OKLAHOMA CITY WRONGFUL DEATH LAWYER

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If your loved one was killed by someone else’s negligent or wrongful act, you may have grounds to pursue a wrongful death action and pursue compensation for your losses.

At DiPasquale Moore, our award-winning attorneys leverage decades of experience to help families fight for the justice they deserve. We have extensive experience litigating wrongful death lawsuits and can discuss your rights and options during a FREE consultation.

Why Choose DiPasquale Moore?

DiPasquale Moore is an award-winning trial firm with a reputation of success. We’re known for taking on tough cases and are trusted by victims, families, and fellow lawyers when the stakes are high.

Reasons you can be confident about working with us:

• Results. We’ve recovered millions of dollars in compensation for clients, including million and multi-million-dollar recoveries in wrongful death cases.
• Experience. We leverage over 100 years of combined experience and extensive resources to help victims level the playing field with powerful insurance companies.
• Proven Attorneys. Our attorneys have been recognized in prestigious listings like Super Lawyers and The National Trial Lawyers Top 100.
• Personal Attention. We take a personal approach to handling cases and provide the personalized service clients need to create custom-tailored legal strategies.

What Is Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death lawsuits are civil claims that focus on holding defendants financially responsible for losses that result from a person’s preventable death. In Oklahoma, a wrongful death is any death caused by the wrongful or negligent acts of another.

Generally, wrongful death cases have two components:

• Legal actions brought on behalf of the estate that seek a financial recovery for damages a victim would have been entitled to had they survived, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering.
• Legal actions brought on behalf of surviving family members to recover their losses, including lost financial and emotional support.

Who Can File A Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

In Oklahoma, wrongful death actions can be brought by a “personal representative” of the decedent. This personal representative may be someone named in the deceased person’s will, but if no will exists or the individual named in the will cannot serve, then the court may appoint a representative.

Personal representatives are often close family members, such as a spouse, parent, child, or sibling. However, anyone – including neutral parties who do not stand to inherit a decedent’s estate or obtain compensation in the wrongful death action – can serve as a personal representative.

How Much Are Wrongful Death Cases Worth?

Any financial recovery in a civil action is dependent on the individual facts of a case. This includes factors such as the victims’ age, whether they worked and earned income, and the cause of death. Other factors that can affect case value include the availability of insurance coverage and the percentage of fault the defendant(s) bear for the death.

While it’s not easy to name a price for a civil claim without knowing the facts, there are ways to gauge what a potential recovery may look like based on recoverable damages. In Oklahoma, recoverable damages in wrongful death cases may include:

• A victim’s pain and suffering prior to their death
• Lost income and benefits
• Medical expenses incurred prior to death
• Lost financial support
• A surviving spouse’s loss of consortium
• A family’s grief, anguish, and emotional suffering
• Funeral / burial expenses

How Long Do I Have To File A Claim?

State law recognizes that it takes time to process a loved one’s untimely death and piece together what caused or contributed to the death. However, there are procedural rules that limit the amount of time plaintiffs have to file formal claims. This deadline is known as the statute of limitation.

In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations for wrongful death is two years from the date of death. This means that you must file a claim within two years of your loved one’s passing. If the statute of limitations expires, you will not be able to file a claim or recover damages.

In some cases, the statute of limitations may be different. However, these instances are the exception rather than the rule. The best way to evaluate the statute of limitations in your matter, and to begin working on a claim, is to speak personally with an experienced lawyer.

How Can A Lawyer Help?

Working with legal representation when filing a wrongful death lawsuit can make all the difference when it comes to handling complex issues, communicating with insurance companies, and pursuing the compensation you deserve.

At DiPasquale Moore, our Oklahoma City wrongful death lawyers handle all aspects of our clients’ claims. We provide support for:

• Accident investigations
• Witness interviews and defendant depositions
• Evidence gathering (discovery)
• Communication with insurance company representatives
• Settlement negotiations or trial, when necessary

We also make it a priority to keep clients up-to-date about their cases every step of the way, and to help them understand their rights and options so they can make informed decisions.

Examples Of Our Results

• $2.2 million for wrongful death caused by a defective vehicle.
• $1.5 million wrongful death recovery over a fatal semi-truck crash.
• $1.25 million over passenger death in a speeding car that lost control and crashed.
• $1.08 million for wrongful death of a victim who was ejected from the backseat window of a vehicle that struck a highway median.
• $1 million for a father whose son was killed after he truck the end of a trailer.