WRONGFUL DEATH ATTORNEY IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

If you recently lost someone you love, let me start by saying how sorry I am for your loss. Although nothing can make your tragedy alright, it’s important that you take certain steps in order to protect yourself and your family from further financial and emotional stress.

If your loved one’s death was caused by another person’s careless or reckless behavior, you should explore the possibility of filing a wrongful death lawsuit. In doing so, you are not only opening the door to financial compensation for your loss — you are also standing up to the person who is responsible and saying “what you’ve done is not alright.”

WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS HELP YOU COVER COSTS

Whether you are the spouse, child, or parent of the person who passed away, it is likely up to you to handle the expenses of your loss. In recognition of your financial and personal grief, Illinois gives wrongful death families the chance to fight for compensation for any and all of the following:

• Medical bills leading up to your loved one’s death

• Funeral and burial expenses

• Reimbursement for the future wages your loved one could have earned

• Emotional and psychological suffering for you and your family

• Loss of companionship and/or loss of care from your loved one

Money may not feel like a top priority after a loss, but wouldn’t you rather the responsible party pay for these expenses instead of your family?

WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS HONOR YOUR LOVED ONE’S MEMORY

For many of my clients, filing a wrongful death lawsuit is about much more than getting a payment. It’s about taking the opportunity to hold the right people accountable. For instance, if a semi-truck driver falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into your friend’s car, is it not your instinct to find out exactly why he fell asleep and to do everything you can to make sure it never happens again?

Filing a wrongful death claim does exactly that. It’s a way of legally declaring that the mistake that was made is not okay and that you are not going to let the responsible party get away with it.

WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS PROTECT OTHERS

Your instinct right now might be to put this incident behind you as quickly as possible. However, if you don’t speak up for your loss now, you could be losing an opportunity to protect others from going through the same thing.

Consider the semi-truck example. Let’s say that you decide to file a wrongful death claim against the semi-truck driver who crashed into your friend. After some digging, it is discovered that the driver was so worried about meeting his deadline that he drove without getting enough sleep. Upon further investigation, it is discovered that the company he works for constantly sets unreasonable deadlines, which has resulted in similar accidents throughout the state. The court then orders that the trucking company change its deadline policies and enforce safer driving guidelines. Suddenly, your decision to speak up for your loved one has potentially saved families across the entire state.