Salt Lake City Wrongful Death Lawyer

Salt Lake City Wrongful Death Client Story

The story below is intended to provide additional answers about your wrongful death claim. Names and details have been edited to preserve the privacy of our clients, but the information remains helpful. Please read this story to the end to learn as much as possible. When you’re finished, consider calling to schedule a free legal consultation. We’d love to answer questions about your specific claim.

On a warm July morning not so long ago, Allie Parks handed her husband his packed lunch and kissed him goodbye. She was looking forward to his early afternoon text when he discovered that she’d slipped a drawing from each of their toddlers into his box. Allie had no idea she was saying goodbye to Denny for the last time.

Denny drove to work, where he joined the construction crew repaving the roads just south of Salt Lake City’s Capitol Hill. The project had run over schedule, but they were finally on track to wrap things up. It helped that the weather had been mild thus far, topping out in the 80° at its peak.

Today, though, threatened to be a hot one. As he climbed into the crew’s truck, he gauged the temperature to already be at or near 80°. Not that he minded.

Denny had always preferred the heat to the cold. He could work in the pleasantly dry Utah heat all day long, and often engaged in outdoor activities in the hottest months of the year. It was the people the construction crew shared the road with that made him uneasy. In his experience, hunger and hot weather tended to bring out the worst in people.

Denny was assigned to be a flagger, directing traffic to prevent cars from colliding as they traversed a single open lane from both directions on the short stretch they were working on. He used his handheld radio to communicate with the other flagger on the north side of the zone, to make sure they were on the “same page.”

The day progressed smoothly as the final layers of asphalt was pressed flat into the freshly coated roadway. Drivers weren’t thrilled with the wait, but seemed accepting of it, for the time being, anyway.

Drivers may gripe now, thought Denny, but they’ll thank us later. Well, they probably wouldn’t thank them, but they were sure to be happy with the smooth new road.

As they rolled into the lunch hour, the line of cars waiting their turn through the single lane on each end of the construction zone backed up about a tenth of a mile in either direction. As he’d feared, temperatures had soared north of 90° and drivers were cranky. The air was filled with honking and the occasional impatient prompt through a driver’s open window.

At 12:30 p.m., Denny got the ‘okay’ to send another string of cars north. He hit the call button on the radio to confirm. He stepped onto the median for safety, re-clipping the radio with his left hand as he waved the north-bound traffic on with the flag in his right.

His radio squawked again but he couldn’t make out what he’d heard. He unclipped it once more and asked the other flagger to repeat.

The radio crackled again, but his teammate’s warning was drowned out by the roar of an engine. Denny looked up to see a black Mustang bearing down on the car at the head of the line. A driver had lost his patience in line up north and decided to make a run for it. He was trying to beat the oncoming cars with his formidable horsepower.

Denny frantically waved at the guy to slow down and pull over, but there wasn’t much room and there was even less time. The car heading north braked hard and slid west to avoid collision, right into the wet asphalt. The Mustang braked and swerved east, jumping the median and taking Denny with it.

Denny was air-lifted to the hospital for trauma care, but he’d suffered catastrophic injuries. The doctors prepared his wife, Allie for the likelihood he wouldn’t make it. He hung on in a coma for almost two weeks before he died.

Allie and her children were devastated, but the pain was made even worse because she didn’t have the freedom to grieve properly. With a boy in kindergarten and a girl not yet in preschool, taking a day “off” was not an option.

Denny’s mom Bev did the best she could to help—his dad had passed four years before. In spite of her heroic effort to help while dealing with her own grief, however, Bev could only handle one child at a time.

Allie’s own parents sent flowers, but, well… She consoled herself that having them around right now would bring more stress than help. She did her best to keep moving, making funeral arrangements with her mother-in-law’s help even as they were both in shock at their loss.

The day before Denny’s funeral, Allie was shocked to find her brother at her door. If she wasn’t so sad, she would have been elated. As she hugged Will gratefully, her knees gave out.

Her big brother caught her without missing a beat and helped her to the couch. As she sat there marveling at his unannounced appearance, she asked how he’d managed to show up when he was supposed to be overseas working on a military contract assignment.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a base somewhere in Iraq?” She asked.

“Syria. I was able to take an emergency family leave,” Will said with a sad smile. “Allie, I’m so sorry about Denny.”

Will was an enormous help in the weeks that followed, happily wearing out the kids, allowing Allie much-needed sleep.

Will’s presence also allowed Bev to grieve the best way she knew how. She put her energy into cleaning. She even pulled the house together in time for people to stop in after graveside services, even as she was reeling herself from the loss of her son.

The day after the funeral, Will called us to schedule a free legal consultation for his sister. He told us Allie needed to know what it would cost to hire us for a wrongful death claim, what the claim was worth, and how long it might take.

How much does it cost to hire a Salt Lake City wrongful death lawyer?

The morning of the appointment, Will dropped Allie and Bev at our offices and took the kids to a nearby park. Allie’s lovely hazel eyes appraised us sadly as she sat down.

“Before we get too far into this meeting, I need to know how much it will cost to retain you,” she said.

Our lawyer assured Allie that there would be no upfront cost. “We work on a contingency fee model. This means we take on all of the expenses to investigate your claim and establish proof of your loss of income and other damages. We even cover court fees and the cost of litigation, if necessary.”

“Wow,” Allie said, “That’s a lot. When do you get paid?” She asked.

“We are only compensated if we bring a successful resolution to your claim, whether in the form of a settlement or a jury trial,” the lawyer answered.

Does my loss qualify for a wrongful death claim?

Allie nodded, grateful that she’d be able to proceed with the claim. She took a shaky breath and said, “To be honest, I’m not even sure we have a claim. I mean, the flagger is the most dangerous job on a construction site. Are they going to just kick this back to a worker’s comp case?”

“It’s a fair question, Allie, but it doesn’t absolve a reckless driver from speeding through a construction zone against traffic. During investigation we’ll investigate whether the construction company observed all safety protocols. If they didn’t, you may have a claim against them, as well. At the moment, however, you have the right to pursue compensation from the driver who killed your husband.”

“Can Allie bring a claim against him even if he was arrested at the scene?” Bev asked as she took Allie’s hand as she wiped her own tears.

“Another good question. The answer is, ‘Absolutely.’ In fact, I’d be surprised if the insurance company pushes this case into court, because the state is likely to award you punitive damages on top of compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Killing a construction worker is a very big deal,” said the lawyer.

What’s my wrongful death claim worth?

“Can you tell me what a wrongful death claim is worth?” She asked, choking to managed the last half of the sentence as tears overwhelmed her.

The lawyer explained that it truly isn’t possible to estimate the value of a claim at the very beginning.

“Be very skeptical of any lawyer who tosses you a number off the top of their head before a thorough accident investigation is conducted, Allie,” he cautioned. “The value of your claim is going to depend on what that investigation reveals. We’ll need to gather evidence, speak to witnesses, and do any research necessary to present a strong claim.

“Wrongful death claims involve proving that a duty of care was breached by someone who had responsibility to provide safety in some way. This means the construction company’s responsibility to provide safety gear and protocols, and the drivers’ responsibility to move slowly through the construction zone. Drivers are repeatedly made aware of this responsibility by signs around construction areas.

“You were smart to contact us as soon as you did. We can begin the investigation right away, giving us a much better chance at gathering evidence than if you’d waited.

“In addition to gathering evidence, we’ll be assessing all of the ways your family has been economically and non-economically hurt by the loss of your husband. We’ll be working closely with you to gather all of the financial information possible to prove how much financial support has been taken from you.

“This means getting your medical bills and funeral expenses covered, for starters. These are not expenses you should be burdened with. We’ll also fight to get you financial compensation for the loss of your husband’s income now and into the future, as well as compensation for the emotional toll losing your husband will take on the family.”

How long does a wrongful death claim take?

Allie nodded again and asked, “So, how long does a wrongful death claim usually take?”

“That, too, is hard to estimate at the start,” the lawyer answered. “For one thing, it’s going to depend on how long it takes us to complete the investigation to determine all responsible parties and gather proof of your damages.

“When we know your damages, we’ll send a demand letter to the insurance company or companies. From there, your case timeline is going to hinge on how they respond.

“If they are willing to arrive at a fair and reasonable settlement amount, we’ll be able to close out your claim fairly quickly. If they refuse to be fair and reasonable, we take them to court.

“Please don’t worry should your case end up in court, Allie.  Our firm has a long and successful record of winning wrongful death claims in court as well as at the negotiating table. If we need to argue your case to a jury, we’ll be ready.

“And, there’s always the possibility that even if they protest at first, the insurance company will come around to a settlement. We are well known in the area. They’re not likely to want to take their chances in court.

“Either way, we’re up to the task. That’s why no matter whom you hire, Allie, we recommend you go with a personal injury trial lawyer with a record of wins in wrongful death claims.”

Allie was satisfied with the answers she received in her consultation and retained our firm. Her case did end up in front of a jury, and we are happy to say the jury awarded her ten times the amount the insurance company initially offered her, adding punitive damages to her compensation.

Call Our Salt Lake City Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

We hope this information has helped you better understand your wrongful death claim. Since no two cases are exactly alike, please give us a call to schedule your free legal consultation as soon as possible. You don’t have to try and manage a wrongful death claim by yourself. Call and let us help you through.