Several common mistakes can hurt a wrongful death claim, ranging from missing the filing deadline to accepting an early settlement offer without understanding the full value of your case. Many of these errors happen simply because grieving families are unfamiliar with the legal process and do not realize the consequences of certain decisions until it is too late.
Learning about what to avoid can help you protect your family’s right to fair compensation, so read on to learn about the most common mistakes that can affect a Tennessee wrongful death case.
Missing the Statute of Limitations
This is the single most damaging mistake a family can make. Tennessee law gives you just one year from the date of the injury that led to the deceased person’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit in most cases. If you miss that deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case regardless of how compelling the evidence is.
Getting in touch with an attorney as soon as possible helps make sure that the legal process is moving forward while you focus on your family.
Giving Recorded Statements to Insurance Companies
An insurance adjuster may contact you and ask for a recorded statement about what happened after a fatal accident takes place. While this may seem harmless, anything you say during that conversation can be used to minimize your claim later on.
Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that can lead to answers that harm your case. Since well-meaning responses can be taken out of context, it is best to let your attorney handle all communications with the insurance company from the start.
Accepting an Early Settlement Offer
Insurance companies often try to settle wrongful death claims quickly, sometimes within weeks of the death. These early offers may seem generous at first glance, but they are almost always far less than what the wrongful death case is actually worth.
Once you accept a settlement, you give up the right to pursue any additional compensation. If you later discover that the deceased person’s lost lifetime earnings or the family’s emotional damages were worth significantly more, there is no going back. Having a wrongful death lawyer evaluate any offer before you respond is critical.
Failing To Preserve Evidence
Evidence can disappear quickly after a fatal accident. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, physical evidence at the scene may be cleaned up, and witnesses’ memories can fade over time. If important evidence is lost before your attorney has a chance to obtain it, your case becomes harder to prove.
An experienced wrongful death lawyer can send preservation letters to the relevant parties and begin building your case from the ground up before key evidence is gone.
Filing the Claim Incorrectly
Tennessee law has specific rules about who is authorized to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The surviving spouse has the initial priority and right to do so, followed by any surviving children, and so on.
If the wrong person files the claim or if the paperwork is not handled properly, the case can be dismissed on procedural grounds. An attorney can make sure the claim is filed correctly and by the appropriate party from the beginning.
Contact a Tennessee Wrongful Death Lawyer at Woodard Injury Law for Help
The mistakes outlined above are all avoidable with the right legal guidance. If you have lost a loved one due to someone else’s actions, contacting a Tennessee wrongful death attorney early in the process is the best way to protect your family’s claim and avoid missteps that could cost you.
Contact Woodard Injury Law today at (615) 314-4626 for a free consultation to discuss your case and find out how a lawyer can help. Our team works on a contingency fee basis, so you only pay attorney’s fees if we win compensation for you.