Eugene Wrongful Death Lawyers

A wrongful death lawyer represents families who have lost a loved one due to someone else’s preventable negligence or other misconduct. Their job is to help surviving family members pursue fair compensation.

Wrongful death lawyers handle all aspects of the case, including investigating the cause of death, gathering evidence, identifying responsible parties, filing legal documents, and negotiating with insurance companies. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, they may take the case to trial.

These attorneys also help clients understand their rights under Oregon law and guide them through the legal process during a highly emotional and difficult time. Their goal is to secure financial compensation for all of the losses allowed by Oregon law, such as loss of society, loss of companionship, loss of services, and loss of financial support and assistance.

Wrongful death cases typically start with an incident where a person dies due to someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions. These cases can arise in many different situations.

Some of the most frequent causes include motor vehicle collisions, such as car, truck, or motorcycle crashes, especially those involving impaired or distracted drivers.

Some attorneys handle cases where hospital system failures or other medical negligence was the preventable cause of an unnecessary death. Workplace accidents, especially where someone other than the deceased person’s employer or co-employee was at fault, can also lead to wrongful death claims. Other causes include defective products, nursing home neglect and abuse, dangerous property conditions, and criminal acts like assault or homicide.

Each case generally depends on proving that the death could have been prevented if the responsible party had followed applicable safety rules and acted with reasonable care.

To file a wrongful death claim in Eugene, Oregon, you must start by having the legal authority to do so. Typically that requires that the Court appoint a qualified personal representative for the deceased person’s estate. There is a defined process for becoming a personal representative, with certain people having statutory preferences, and some people being disqualified from serving in this capacity. An attorney who specializes in probate matters most typically takes care of that process.

The person who is appointed as the personal representative acts as a fiduciary for the beneficiaries of the wrongful death claim (generally, the closer family members). That person typically must take a course about those responsibilities, and is given “letters testamentary” to show their authority to prosecute the wrongful death claim (and deal with other related estate matters).

Once a personal representative is in place, the process involves gathering and evaluating evidence about what happened and the losses and harms caused by the wrongful death. Often, an informal wrongful death claim is provided to the insurance company or attorneys for the party or parties responsible for the death. Sometimes the personal representative needs to file the wrongful death claim in court.

If you have a legitimate wrongful death claim, a local attorney familiar with Lane County courts and Oregon law can help you build a stronger case, deal with defendants and insurance companies, and ensure that deadlines and procedural requirements are met.

Most Eugene wrongful death claims must be filed within three years from the date of the person’s death. For wrongful death claims against public bodies, the claim must be filed within two years. Some death claims also have early notice requirements, which can be considerably shorter. Those include claims against government agencies, alcohol providers, and pesticide applicators. There are other applicable rules.

Because of the strict timelines and potential legal complexities involved, most people work with a wrongful death attorney to try to avoid having their case barred by a statute of limitations or similar law.

With rare exceptions, only one wrongful death lawsuit can be filed for any one death, but multiple family members may be eligible to receive compensation from the claim. The lawsuit itself must almost be filed by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, not by individual family members.

Oregon law generally provides that the deceased person’s spouse, children, parents, stepchildren, and stepparents (with some exceptions) are beneficiaries. These are the people for whom the wrongful death claim is prosecuted. If there is a successful resolution of the case, beneficiaries are entitled to be compensated for their losses, in part based on the specific loss each beneficiary has suffered.

Just as court approval is required for one person to be appointed as personal representative to prosecute a wrongful death claim, court approval is required for the personal representative to settle a wrongful death claim. Further, once there is a recovery, there is a judicial process to make sure that all beneficiaries agree to the distribution of the funds, or that they have an opportunity to be heard before the judge makes a decision about distribution. The personal representative is not allowed to disburse any funds without a court order authorizing disbursements.

In a wrongful death case, several types of damages can be recovered to compensate the surviving family.
One category of damages is the amount of reasonable charges necessarily incurred for doctors’ services, hospital services, nursing services, other medical services, burial services and memorial services for the person who died.

As second category is the amount that would justly, fairly, and reasonably have compensated the person who died for the disability, pain, suffering, and loss of income during the period between their injury and their decedent’s death.

A third category is the amount to compensate for what is called “pecuniary loss” to the decedent’s estate. This is basically the amount that the person’s estate would have grown if they had not been prematurely killed.

A fourth category of damages is the amount that would justly, fairly, and reasonably compensate the person’s surviving spouse, children, stepchildren, stepparents, and parents for “pecuniary loss” and for loss of the society, companionship and services of the person who was killed. Here, “pecuniary loss” refers to things such as amounts a parent might have spent to help their child go to college or buy a house; amounts a beneficiary would likely have received if there had not been a wrongful death.

In rare cases there can be punitive damages in a wrongful death case. One of the classic punitive damages cases is where the person was killed by a drunk driver, but there are other situations that call for extra damages to punish the wrongful party.

It is important to recognize that Oregon does not allow damages for the grief, sorrow, and heartache of the surviving family members.

Each case is unique, and the fair amount of compensation depends on the circumstances of the death, the relationship of the survivors to the deceased, Oregon’s wrongful death laws, and other factors.

To prove wrongful death in court, the plaintiff must show that the death was caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional act, or that the death was caused by a dangerously defective product. This is similar to proving a personal injury case, but the injured person is no longer alive to bring the claim, so the personal representative of their estate does so.

Most wrongful death cases are based on negligence. Traditionally, there were four main elements that had to be established in a negligence case, but those elements have been modified in Oregon. The traditional elements were duty of care (the defendant had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward the now-deceased person); breach of duty (the defendant failed to meet that obligation through negligent acts or omissions); causation (the defendant’s acts or omissions caused the death); and damages (the premature and unnecessary death resulted in certain losses to the estate and surviving family beneficiaries).

In an Oregon negligence case, the primary focus is whether the defendant failed to use reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm to others. Foreseeable care may involve rules, statutes, policies, and practices. If the defendant failed to do so, the defendant is generally liable for the legally recognized harms and losses (damages) that they caused.

Evidence used in wrongful death cases depends on the needs of each case, and may include witness testimony about what happened, witness testimony about the losses suffered by the deceased person and their family member beneficiaries, physical evidence, photographs, electronic data, expert liability testimony, expert medical testimony, expert economic testimony, demonstrative exhibits, and much more.

There is no legal requirement to hire an attorney for a wrongful death claim in Eugene, Oregon. However, having an experienced attorney is highly recommended. Wrongful death cases are often complex, emotionally difficult, and involve sometimes complex legal procedures and strict deadlines.

A wrongful death lawyer can help you understand rights, gather critical evidence, identify responsible parties and potential sources of compensation, and file the necessary legal documents. They also negotiate with insurance companies and opposing attorneys to pursue a fair settlement, or represent you in court if the case goes to trial.

An attorney familiar with Oregon’s wrongful death laws and the local court system and with juries in Lane County can significantly increase your chances of a successful outcome with a local case. They also handle the legal burden so you and your family can focus on healing and going forward.

An attorney who is experienced in wrongful death cases can help the personal representative negotiate the challenges involved. Those challenges include the emotional burden of a death (often including irrational but powerful guilt on top of grief), legal procedural complexities, and forensic matters. For example, some jurors may have personal, religious, or philosophical reservations about wrongful death claims. In the back of their minds, they remind themselves that money will not bring the deceased person back. Some even go so far as to think of a recovery for the family as “blood money,” and actively oppose wrongful death claims, particularly when there are no surviving minor children beneficiaries.

Most wrongful death lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay any attorney fee until the attorney has recovered money for the beneficiaries. Instead, the attorney’s fee is a percentage of the recovery, at the end of a successful case. In Oregon, the amount of the attorney fee in a wrongful death case is reviewed and must be approved by the Probate Court.

If a contingent fee attorney doesn’t recover compensation in the wrongful death case, you generally don’t owe them anything for their legal services. Some attorneys may also advance case-related expenses (such as court filing fees, expert witnesses, and investigations) so the family does not have to cover those expenses up front. At the end of the case, the attorney is reimbursed for those expenses, which is separate from the fee they have earned.

Contingent fees allow families to pursue justice without the added financial stress of paying hourly legal fees. Always make sure to discuss the fee agreement with any attorney before signing any retainer agreement or other contract.

To choose the best wrongful death lawyer in Eugene, OR, look for someone with specific experience handling local wrongful death cases. Not all personal injury attorneys have extensive experience with wrongful death legal matters, so it’s important to find one who regularly works with grieving families and understands the emotional and legal complexities involved.

Start by checking the attorney’s track record, and ask about past results in similar cases. Look for attorneys with strong client reviews, professional recognition, and a local presence in Eugene-Springfield. A local attorney will be familiar with the local court practices, judges, and customs, and juries, which can benefit your case.

Schedule a consultation to discuss your situation. If the attorney is interested in handling the wrongful death case, they will generally schedule a no-cost, no-obligation initial interview. A good wrongful death lawyer should be compassionate, knowledgeable, experienced, clear in communication, and be willing to explain your options without pressure. Make sure you feel comfortable and supported, and confirm that they work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless they win the case.

This is a somewhat technical distinction, because both a wrongful death claim and a survival claim is pursued after the injured person died. Survival actions cover two situations: If an injured person dies after they have filed a lawsuit but before their case is concluded, their personal representative can continue the case against the defendant.

If an injured person dies before they file a lawsuit, their personal representative can file a survival action against the wrongdoer. In either case, the personal representative is authorized to seek damages for physical pain, disability, mental suffering, loss of income, and the injured person’s emotional distress for the period between the injury and the death. Those damages are distributed by Court order in accordance with the rules of intestate succession (the rules that apply to a person’s assets when they die without having a will).

A wrongful death claim is brought, almost always by a personal representative, for the benefit of certain family beneficiaries, and may seek the kinds of damages outlined in FAQ #6, “What damages can be recovered in a wrongful death case.” Damages in wrongful death cases cover more kinds of losses than are permitted in survival action cases. The distribution of a wrongful death recovery is mostly based on the relative losses of each beneficiary, and not the rules of intestate succession.

There are other technical distinctions between survival actions and wrongful death actions. For example, the prevailing party in a survival action may recover reasonable attorney fees, unless the injuries resulted in death. If the injuries did not result in death, there may be a separate survival action. If the injuries resulted in wrongful death, the survival action is sort of taken over by the wrongful death action; there is no double recovery for the same losses.

Sometimes, there can be a dispute over whether the injuries in a survival action caused the death, and the personal representative may choose to bring both a survival action and a wrongful death action (but again, without any double recovery). Because damages in a survival action are probate assets, they may be subject to the claims of creditors.

In contrast, non-medical creditors of an estate generally do not have a claim against a wrongful death recovery, which is intended to help the beneficiaries (not the creditors of the deceased person).

The difference between wrongful death and homicide charges is that a wrongful death case is a civil claim generally brought by a personal representative for the benefit of the deceased person’s family beneficiaries, while homicide charges are made in a criminal case, usually filed by a District Attorney, for the benefit of the people of the state.

A wrongful death lawsuit seeks financial compensation for the surviving family beneficiaries to someone’s negligent, reckless, or intentional actions that caused the death. A wrongful death case is brought by and prosecuted by a personal representative, who must have court authority to settle the case. Proving a wrongful death lawsuit is usually by a “preponderance of the evidence standard,” although sometimes a higher “clear and convincing evidence” standard applies. A successful wrongful death civil case does not involve jail time or criminal penalties for the wrongdoer. The goal is to hold the responsible party financially accountable, help the surviving family beneficiaries, and to discourage similar future wrongdoing.

Homicide charges, on the other hand, are part of the criminal justice system. Proving criminal charges is done by a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard, the highest level of proof used in legal cases. If a person is found guilty of murder or murder, they may face jail or prison time, fines, and other punishment. The victim’s family does not file the criminal charges; that is entirely up to the discretion of the public prosecutor. The victim’s family has no official role in settling or compromising a criminal case. Resolution of a criminal case may sometimes involve a judgment of restitution, but is not primarily concerned with providing financial help for surviving family members.

Importantly, the two cases are largely independent of each other. By custom, civil lawyers generally try not to interfere with criminal prosecutions, which have precedence in the courts. A judgment of conviction in a criminal case can sometimes be binding in a later civil case, depending on the charges. On the other hand, because there are different standards of proof, the fact that there was not a homicide criminal conviction is not a defense in a civil wrongful death case. Even if someone is not convicted of homicide in a criminal case, they can still be found civilly liable for wrongful death.