Often times, wrongful death lawsuits are handled by personal injury attorneys. “Why is that?” you may ask. If you think about it, a person usually wrongfully dies as a result of an injury. In fact, you may say it is the ultimate personal injury. Therefore, some of the same laws apply. The wrongful death attorney is trained to represent clients who have been injured or even killed as a result of someone else’s neggligence.
Think about it like this: Would you want an attorney who specializes in patents and copyrights handling your wrongful death or auto accident injury case? Probably not. Why? Because they are such different fields of law that it seems counterintuitive to hire someone who is splitting times between the two. But, personal injury cases can often times cross over to wrongful death cases, even as the case itself is unfolding.
If a litigant dies as a result of their personal injury during the lawsuit, the case can be changed to a wrongful death case. And who better to handle it than the person who already knows all the details of the injury? In case you are wondering, if a person dies during a trial, the case moves forward or is restarted. The living relatives wold then be the benficiiares of any judgement or settlement.
Multiple Jurisdictions
An attorney is usually licensed by a state to practice. This means he or she can travel anywhere in the state to represent a client. Let’s say an injury attorney in Melbourne, Florida wants to represent a client all the way across the state in Tampa. Will this be legally permitted? The simple answer is Yes.
Sometimes attorneys are licensed in multiple states. This can be the case if they often spend time between the two states or they are in such high demand for their services, they will travel with their team to represent their client. You see this all the time in high profile cases.
Know what your attorney specializes in. Stay away from “jack of all trades” attorneys, especially for something as serious as wrongful death or personal injury.
