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If you believe a Rhode Island
Accident involves the wrongful death of a loved one, the persons
entitled to recover monetary damages for the death as governed by
Rhode Island Law. As a Rhode Island Wrongful Death Attorney
I will advise you as to
who can recover when an individual dies in an accident. This is a
complex issue, and depends upon the deceased person's family
structure; (did they leave a widow, children, parents, grandparents,
brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, etc? ). As an experienced
Rhode Island Wrongful Death Lawyer I will be able to analyze
the rights of survivors. Most Rhode
Island Wrongful Death Accident Cases
are settled before trial. If the wrongful death case settles, a
single lump sum is agreed upon along with how it is distributed to
the plaintiffs. If the wrongful death case goes to trial and there
are multiple survivors as plaintiffs, the jury makes a single award
and the judge determines what portion of the judgment is payable to
whom.
While damages in a wrongful death case must be reasonable, they are
not limited in amount by Rhode Island statutes, except they must be
"just". Rhode Island case law has defined wrongful death
damages to include future contributions the heirs would have
received from the deceased family member, including the value of any
personal service, advice or training, and the loss of love,
companionship, comfort, affection, society, solace, moral support,
monetary support, enjoyment of sexual relations and the loss of
physical assistance in the home. Heirs in wrongful death cases may
also be awarded interest on amounts they expend in funeral or
related expenses and certain other recoverable damages.
In some wrongful death cases, damages (punitive damages) are awarded to punish the wrongdoer. While heirs may not usually recover wrongful death damages for their own sorrow, grief, anguish or mental suffering over the deceased's death, if they witnessed the accident they may have additional rights to recover for emotional distress in their own personal injury claim.
Contact us today by Email or call us today at (401) 788-0600 to speak with a representative from our firm..