Wrongful Death Lawsuit Lawsuit

Car accidents are the most common cause of wrongful death claims in the U.S. Surviving families can recover lost income, funeral expenses, grief damages, and — in DUI cases — punitive damages. Texas, Florida, and Illinois impose no caps on these recoveries.

Damages caps are a critical variable in wrongful death cases. Texas, Florida (post-2017), Illinois, Georgia, New York, and Missouri impose no cap on wrongful death damages. California, and some other states cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice wrongful death cases. Economic damages are uncapped everywhere.

Loss of consortium compensates the surviving spouse for the loss of the deceased's companionship, affection, intimacy, and daily partnership. Some states extend consortium-type damages to minor children. It is a non-economic damage and subject to caps in medical malpractice cases in California, Florida, and other states.

Medical malpractice wrongful death cases carry the highest potential values but also the most legal complexity — requiring expert physician testimony. State damages caps apply in medical malpractice cases in California, Florida, and some other states. Texas and Illinois impose no cap.

Nursing home wrongful death cases involve preventable deaths from pressure ulcers, medication errors, falls, and dehydration. These cases often include both a wrongful death claim for the family and a survival action for the resident's pre-death suffering. Georgia and Illinois are among the highest-value jurisdictions.

Punitive damages punish egregious conduct — drunk driving, knowing safety violations, nursing home abuse — in wrongful death cases. They are typically pursued through a companion survival action in most states. Texas, Illinois, and Georgia impose no cap on punitive damages.

Wrongful death settlements average $1M–$3M for working-age adults with dependents in uncapped states, but can range from under $200K in capped jurisdictions to $640M in egregious cases. The single most important variable is whether your state caps non-economic damages.

Tennessee has the shortest wrongful death statute of limitations at 1 year. Most states allow 2 years. New York and a few others allow 3 years. The clock typically starts on the date of death — not the date you retained an attorney or discovered the negligence. Act immediately.

A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving family for their losses. A survival action compensates the estate for what the deceased suffered before dying — including pre-death pain, suffering, and lost wages. Both are typically filed together and serve different but complementary legal purposes.

In all U.S. states, surviving spouse and children have standing to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In most states, parents of the deceased can also file. Fewer states extend standing to siblings or other relatives. State law controls who qualifies and how settlement proceeds are distributed.

Workers' compensation bars most suits against direct employers after a workplace death — but third-party negligence claims against contractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners remain available. When employer gross negligence is proven, some states allow direct suit and punitive damages.

Wrongful death damages fall into three categories: economic (lost earnings, medical bills, funeral costs), non-economic (grief, loss of companionship, loss of consortium), and punitive (egregious conduct). State caps most commonly apply to non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases.

Truck / 18-Wheeler Accident

Truck accident claims are far more complex than standard car accident cases. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes strict regulations on commercial carriers — hours-of-service limits, mandatory drug testing, electronic logging device (ELD) requirements, and vehicle inspection protocols — and violations of these rules are powerful evidence of negligence. Trucking companies carry commercial liability insurance of $750,000 to $5 million depending on cargo type, making higher recoveries possible. Multiple parties may be liable: the truck driver, the motor carrier, the cargo loader, the freight broker, and vehicle or parts manufacturers. Black box data (EDR), ELD records, GPS tracking, and driver qualification files are critical evidence that must be preserved immediately after the crash. Victims who act quickly to retain experienced truck accident counsel — and who send spoliation letters before data is destroyed — consistently achieve far better outcomes than those who wait.

Nursing Home Abuse & Elder Abuse

Nursing home abuse is a pervasive crisis affecting the most vulnerable members of our society. Approximately 1.5 million Americans reside in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and a significant proportion experience some form of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The federal government regulates nursing home quality through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which publishes a five-star rating system and conducts regular health inspections — yet facilities with poor ratings continue to operate, understaffed and underfunded, leaving residents at serious risk. Types of abuse range from physical assault and sexual abuse to financial exploitation, emotional cruelty, and systematic neglect of basic care needs. When nursing homes and assisted living facilities breach their legal duty of care, they can be held liable for the full range of damages suffered by residents and their families, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and in egregious cases, punitive damages designed to deter future misconduct.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice litigation is among the most technically demanding areas of personal injury law, requiring attorneys and clients to navigate complex medical evidence, expert witness requirements, and state-specific procedural hurdles like certificates of merit and notice of intent requirements. The stakes are enormous: a surgical error can leave a patient permanently disabled, a missed cancer diagnosis can allow a curable disease to become terminal, and a birth injury can alter an entire family's life trajectory. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published studies suggesting that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Yet fewer than 2% of patients harmed by negligence ever file a claim, often because they do not know they have rights or cannot find an attorney willing to take on the complexity and cost of malpractice litigation. People's Justice exists to change that equation — connecting injured patients and families with experienced medical malpractice attorneys who work on contingency with no upfront cost.