WATERBURY & DANBURY CONNECTICUT WRONGFUL DEATH "FATALITY" LAWYER

One of the most emotionally taxing and complex cases for a personal injury lawyer like to handle either by way of civil jury trial, arbitration or settlement is the wrongful death case. Wrongful death actions or "fatality" cases can flow from reckless driving collisions, catastrophic high speed automobile accidents, pedestrian and motor vehicle collisions, drunk driving collisions, bar and restaurant alcohol "dram shop" liability, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, bicycle automobile collisions, premises liability cases, surgical medical malpractice, birthing malpractice, cancer misdiagnosis malpractice, defective product liability uninsured motorist cases or tragic workers' compensation accidents. Often, the spouse of the decedent will also have a consortium claim for the loss of companionship and society of his or her deceased spouse. The Rotatori Law Firm has handled wrongful family death fatality cases where family members have tragically, negligently and recklessly driven their automobile over another immediate family member. The Rotatori Law Firm has also handled wrongful death legal matters caused by utility pole worker product liability bucket failure.

When a family member such as a parent, spouse or child walk into our office for their first office conference and describe in detail the circumstances surrounding the negligent tragic death of their loved one, we feel emotionally moved. At The Rotatori Law Firm, as wrongful death personal injury lawyers, we realize that our presence must have a calming influence on family members after a terrible catastrophic event like the negligent death of a loved one.

After we have listened to all the facts, we will work on your behalf to try to answer some of the questions as to why the wrongful death happened, how it happened and who the legally negligent responsible parties are.

The Rotatori Law Firm will proceed to go to the Probate Court and get an Administrator of the Estate of the decedent appointed so that a legal representative has the legal authority to prosecute the wrongful death case.

Our office will employ the proper liability and damage experts. A liability expert may, as one example, include an automobile accident reconstruction expert in a high speed automobile collision case. A damage expert would always include an economist who would determine the value of the decedent's lost earnings capacity after a deduction for necessary living expenses.

In Connecticut, a wrongful death action, by statute, survives death and is always brought by the decedent's Probate Court appointed Estate Administrator. The wrongful death plaintiff administrator stands in the shoes of the decedent.

A wrongful death action under the common law was not a recoverable legal action because the legal rational espoused was that it was too difficult to compensate relatives and creditors who were injured by the death of the loved one. Lucier v Hittleman, 125 Conn. 635, 7A.2d 647, (1939).

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-555, an administrator "may recover from the party legally at fault for such injuries resulting in death just damages together with reasonably necessary medical, hospital and nursing services including funeral expenses." Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-555 is the exclusive method for recovering damages resulting from death Dawson v Kuehn 47 Conn. Supp.241,785 A.2d 1226 (2001).

The legal term" just damages" could include, in addition to the decedents lost earning capacity, mental pain and suffering experienced before death along with monetary compensatory damages for the decedent's loss of capacity to carry on life's activities.

A wrongful death action should be brought within two years from the date of death except no such action may be brought more than five years from the date of the act or omission complained of under Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-555.

The statute of limitations can be a complicated legal issue in a wrongful death case if the legal issue flows from a medical malpractice case. There may be tolling doctrines applicable only to the repose portion of the statute that are applicable to theories of continuing treatment, continuing course of conduct or even fraudulent concealment. Therefore, an experienced personal injury lawyer schooled in wrongful death actions like The Rotatori Law Firm should be consulted.

Peter Rotatori, Jr. and Peter Rotatori, III of The Rotatori Law Firm are here for you if you need a compassionate, thorough, experienced and assertive personal injury law firm to both secure a Probate Court appointed administrator and prosecute a wrongful death action in the Connecticut Superior Court on behalf of the Estate Administrator.

Please contact us by calling our office today at 203 264 3313 so that we may schedule an appointment to talk to you. At that time, we can begin the process of securing the necessary evidence to help you both prosecute the legal act against the wrongdoer and help you begin the process of closure for what has happened in your life and the life of your family.

The Rotatori Law Firm practices wrongful death and personal injury law in the following Connecticut cities and towns in Fairfield County: Berkshire, Bethel, Branchville, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Byram, Cos Cob, Cranbury, Danbury, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Georgetown, Glenville, Greenfield Hill, Greenwich, Hawleyville, Huntington, Long Hill, Lyons Plain, Mill Plain, Monroe, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Nichols,Noroton, Norwalk, Redding, Redding Ridge, Ridgefield, Riverside, Round Hill, Sandy Hook, Saugatuck, Shelton, Sherman, Southport, Stafford, Stamford, Stepney, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.