Trusted Las Vegas Wrongful Death Attorneys
If your loved one was killed by someone else’s negligence, you may need the assistance of a wrongful death lawyer from Las Vegas, NV, at The Law Office of Eglet Adams. Our compassionate and experienced team is here to help. Many Nevada families have relied on us over the years to help them as they grieve the loss of their loved ones and try to get the compensation they deserve.
In the United States, approximately 37 million people are unintentionally injured each year. Several thousand of these people will lose their lives. When someone else’s negligence, wrongdoing, or carelessness is a factor, the family of the deceased may have the right to recover damages through a wrongful death claim.
Losing a loved one to the negligent actions of another person is devastating. Often, feelings of confusion and lack of confidence can cloud a grieving family member’s judgment, making them prone to hasty decisions. This can lead to a failure to take legal action, or accepting a quick offer from the insurance company–both of which can result in lost compensation.
Although it might feel difficult to pursue any legal action after losing a loved one, it is recommended that you start the process as soon as possible. If you lost a loved one and believe negligence was a factor, please call The Law Office of Eglet Adams. We offer you our utmost condolences and want you to know that we are standing by to support you.
Right now you may be struggling with not only the emotional toll of your loss but also the financial burden that comes with it, such as estate matters, unpaid bills, lost wages, hospital costs, funeral costs, and more. A wrongful death lawyer can help you with many of these issues.
Many people are unsure of why a person or family would want to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If their loved one has died because someone acted negligently, but did not intentionally try to harm them, what can the family aim to get? No matter the circumstances, the loss of a loved one can leave a void in your life, sometimes this comes in the form of income they brought in and the love and companionship they provided. These are some of the claims you can make when you file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases
There are a variety of accidents and situations that could lead to wrongful death. Here are some of the most common types of wrongful death cases:
- Car Accidents: Car collisions account for a large percentage of wrongful death cases. The faster a car is going, the higher the likelihood that an accident will result in fatalities. Most vehicle accidents that result in fatalities are due to driver negligence. If a driver is speeding, driving drunk or fatigued, or acting in another negligent way and causes a fatal accident, he or she may be held liable.
- Work Accidents: When people go to work, they usually do not expect to get injured, or worse—killed. Unfortunately, fatal work accidents do occur. These types of accidents are more common in factories and construction sites where heavy machinery is used. For example, if a worker gets entangled in a machine or falls from a ladder, it can have deadly consequences.
- Truck Accidents: Accidents involving commercial trucks can be deadly. These trucks are much larger and heavier than standard vehicles, so they can cause serious damage to anything they hit. Truck accident victims can endure traumatic brain injuries, severe burns, and other fatal injuries. The most common causes of truck accidents include driver fatigue, speeding, driver distraction, and driving with an oversized load.
- Defective Products: Product manufacturers are responsible for making sure their products are safe for the public to use. Unfortunately, sometimes products are defective and can injure or kill consumers. Several types of products can be deadly if they are defective, such as pharmaceutical products, cars, and children’s products.
- Medical Malpractice: When you go to a hospital or doctor’s office, you expect to receive proper care and treatment. However, it does not always work out that way. Although most doctors are skilled and competent, mistakes can still happen. Common types of medical malpractice that can cause death include surgical errors, misdiagnoses, medication errors, and anesthesia errors.
- Bike and Motorcycle Accidents: Bicyclists and motorcycle riders are more likely to be killed in accidents because they don’t have the protection that other motorists do. Sadly, many bicyclists and motorcyclists have been killed by negligent drivers.
- Slip and Fall Accidents: Property owners are responsible for making sure their premises are free from hazards. Otherwise, people walking by can slip and fall and suffer fatal injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries. For example, if staff at a grocery store neglect to clean up a spill in an aisle, and a customer slipped, hit their head while falling, and died from the injury, the store’s owner could be held liable for the death.
Tips to Help You Choose the Right Lawyer
It is important to choose a wrongful death lawyer who has experience handling these particular cases. Some steps to follow that will help you choose the right lawyer, include:
Research the Firm’s Reputation
To find a leading wrongful death lawyer in Las Vegas, Nevada, you should review the reputation of the firm and/or lawyer. Asking for recommendations from people you know is not a bad start; however, you should also search online for reviews. What you find will likely point you in the right direction.
Schedule a Consultation
Once you have found a firm that appears to meet your needs, schedule a consultation or case review. You might even decide to pick two or three firms that stand out. Use this opportunity to get a feel for the firm and lawyer, their experience, legal style, and so forth. You can ask questions or address any specific concerns that you have.
Ask About Their Fees
Most wrongful death lawyers handle these cases on a contingency basis. This means you won’t have any upfront charges. That being said, some firms will ask for an initial retaining fee. You should consider this before you sign any contract. Filing a wrongful death claim won’t bring back your loved one but it may help you recover compensation that can be used to cover bills, expenses, your children’s college fund, and more. For many people, these claims provide a sense of closure. If you would like to learn more about the process and whether or not you should take legal action, please call The Law Office of Eglet Adams.
How Do I Prepare for a Consultation?
Preparing for a legal consultation in the wake of profound loss can feel impossible. Too often, the families of those who have lost their lives due to another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional behavior are so overwhelmed that they avoid speaking with an attorney for weeks, months, or even years. While this response to tragedy is completely understandable, it’s important to schedule your consultation with the experienced Las Vegas, Nevada legal team at Eglet Adams as soon as you possibly can.
There are two primary reasons why you need to act quickly. First, the law gives families of wrongful death victims a limited amount of time to file a legal claim. If you wait too long, you may be barred from seeking compensation. Second, the strength of your case may be dependent on evidence that could potentially become compromised over time. Acting quickly better ensures that your case remains as strong as possible.
When preparing for your consultation, gather any documents that you think might help us understand the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s passing. If a police report, accident report, work injury report, or any other kind of official or unofficial report was filed after your loved one’s accident or onset of symptoms, please bring a copy of that report with you to your consultation.
Additionally, if you have access to any medical records relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of your loved one’s injuries, please bring these as well. If your loved one died in an accident and there were witnesses, please bring their names and contact information. Finally, any photos, videos, or other relevant documentation that you think might help us assess your case should be brought along to the consultation as well.
Please note that if you have questions about your legal options, seeking compensation, or our approach to representation, you should absolutely write those questions down and bring them with you to our initial meeting. We want to make sure that you leave our office feeling empowered to make an informed decision about your legal situation. It can be very helpful to write your questions down ahead of time instead of relying on your memory during a consultation. That way, you can be assured that we will address every one of your concerns.
What if I’m Unsure of Whether I Have Grounds for Legal Action?
You don’t need to have all the answers when you walk into our office. Understanding the ins and outs of the law is our job. Once we learn about your loved one’s situation, we’ll advise you of your options accordingly. With that said, to pursue legal action, your loved one generally must have passed away as a result of injuries caused by someone else. That “someone” could be an individual, a corporation, a municipality, a small business owner, etc.
If we can establish that the party that caused your loved one harm owed them a duty of care, breached that duty, and your loved one was killed as a direct result of that breach, you may have grounds for a strong case.
Fatal Bike Accidents
When sharing Las Vegas, NV, roads with taxicabs, cars, buses, trains, commercial trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles, everyone who is operating one of these vehicles is responsible for driving carefully and ensuring the safety of others. The duty of care that each operator owes to others depends largely on the type of vehicle, whether the vehicle is privately or publicly owned, and the type and extent of damage that vehicle can cause.
Fatal Bicyclist Accident Statistics
In 2018, approximately 47,000 cyclists were injured in crashes involving vehicles and 871 cyclists died in fatal bike accidents, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The NHTSA reported that 79 percent of fatal bike accidents occurred in urban areas. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of fatal bike accidents in urban areas increased by 49 percent, while rural fatalities only increased by less than five percent.
Men make up the vast majority of fatal bike accident victims—86 percent—and NHTSA data shows that older cyclists are at a higher risk of death if they are involved in a crash. In 2018, the average age of cyclists injured in crashes was 35, while the average age of fatally injured cyclists was 47.
According to the NHTSA, 37 percent of fatal bike accidents in 2018 involved alcohol consumption by either a bicyclist, a driver, or both. In 20 percent of fatal bike accidents from that year, it was reported that the deceased cyclist had a blood–alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher.
How to Cover Costs After a Fatal Bicycle Accident
Getting hit by a car while riding a bike can result in serious or fatal injuries because cyclists don’t have the same protection occupants have when inside a car, van, or truck. If you’ve lost a loved one in a biking accident, where do you turn for compensation?
The Driver’s Auto Insurance Coverage
If the driver who hit your loved one is properly insured, you can seek compensation from his or her auto insurance coverage. It’s possible the driver may not have enough insurance to cover costs, and in that case, you might choose to sue the driver instead. Either way, you can often find the compensation you deserve by looking in the direction of the driver who caused your loved one’s death.
Your Loved One’s Auto Insurance Policy
It’s possible your loved one’s auto insurance coverage could provide compensation if your loved one was hit and killed while riding a bike. If your loved one had uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and the other driver involved has little or no coverage, you could file a claim with your loved one’s insurance company. Your loved one’s uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can also provide compensation if their accident was a hit-and-run.
Your Loved One’s Personal Health Insurance
Personal health insurance is a common way to pay for the expenses associated with auto/bicycle accidents. Keep in mind that personal health insurance is only going to help pay for injuries sustained in a biking accident. You would have to find another way to get compensation for other damages. If you are filing a lawsuit against the driver responsible for your loved one’s death, their personal health insurance company might place a lien on your settlement for reimbursement if you win your case.
Your Loved One’s Bicycle Insurance Coverage
A great number of people hit while riding a bike don’t have bicycle insurance, though it is an option. If you or someone you love are an avid biker, or if biking is your sole means of transportation, it’s possible you or they have already purchased specific bicycle insurance. Contact your insurer so you understand the type of coverage available.
Your Loved One’s Homeowner’s Insurance Policy
Not all homeowner’s insurance policies cover bicycle collisions, but some do. You typically wouldn’t have any medical costs paid for through your loved one’s homeowner’s insurance, but there’s a chance you could get compensation for property damage if your loved one included their bicycle in their home insurance policy. The insurer can help you understand what benefits are available.
Bicycle accidents take the lives of many innocent people every year. If your loved one was killed in a bike accident or another fatal incident, and you suspect another party was at fault, call our law firm now.
Rules of the Road to Stay Safe
Bicyclists should always be aware and heed the rules of the road to reduce their risk of a bike accident. Some of these rules include:
- Bikes are restricted from using sidewalks in many municipalities, although it is not a state law in Nevada.
- Some Nevada highways are open to bikes and others are not. Highways that are off-limits to cyclists will have signs warning bikers to exit.
- At least one hand must be on the handlebars at all times, even when the bicyclist is carrying a package
- Bicyclists must use hand signals when they can turn left or right
These traffic rules and regulations were created primarily to protect bicyclists as they are in a more precarious situation but bicyclists owe a duty of care to anyone with whom they share the road, including pedestrians, motor vehicles, buses, or other vehicles.
If you have lost a loved one in a fatal bike accident or another negligent incident, contact The Law Office of Eglet Adams to speak with a Las Vegas, NV, wrongful death lawyer who can help you evaluate your options for legal recourse.
