Kansas City Wrongful Death Lawyer Near You

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Has your family suffered the untimely death of a loved one in Kansas City, MO? Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers has represented surviving family members in wrongful death cases for over 20 years. Call our law office at (816) 408-3448 to schedule your free case review with a compassionate Kansas City wrongful death lawyer.

Our top-rated Kansas City lawyers handle all types of personal injury cases including medical malpractice cases, workplace accidents, Kansas City motorcycle accidents, Kansas City truck accidents, sexual assaults, and more.

If someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing was responsible, you may have a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party.

Call our attorneys for a free case review at (816) 892-9096 to discuss how a Kansas City wrongful death lawyer can help you.

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How Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You After a Loved One’s Kansas City Wrongful Death

How Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You After a Loved One’s Wrongful Death in Kansas City

As difficult as it is to lose a loved one, it is even more painful to lose them due to someone else’s actions. Financial compensation cannot bring back your loved one, but it can hold the responsible party accountable and relieve you of the financial burden after your loved one’s death. Our Kansas City personal injury lawyers can help you bring a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party.

Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers was founded by E. Ryan Bradley. Attorney Bradley has obtained some of the highest verdicts in Missouri history and puts his reputation and legal expertise to work for you.

Choose Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers to represent you in your wrongful death case in Kansas City, Missouri, and our firm will:

Handle all communications and administrative tasks
Help you make important decisions about your case with support, guidance, and insightful legal advice
Investigate the circumstances of your loved one’s accident to identify who may be liable and gather evidence for your claim
Work with specialists to value the damages your family suffered and establish negligence
Seek fair compensation through a settlement or present a compelling case to a jury

Your loss creates more than just emotional devastation. You are also forced to deal with real-world obligations and financial matters without your loved one’s support. You deserve time to grieve.

Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers will give your family time to heal while we fight for the compensation you need from the at-fault party. Contact us today for a free consultation with a Kansas City wrongful death attorney ready to help you.

Overview of Wrongful Death in Missouri

Missouri Revised Statutes Section 537.080 defines wrongful death as a death due to someone else’s “conduct, occurrence, transaction, or circumstance” that would have entitled the decedent to pursue a personal injury claim if they lived.

Put simply, a death is wrongful and may prompt a wrongful death action if someone is killed due to the negligence, recklessness, or criminal action of another.

A wrongful death lawsuit allows surviving family members to seek compensation for their losses from the at-fault party.

However, Missouri law is clear on who may file a wrongful death lawsuit:

Surviving spouses, children, or grandchildren are typically first in line for a wrongful death claim.
In their absence, surviving siblings can file a claim.
With no surviving immediate family, the estate’s personal representative may file a wrongful death lawsuit.
With no personal representative named, someone entitled to share in the proceeds of the claim may be appointed a plaintiff ad litem.

If you have questions about whether your loved one’s death entitles you to a wrongful death claim, contact Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free case review.

What Is My Kansas City Wrongful Death Claim Worth?

There are no calculators, formulas, or charts to estimate the value of wrongful death cases. A wrongful death case may be worth as little as $10,000 or as much as several million. The best way to estimate the value of your case is through a consultation with an experienced Kansas City wrongful death lawyer.

Your loved one’s medical bills, the wages they would have earned, and your family’s non-economic damages will likely make up the largest share of your claim’s value. However, valuing a case is difficult.

Proving the wages your loved one would have earned and contributed, for example, requires expert financial testimony. This considers their earning capacity, life expectancy, health, and work history.

Your family’s losses are even harder to value. To quantify these losses for a jury, your lawyer may present evidence about their character, the skills they contributed to your family, the role they played in raising children, and how much care they provided.

Schedule a free consultation with Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers today to discuss your case. We will help you understand what your claim may be worth and fight for the damages your family needs as you work to move forward.

What Damages Are Available in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Kansas City, MO?

Wrongful death claims are a legal avenue for surviving family members to seek financial compensation when someone else causes the death of their loved one. You may be entitled to economic and non-economic damages for your loved one.

Common damages available in wrongful death claims include:

Burial and funeral expenses
Wages and employment benefits the decedent would have earned and contributed to the family
Medical costs related to the accident
Your loved one’s pain and suffering before death
Loss of consortium, companionship, services, training, guidance, support, comfort, and instruction
Child care or elder care the decedent would have provided

Missouri does not allow damages for bereavement and grief in a wrongful death case. However, your family can still pursue other non-economic losses you suffered.

The value of elder or child care is a unique aspect of Missouri wrongful death cases. If your loved one was not employed full time and provided care for a family member who was a minor, aging, or infirmed at least half of their time, the presumed value of this care is 110% of the Missouri average weekly wage.

If the defendant’s actions had aggravating factors, you are entitled to additional damages. These damages are similar to punitive damages, and they punish the wrongdoer when the behavior was dangerous with a high risk of causing injury or death.

We Handle All Types of Kansas City Wrongful Death Cases

Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers represent family members in all types of wrongful death claims. This includes wrongful death due to negligence and death resulting from crime.

Contact our law office if your loved one was killed in any of the following:

Car accident
Motorcycle accident
Pedestrian accidents
Boat accidents
Truck accident
Premises liability, including slip and fall accidents and dog bites
Workplace accidents
Medical malpractice
Elder abuse and neglect

Our Kansas City wrongful death lawyers will help you understand if you have a case and how to hold the responsible party accountable. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.

How Do I Prove Fault in a Wrongful Death Claim in Kansas City, MO?

To recover compensation in a wrongful death case, you must prove the other party was negligent and caused your loved one’s death.

There are four factors that must be proven to hold the at-fault party responsible:

The defendant owed your loved one a duty of care.
The defendant breached this duty.
The breach of duty caused the accident that injured your loved one.
Your loved one’s death resulted.

As a general rule, if your loved one could have survived and brought a personal injury case against the at-fault party, you may also have a wrongful death claim.

To prove negligence and fault, Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers will perform a thorough investigation into your loved one’s injury and death. We will gather evidence that helps prove how the accident occurred, who was at fault, and how the accident contributed to your family member’s death.

There are many forms of evidence that may be relevant in a wrongful death case:

Accident report
Police reports
Arrest or criminal conviction
On-board vehicle data
Cell phone records
Witness statements
Property inspection and maintenance logs

We may work with specialists to help us analyze evidence and submit expert witness testimony that helps prove fault in your case.

How Long Do I Have to File a Missouri Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

When your loved one’s death was caused by someone else, you have a limited amount of time to hold them responsible in civil court. The Missouri statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits is just three years. This deadline begins on the date of your loved one’s death.

If you miss this deadline, your case will be dismissed. You will lose your right to hold the responsible party accountable for the damages your family have suffered. Do not delay; contact our Kansas City wrongful death attorneys as soon as possible to protect your claim.

Contact a Kansas City Wrongful Death Lawyer Near You for a Free Consultation

Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers is committed to helping your family hold the responsible party accountable for your loved one’s premature death. We will put our experience and reputation to work on your behalf to seek the full compensation your family needs during this difficult time.

Contact our Kansas City law office for a free case review with a Kansas City wrongful death lawyer. We work on a contingency-fee basis; you pay no out-of-pocket expenses and nothing unless we are successful.

Our Kansas City personal injury law firm also provides: