this element of damage for your family’s emotional pain and suffering.

A final area of damages is called punitive damages. This would be the amount awarded to punish the person who caused the death, rather than to specifically compensate for any loss. Only when the actions of the defendant are intentional or grossly negligent are punitive damages awarded.

The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel treats all of our clients like family. You will always receive personal attention to your case, and we are dedicated to making certain that the negligent parties and their insurance companies are held accountable for the devastation that they have caused your family.

If you have any questions or would like additional information about what our firm offers you, please contact our New York wrongful death firm online, or at (914) 428-7386.