NASHVILLE WRONGFUL DEATH ATTORNEYS

Did another party’s negligent actions cause you to lose a loved one in Nashville or elsewhere in Davidson County? Under Tennessee law, when someone loses their life, and another party is responsible, the family members of the deceased may pursue the at-fault party for compensation. However, this law has many stipulations, the most important of which is a strict time limit on taking action.

The Nashville wrongful death lawyers at Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers represent those who have lost loved ones to the negligent actions of others. We help people recover compensation for the economic and noneconomic damages they have incurred from the loss of their loved one. To schedule a free case evaluation in our conveniently located downtown Nashville office, call us today at 800-800-4600.

At Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers, we focus on representing injured victims all over the Nashville metro area. This includes fighting for those who have lost loved ones because another party was careless, negligent, or culpable in some way. We have handled these cases for decades and know what it takes to build a successful case.

For your wrongful death case to succeed, it needs to demonstrate three things:

• Another party owed your loved one a duty of care;
• That party failed your loved one in some way thereby causing their death to occur;
• You suffered economic or noneconomic losses from the death of your loved one.

Another Party Owed Your Loved One a Duty of Care

This is integral to your claim. If the other party did not have a duty to your loved one, we do not have a case. Examples of duty of care might include:

• Drivers owe other road users a duty to drive safely (e.g., obeying all traffic laws, avoiding distractions, not driving while intoxicated or fatigued)
• Doctors owe their patients treatment that meets or exceeds the standard of care

The Party Caused Your Loved One’s Death by Breaching a Duty of Care

We must show that another party caused the death of your loved one by breaching their duty of care. They can do this through their actions or inactions.

Breach of Duty Through Action

Often, the responsible party took a specific action that resulted in the death of your loved one. For instance, your loved one was crossing a street in a crosswalk with the pedestrian signal flashing, and a driver, busy checking their phone, struck and killed your loved one. The driver had a duty to drive safely; they breached that duty.

Breach of Duty Through Inaction

Other times, it is someone’s lack of action that causes an innocent person to die. We see this often in medical malpractice cases. A doctor neglects their patient or fails to provide the expected level of care, and the patient dies because of it. If your loved one had a valid doctor-patient relationship, the doctor had a duty to deliver care that met the industry’s standard.

If the doctor failed to do so, they breached their duty and can be liable for any injuries, fatal or otherwise, that occur.

You Suffered Economic or Noneconomic Losses

Last, we must show the economic and noneconomic losses you suffered because of your loved one’s death.

Economic losses refer to those involving actual monetary loss. These might include funeral bills, loss of the deceased’s future income, and other expenses.

Noneconomic losses are those that do not have specific dollar terms. They include pain and suffering, loss of guidance, and loss of parental support.

Our Nashville wrongful death lawyers have decades of experience handling wrongful death cases and recovering significant damages for our clients. In our years of practicing wrongful death law, we have seen every circumstance imaginable. No matter how your loved one died, we want to take a look at the case and see how we can help. The following list tells the wrongful death cases we work most often, but it is far from exhaustive.

• Car accidents
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Construction accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Product liability
• Nursing home abuse and neglect
• Slip and fall accidents
• Fire or burn injury
• Traumatic brain injury or TBI

Whether your loved one’s cause of death appears on the above list or not, we might be able to help. We want to talk to you, so we can find out for sure. Remember, the consultation is free, and we get paid only when you do, so there is no risk or obligation in meeting with us.

In Tennessee, you have only one year from the time of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If the death was recent, we understand that you are grieving and that sitting down and discussing your loved one’s death with a lawyer is probably not something that you will feel like doing right now.

Be aware though that it takes time to build a case and that a year can slip by faster than you could imagine, especially when you are dealing with a traumatic loss.

Sadly, we have seen too many situations where someone has a strong case but waits too long to act and loses their ability to do so. We do not want that to happen to you. Our firm is like a family and we will treat you like one of our own. When you are ready, please feel free to give us a call so we can determine how we can help you.