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Columbia Personal Injury Attorney > Blog > General > Picking Up the Pieces After a Wrongful Death

Picking Up the Pieces After a Wrongful Death

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Life expectancy in the United States dropped 1.8 years in 2020, the largest single decrease since 1923, when the Spanish Flu pandemic raged across the country. Usually, no one is to blame for the start of epidemics like the Spanish Flu and coronavirus. However, property owners could be at least partially responsible for the spread of such diseases. Some owners don’t follow all government health and safety requirements.

Only a Columbia wrongful death lawyer holds property owners, careless drivers, and other negligent actors (tortfeasors) responsible for the damages they cause. But especially amidst the emotional turmoil of a wrongful death, many people don’t know where to start. This decision is an important one, and not just because of responsibility. Wrongful death survivors are also entitled to the financial compensation they need to move on with their lives.

How to Find the Right Personal Injury Lawyer

The emotional aspects of a wrongful death claim turn a complex case into a convoluted case. It’s like someone put a line of hieroglyphics out of order, making the letters even harder to translate. Quite frankly, most lawyers, even attorneys who’ve been around awhile, are not up to the task. So, as you look for a lawyer focus on:

  • Experience: Many Columbia personal injury lawyers tout their years of experience, an important statistic that could be misleading. The real issue is what a lawyer has done during those years. Has the attorney successfully resolved wrongful death cases at trial, or has the lawyer always looked for a quick settlement and an easy way out?
  • Dedication: Experienced dabblers are not much better. Many attorneys spend many years handling a few wrongful death cases, mostly for friends and family. Additionally, these lawyers often cherry-pick the best possible cases. They aren’t prepared to fight, and they certainly aren’t prepared to fight for you.
  • Accessibility: This often-overlooked quality may be the most important one. Attorneys should be physically accessible. Wrongful death survivors are already dealing with a lot. They don’t need to drive across town to see their attorneys. Furthermore, attorneys must be professionally accessible. When clients have concerns, their lawyers should personally address those concerns.

All these qualities enable a Columbia personal injury lawyer to develop a clear vision for the case. If the attorney doesn’t quickly have such a vision, keep looking.

Your Legal Options

Vision is doubly important in wrongful death cases, because as mentioned, these cases are not just complex. They’re convoluted. To simplify the process, and to speed compensation and justice to survivors who sorely need both, most attorneys focus on:

  • Ordinary Negligence: Usually, ordinary negligence is a lack of ordinary care. This legal theory, which usually applies in most swimming pool drowning and other premises liability cases, is based on the story of the Good Samaritan. Just like this man went out of his way to help an injured traveler, property owners must go out of their way to prevent accidents.
  • Negligence Per Se: This legal shortcut often applies in car crash claims. Driver error, like running a stop sign, speeding, or driving while intoxicated, causes over 98 percent of the car crashes in South Carolina. If the tortfeasor violated a safety law, and that violation substantially caused injury, the tortfeasor could be liable for damages as a matter of law.

In wrongful death claims, these damages normally include compensation for pecuniary losses, such as the decedent’s final medical bills as well as the decedent’s pain and suffering. Survivors might be entitled to compensation for their own grief and suffering under another legal theory, like negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Reach Out to a Hard-Hitting Richland County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Columbia, contact the Marc Brown Law Firm. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.

Source:

cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm

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Car Accidents

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Trucking Accidents

Attorney Marc Brown is a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer. We can help you when you need it most.

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Wrongful Death

Experiencing the death of a loved one is a difficult and emotional time. It can also be financially devastating. Let us help!

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Slip & Fall

Marc Brown is an experienced slip and fall attorney that serves the entire states of South Carolina and Georgia.

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If you need legal help with a dog bite injury, reach out to a South Carolina dog bite lawyer at the Marc Brown Law Firm.

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In cases of shootings and other crimes, victims can seek financial compensation by filing a civil claim for damages.

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Marc Brown

Marc Brown Law Firm

Meet Attorney Marc Brown

Marc Brown is an experienced personal injury and civil rights attorney serving clients throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Marc is motivated by the challenge of helping his clients solve their complex legal issues, and most importantly, he obtains favorable results. He is a caring and conscientious attorney who brings the experience and resources of a larger firm to his smaller, more personalized practices in Sumter and Columbia, SC.

A Personable & Dedicated South Carolina Attorney

As someone who has always had a keen sense of right and wrong and a desire to achieve excellence and fairness in all things, pursuing law was a natural career choice. After graduating with honors from the prestigious Emory University School of Law, Marc went on to become a dedicated litigator who focuses on personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense cases.

Why Choose Us?

Choosing an attorney is a very important decision, but it can be difficult. When you choose the Marc Brown Law Firm, we do everything we can to keep you informed, put your needs first, and to make sure justice is served. Here are just a few reasons to choose us:

The Right Experience

Attorney Marc Brown has experience that matters. Prior to opening this law firm, Marc spent nearly a half a decade defending big insurance companies and large corporations in personal injury and commercial litigation matters across the United States. Marc knows exactly how insurance companies and corporations evaluate claims and what they look at when deciding to increase the amount they are willing to pay. He thinks outside the box to find additional or hidden opportunities for favorable results.

We’ll Come To You

After being injured in a serious accident, you need to focus on getting better. Serious accidents can be hard on an individual, physically and emotionally. The Marc Brown Law Firm is dedicated to fight for you while you recover. If you are unable to travel to our office for any reason, we will personally visit you! Just give us a call to talk whenever you may be in need of assistance. We’re here to help.

Clients First

At the Marc Brown Law Firm, we choose to put our clients first. Our clients are more than just a case number. We think of each of our clients as extended members of the family. We make sure to inform our clients of all their legal options and provide timely updates throughout the life their case.

24/7 Availability

We are available around the clock for our clients. If at any point we are unavailable, we promise to promptly respond to all messages within hours.

Dedicated

We work hard so that our clients receive the justice they deserve! When necessary, Attorney Marc Brown retains investigators, engineers, and other experts to help prove your case. Insurance companies are big, but Marc is experienced and resourceful. We fight for each of our clients so that you can receive the maximum compensation available to you.

No Fees Unless We Win

We work on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no upfront cost to clients. You only pay lawyer fees when we win your case. This also means that your attorney is only paid a percentage of what is recovered for you. The Marc Brown Law Firm has a vested interest in ensuring that each of our clients receive the maximum recovery available to them. We are determined to fight tirelessly to recover for you.

Marc Brown and The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 award