Slip and Fall Wrongful Death Lawyers in NJ

Advocating for New Jersey Clients who Lose Loved Ones Due to Fatal Falls

Oftentimes, when we hear about a slip and fall accident, we think about minor injuries like a scraped knee or maybe a sore neck. However, slip and falls, particularly those resulting in a head injury can also be fatal in some cases. When an individual loses their life due to a slip and fall accident, it can be emotionally and financially devastating to their family.

The process for recovering compensation after a fatal car accident is more familiar to many individuals, but when you lose a loved one after a slip and fall, what to do next can be confusing. In New Jersey, if a slip and fall accident was caused by the negligence of another party, like a landlord, business, employer, or property owner, the victim’s surviving family can pursue a wrongful death claim in civil court to recover compensation for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering. However, proving negligence and causation in a wrongful death claim is complex and requires extensive knowledge of the law, as well as compelling medical evidence and, often, expert testimony.

If you’ve lost a loved one in a slip and fall accident, the experienced wrongful death attorneys at Cohen & Riechelson can help. We serve clients in Princeton, Lawrence, Robbinsville, and throughout New Jersey whose family members die as a result of fatal fall accidents resulting from negligence by others. Contact us today at (609) 528-2596  for a free consultation.

Filing a Lawsuit for a Deadly Fall in New Jersey

In New Jersey, a wrongful death claim arises when an individual dies due to the negligence or wrongful actions of another person. Wrongful death claims are usually based on a theory of negligence and premise liability. In the case of slip and fall accidents, wrongful death claims are almost always based on premise liability law and negligence by the defendant. Wrongful death claims are usually brought by the executor of the victim’s estate on behalf of the beneficiaries but can also be brought by the victim’s spouse, parent, or child.

Property Owners’ Duty of Care and Its Impact on Deadly Slip and Fall Cases

A party is negligent when they take actions or fail to take actions in deviation from the standard of care required of them in those circumstances or the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have employed in that situation. Some parties, like property owners, have a legal duty to act with a higher standard of care based on their status as a property owner. They have a duty to maintain safe premises for visitors or tenants.

There are many different types of unsafe conditions that result in a slip and fall for which the property owner could be liable include uneven surfaces, inadequate lighting, defective stairs or railings, and cluttered walkways. For example, if a grocery store fails to make their property safe by knowingly leaving a spill in an aisle without adequate warnings to customers, they have failed to act with the required standard of care towards their customers. Or, if a landlord fails to maintain safe commonplaces by allowing stairways to be cluttered with inadequate lighting, they may be liable if a tenant falls down a staircase, resulting in injury or death to the tenant.

Elements of Proof in a Slip and Fall Wrongful Death Claim in New Jersey

To prevail in any negligence based claim, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s failure to act with the required standard of care in the circumstances was the direct and proximate cause of the victim’s injuries. In the case of a wrongful death claim, the plaintiff is a surviving family member of the victim. They have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that the defendant’s deviation from the required standard of care (breach of duty) was the direct and proximate cause of the victim’s death.

Generally, proving this will require not only detailed medical records but also expert testimony from the victim’s medical providers and/or independent medical evaluators as to causation. In their opinion, these experts will typically outline the victim’s medical background, the facts of the slip and fall accident, the nature and extent of the resulting injuries, and provide their opinion as to the cause of the victim’s death.

Determining Compensation in Slip and Fall Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Damages in a wrongful death claim after a slip and fall accident help surviving family members to recover the compensation they need to cover their deceased loved one’s medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, loss of income, and loss of consortium. In some cases, the court may also award punitive damages.

Some forms of debt, like student loans, die with the individual, but medical bill debt survives to the extent that the decedent’s estate has funds to pay the debt. While the surviving family members will not be personally liable for the medical debt, a surviving spouse’s financial resources can be devastated by significant medical debt from their deceased spouse. Also, when an estate is forced to pay off debt from medical bills incurred as a result of a slip and fall accident, it takes away from the inheritance of the estate’s beneficiaries.

The loss of income that a victim’s dependents suffer following their death is one of the most significant financial losses that a family suffers in a wrongful death case. Not only may they have lost time off from work following their accident if they lived for a period of time before succumbing to their injuries, but loss of income damages can also account for future income that the victim was expected to earn, particularly if their spouse and/or children depending financially on their income.

There are other damages that are more difficult to quantify, yet still significantly impact surviving loved ones. One of those types of damages is loss of consortium which refers to the companionship and emotional connection between the victim and their spouse.

Contact Our NJ Attorneys at Cohen & Riechelson to Seek Justice and Compensation

Following the unexpected death of a loved one, life can feel like an overwhelming haze. There is so much to do while you are still grieving. Pursuing a wrongful death claim is not only one other potential item on your long to-do list, but our team at Cohen & Riechelson is prepared to take this burden off your shoulders. Our experienced and knowledgeable wrongful death attorneys in New Jersey can help you to assess the strength of your claim and chances of success, and handle the complexities of your wrongful death claim, so you can focus on healing and taking care of your family’s other needs during this difficult time. We serve families who have lost loved ones in fatal fall incidents in Ewing, East Windsor, Hopewell, West Windsor, and across Mercer County and the state of New Jersey. To receive a complimentary review of your case, please contact us at (609) 528-2596  today.