Palm Bay Wrongful Death Lawyer

Did your family lose someone in a fatal accident in Palm Bay, FL?

At Tuttle Larsen Injury Attorneys, we are plaintiff-focused wrongful death lawyers who prepare every case with 55 years of combined experience.

If your husband, wife, child, or parent died because someone else was careless, the legal side of that loss arrives at the worst possible time. Funeral bills come due, and insurance adjusters often call within days. A Palm Bay, FL wrongful death lawyer can handle those calls so your family doesn’t have to.

Our attorneys bring 55 years of combined experience to clients across Brevard County, and we handle these matters on a contingency basis. Consultations are free. Reach out when you’re ready to talk through what happened.

Wrongful Death Lawyer Palm Bay, FL

A wrongful death claim is a civil action brought after a person dies because of another party’s negligence or intentional act. It runs separately from any criminal prosecution, and it can proceed whether or not charges are ever filed against anyone. The remedy is money damages for surviving family members and for the estate.

CDC mortality data puts unintentional injuries at 197,449 deaths nationwide in a single year, third among all causes of death in this country. Crashes, falls, and drownings account for most of that figure. Not every one of those deaths supports a legal claim. What separates the ones that do is proof that another party owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the death.

Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle in Palm Bay, FL

Wrongful death claims grow out of ordinary incidents that ended badly. The underlying facts often look like any other injury case. What changes is who can bring the claim and what the family is permitted to recover.

• Car accidents. Fatal collisions on I-95, Palm Bay Road, and Malabar Road account for most of the death claims we see in this area. We request the traffic homicide investigation file, the vehicle event data recorder, and the scene photographs. Those three sources usually resolve the fault question well before a lawsuit is filed.
• Truck accidents. A loaded tractor-trailer carries enough force to make a survivable crash fatal instead. Carriers are not required to preserve driver logs and maintenance records indefinitely. Getting a preservation letter out early matters more in these files than in almost any other kind.
• Motorcycle accidents. When a rider dies, the only surviving witness is often the driver who hit them. That account tends to favor the driver, and the report frequently repeats it without challenge. We reconstruct these collisions independently.
• Pedestrian accidents. Someone struck while walking has no protection at all, and the injuries are frequently fatal. Sidewalk gaps, burned-out lighting, and unmarked crossings can shift part of the responsibility onto a party other than the driver.
• Bicycle accidents. Cyclists killed on Palm Bay roads get blamed for riding outside the lane or for wearing dark clothing. We treat that blame as an argument to be answered with physical evidence rather than a settled fact.
• Boating accidents. The Indian River Lagoon draws heavy weekend traffic, and fatal incidents there tend to involve operator impairment, overloading, or missing safety equipment. These cases usually require a marine investigator and an inspection of the vessel itself.
• Premises liability. A property owner who ignores a known hazard can be held responsible when that hazard kills someone. Balcony failures, unsecured swimming pools, and inadequate security at apartment complexes all fall into this category.
• Slip and falls. A fall that would bruise a younger person can end the life of someone in their eighties. Head injuries from these falls sometimes prove fatal weeks afterward, so we obtain the complete medical record connecting the fall to the death.
• Dog bites. Attacks that kill are almost always attacks on small children or older adults. We identify the dog’s owner, the property owner, and every insurance policy that might apply to the loss.

Why Choose Tuttle Larsen Injury Attorneys as my Wrongful Death Lawyer in Palm Bay, FL?

Attorneys Who Have Handled Fatal Injury Claims Since 1992

Jesse H. Larsen has practiced since 2010 and handles wrongful death alongside vehicle and premises claims. As a personal injury lawyer in Palm Bay, FL, we’re prepared to use our experience to get you through your claim.

Recoveries in Fatal Injury Matters

Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for injured clients and surviving families. Recoveries include one case for $1,800,000, another for $1,250,000, and a third for $1,168,000.

Every recovery depends on the specific facts, the insurance available, and the strength of the liability evidence. We don’t put a number on a case until we know what coverage exists, because policy limits often set the practical ceiling on what a family can collect.

Understanding Wrongful Death Cases

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Wrongful Death Cases

Florida’s wrongful death damages statute divides recovery between the survivors and the estate. Survivors recover what the death cost them personally. The estate recovers what the person who died lost. Who receives what depends on the family structure, so two cases with identical facts can produce very different distributions.

• Lost support and services. The money and the household work the decedent would have provided.
• Loss of companionship. Available to a surviving spouse, and to children for lost parental guidance.
• Mental pain and suffering. Recoverable by a spouse, by minor children, and by the parents of a deceased minor child.
• Medical and funeral expenses. Recoverable by whichever survivor paid them.
• Lost earnings and net accumulations. The estate’s claim for income the decedent would have earned.

Liability follows ordinary negligence rules. Under Florida’s comparative fault statute, a claimant found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing, and any smaller share reduces the award proportionally. The 51 percent threshold applies to the conduct of the person who died, not just the defendant’s. Both economic and noneconomic damages get reduced the same way.

What Is The Wrongful Death Case Timeline?

Most of these claims resolve in twelve to twenty-four months. Cases that reach trial run longer, particularly in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, where the Brevard County civil docket stays full. A claim against a large commercial insurer generally takes longer than one against an individual driver.

1. Investigation. The incident report, the medical records, and the autopsy findings come first, which takes one to three months.
2. Claim presentation. We send the insurer a demand supported by the evidence and by the damages documentation.
3. Negotiation. Most carriers respond within sixty days, and a fair number of claims resolve at this stage.
4. Filing suit. When the offer is inadequate, we file in circuit court and begin discovery and depositions.
5. Mediation or trial. Mediation typically precedes trial, and a large share of cases settle there.

What Are Important Aspects of a Wrongful Death Case?

Two things decide most of these claims: the filing deadline and the quality of the proof behind them.

• The deadline. Florida allows two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death action under section 95.11.
• Evidence that disappears. Vehicles get repaired, surveillance video gets overwritten, and witnesses move away.
• Available insurance. The practical recovery is often limited by existing coverage, which makes identifying every liable party worth the effort.
• Fault assigned to the person who died. Insurers routinely blame the decedent, because that person cannot answer the accusation.

What Should You Bring to Your Wrongful Death Consultation?

You don’t need a complete file to meet with us. Bring what you already have, and we will request the rest.

• The death certificate and any autopsy report
• The police or incident report
• Insurance policies covering the person who died, including auto and health
• Medical bills and funeral invoices
• Contact information for anyone who witnessed the incident

The first meeting is free and usually runs under an hour. We go through what happened, what the records show so far, and what the next ninety days would involve. We will tell you whether there is a viable claim, and we will say so plainly if there is not one.

Reach Out to Tuttle Larsen Injury Attorneys to Schedule a Consultation

Families rarely call during the week of the funeral, and that is understandable. The two-year deadline leaves room to handle the arrangements first. When you are ready, contact us to arrange a free case review with a Palm Bay wrongful death attorney. We work on a contingency basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. We take new wrongful death matters from families throughout Palm Bay and the surrounding area.