New potential clients will come in with horribly sad wrongful death stories. They will explain the tragedy of Sons and daughters that have been killed on Minnesotan roads. They are there to follow some advice we give in our advertising: "Don't ever sign anything without talking to a lawyer."
The client or parents who have lost children in a wrongful death case are often very angry. It is very understandable. Their lives were changed forever by criminal acts of the defendant. A person was speeding, drunk, on drugs, and/or driving when they shouldn’t have been on the road. There are other cases where the defendant was texting or talking on the cellphone. Often the anger is a cover for a deep hurt.
They are looking for some sort of Justice. They want some sort of balance or restoration to their life, help with making sure the prosecutor understands what their loss is; help with the paperwork dealing with restitution or victim impact statements. I think back to a defendant's two week criminal trial that I sat through and one of the questions the jury asked the judge was if I was there to help the family who had lost their son. The judge confirmed it and indicated that even though there was a criminal acquittal, the jury was heartened by the thought that the family would still have some way to protect themselves in a civil wrongful death lawsuit.
Sometimes they will have been offered money already by the insurance companies and told it is the policy limits. They usually have no interest in pushing the defendant into financial distress or bankruptcy, despite his negligence and her grief. So there are those that will accept the Insurance companies word and settle the wrongful death case.
If we get hired in a wrongful death case? We will investigate the crash in some detail. It is not unusual that we find more coverage. Even after, the insurance companies insisted there was no more coverage. There is often the "underinsured motorist" (UIM) coverage which they are often not told about. Many serious injury and wrongful death cases require such a detailed search.
Every wrongful death case is different. But it is wise to talk to a lawyer before signing anything!
