My brother and his best friend were both killed in an auto accident
(swerving to avoid deer).

The friend was driving my brother's car. There was no alochol, drugs
or excessive speed involved.

Can we make a claim against the driver's insurance for wrongful death
and is there a 'form' that can be used? Can we also make a claim on my
brother's 'limited liability coverage'?

Thank you in advance. This is a very difficult time.

LennyZ wrote: My brother and his best friend were both killed in an auto accident (swerving to avoid deer). The friend was driving my brother's car. There was no alochol, drugs or excessive speed involved. Can we make a claim against the driver's insurance for wrongful death and is there a 'form' that can be used? Can we also make a claim on my brother's 'limited liability coverage'? Thank you in advance. This is a very difficult time.

I suppose you can file, but you need to demonstrate that the death was
caused by negligence or malice. I have no idea if in NJ, swerving to
miss a deer is a negligent act as far as operations of a motor vehicle,
but I suspect is is not.

That does not preclude you from filing a suit and who knows - you may
win on a pure sympathy plea to a soft minded jury. However, such a win
would surely be appealed and I doubt would be sustained.

What I suggest you do is let this settle down until your mind is working
coolly again. Then consult with a PI lawyer who will hear you for free
to see if he'll take your case on commission (contingency). These aren't
good things to discuss until you're settled down some.

As far as brother's policy. if it's liability only, it doesn't cover
this situation.

-paul
ianal

cyborgny@bestweb.net (LennyZ) wrote in message
news:<ci9cp0h9opnbg0fc1ttr19npkqjejg225l@4ax.com>... My brother and his best friend were both killed in an auto accident (swerving to avoid deer). The friend was driving my brother's car. There was no alochol, drugs or excessive speed involved. Can we make a claim against the driver's insurance for wrongful death and is there a 'form' that can be used? Can we also make a claim on my brother's 'limited liability coverage'? Thank you in advance. This is a very difficult time.

First of all, condolences on your loss.

Secondly, I strongly suggest you consult a plaintiff personal injury
lawyer in your area as soon as you are able. Prosecuting a wrongful
death case is something, like brain surgery, that is rarely
successfully attempted by amateurs.

If you consult a local lawyer, he or she can tell you whether there is
a case worth pursuing or not, based on all the facts, including many
that you haven't posted and which I would suggest you _not_ post here
in public at risk of making harmful admissions that could deep-six
your case.

A successful suit for "Wrongful death" requires, of course, that you
prove to the jury's satisfaction that the death was in fact
"wrongful". If the driver was not guilty of negligence in how he
reacted under the circumstances, then there is no one to blame and no
one owes you anything for the loss. The other driver's insurance
company will almost certainly have no incentive to make you any kind
of settlement offer unless and until you get a lawyer since they
(rightly) will feel that their chances of winning a suit, if it came
to that, would be much better than even. Swerving to avoid a deer,
by itself, is not negligence. It is in fact what most prudent
reasonable drivers would do, since hitting a deer could cause serious
damage or injury esp. at highway speed. Let your lawyer dig thru the
facts and see if there is a way, consistent with the truth, to "spin"
what happened to show negligence on the part of the driver. Without
that, you might as well not bother.

Almost all personal injury lawyers in USA will be happy to give you an
initial consultation for no charge, where they will be able to
determine whether they feel you have a case they want to pursue or
not. If so, they will usually discuss a percentage contingent fee,
which is typically in the 33% - 40% range. If you try 2 or 3 lawyers
and they all tell you they do not want to handle your case, that
should tell you something about your likely chances of success. And
if one does want to take it, let him or her do the work so you don't
have to worry about dealing with the ins. co. yourself in this
difficult time.

Good luck with your situation,

--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.

Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685 (fax) 410-740-4300

cyborgny@bestweb.net (LennyZ) wrote in message
news:<ci9cp0h9opnbg0fc1ttr19npkqjejg225l@4ax.com>...
My brother and his best friend were both killed in an auto accident (swerving to avoid deer). The friend was driving my brother's car. There was no alochol, drugs or excessive speed involved. Can we make a claim against the driver's insurance for wrongful death and is there a 'form' that can be used? Can we also make a claim on my brother's 'limited liability coverage'?

You need a lawyer. Don't even think about trying to negotiate this
with the insurance company on your own.

You probably cannot even make a claim unless and until you are
appointed as the executor/personal representative/administrator of
your brother's estate.

I can practically guarantee you that the insurance companies will
fight you like mad under these circumstances. Get a lawyer
immediately.

cyborgny@bestweb.net (LennyZ) wrote in message
news:<ci9cp0h9opnbg0fc1ttr19npkqjejg225l@4ax.com>... My brother and his best friend were both killed in an auto accident (swerving to avoid deer). The friend was driving my brother's car. There was no alochol, drugs or excessive speed involved. Can we make a claim against the driver's insurance for wrongful death and is there a 'form' that can be used? Can we also make a claim on my brother's 'limited liability coverage'? Thank you in advance. This is a very difficult time.

Very sorry to hear of your tragic accident.

The insurance policy and state law will determine whether there is a
valid insurance claim. It is not uncommon for liability coverage to
cover injury or death to a passenger in a one-car accident, but it is
by no means a sure thing. Some states, such as New York, have complex
and counterintuitive law on the subject.

Since the policy is likely to be unclear as to whether such an
accident is covered, and state statutory and case law on such matters
can be complicated and downright inconsistent, you will almost
certainly need to engage a lawyer to get the best possible settlement.

It's time to start discussing the matter with a local personal-injury
lawyer.

--
Not a lawyer,

Chris Green