Albuquerque Fatal Car Accident Attorney

In addition to feeling the devastation of the loss, families whose loved ones have died in fatal car accidents may feel anxiety. How will they pay their bills or their mortgage payments? Who will take care of the kids? There are a number of practical issues that may come up after a death in the family. If your loved one died as a result of someone else’s negligence, the Albuquerque car accident attorneys at the Fine Law Firm may be able to assert your right to compensation. This can help you take care of these practical concerns and take away some of the anxiety.

Why Choose Us at The Fine Law Firm

• Our personal injury and wrongful death attorneys have a 99 percent case success rate. We have collected millions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts for our clients.

• When results matter most, clients count on us. Our team of attorneys is prepared to go to trial, if necessary, to achieve maximum compensation for a wrongful death claim.

• Our law firm has over 40 years in the business. In that time, we have become nationally recognized and locally respected for our case results and client service.

• We accept clients on a contingency fee basis. This payment arrangement means we don’t charge anything for our legal services unless we win the case and secure the client compensation.

How Can Car Accidents Result in Fatalities?

Every year, hundreds of unsuspecting victims lose their lives in fatal car accidents in New Mexico. These accidents can almost always be prevented; they are often caused by human error and driver negligence. Careless and reckless driving behaviors are behind many fatal collisions in Albuquerque.

Common causes of fatal car accidents include:

• Road rage or aggressive driving: dangerous driver behaviors caused by frustration, such as speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, and cutting other drivers off.

• Speeding: exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for conditions, which can reduce a driver’s control over the motor vehicle and lead to a deadly high-speed crash.

• Driving under the influence: the use of drugs or alcohol by a driver, which increases the likelihood of reckless behaviors, such as speeding, racing and red-light running.

• Driver distraction: cell phone use, texting and driving, and other forms of distraction that take a driver’s attention away from the road and increase crash risks.

• Failing to yield: ignoring New Mexico’s right-of-way laws, which could lead to an intersection accident or deadly collision with a vulnerable pedestrian or bicyclist.

In addition to driver mistakes that cause fatal car accidents, certain types of motor vehicle collisions in Albuquerque are more likely to result in fatalities than others:

• Hit-and-run accidents: if an at-fault driver does not stop at the scene of the accident, the victim may not receive critical medical care. This can increase the odds of a victim passing away from his or her injuries.

• Head-on collisions: driving the wrong way, drunk driving and drowsy driving all increase the likelihood of a head-on collision. These accidents can be deadly because they occur at the combined speeds of both vehicles.

• T-bone accidents: side-impact collisions can occur at intersections if one or both drivers fail to follow traffic signs and signals. The force of the impact in a T-bone collision strikes a driver or passenger directly, which could inflict fatal injuries.

• Truck accidents: crashes involving large commercial trucks can be catastrophic due to the difference in weight between a big rig and the average passenger car.

• Bicycle and pedestrian collisions: when a car strikes a vulnerable road user, the victim is more likely to sustain life-threatening injuries due to a lack of protection from harm.

Serious motor vehicle accidents such as high-speed collisions, rollovers and multi-vehicle pileups are more likely to result in fatalities. No matter what caused your loved one’s fatal car accident, discuss your potential eligibility for financial compensation with an attorney.

Pursuing Damages After a Fatal Car Accident

A wrongful death in New Mexico is one that is caused by someone else’s wrongful act, neglect, or default. A wrongful death lawsuit can be brought by a decedent’s survivors in order to establish a defendant’s liability and ask for damages. Sometimes a prosecutor pursues criminal charges against the defendant responsible for the fatal car accident. However, the status of a criminal case does not affect whether a civil suit can be filed.

You can bring a civil suit even if the defendant was acquitted of criminal charges. The standard of proof in a civil suit is lower than that of a criminal case, which means that you may be able to recover compensation even if the defendant has been found not guilty in a criminal trial or if the charges have been dropped.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit After a Fatal Auto Collision

You may file a wrongful death lawsuit if you are the personal representative of the decedent’s estate. Often, the personal representative is a surviving spouse or sibling. If no personal representative has been named or there is no estate plan, the court has the authority to appoint a personal representative.

To file a wrongful death lawsuit for a fatal auto accident in Albuquerque, start by consulting with an attorney. Your lawyer can assist you with the steps required to bring a cause of action with the correct courthouse in Albuquerque. This will include identifying the liable parties, filling out claims paperwork, submitting the claim to the courts and paying the filing fee.

In a wrongful death claim, it is your responsibility to establish the truth of what you are claiming as “more likely than not,” also known as a preponderance of the evidence, as the plaintiff. You or your lawyer must meet this burden of proof using clear and convincing evidence against the defendant(s). Although evidence varies by case, it may include police reports, medical records, crash reconstruction and witness statements.

What Damages Are Available for a Fatal Car Accident in Albuquerque?

The damages, or financial compensation, that may be available to surviving loved ones after a deadly collision in Albuquerque will depend on the circumstances, such as the age of the decedent at the time of death and the losses suffered by beneficiaries. The two main categories of damages awarded in a wrongful death case are compensatory and punitive.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are designed to make a plaintiff whole again. They are divided into economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages, also known as specific or tangible damages, are the financial losses associated with a fatal car accident. These can compensate survivors for their own losses as well as the losses suffered by the decedent prior to death.

The compensatory damages that may be awarded include reasonable funeral expenses, medical bills, financial contributions to the household that the decedent would have made had he or she lived, mental anguish, loss of companionship, and pain and suffering experienced by the decedent before death.

Punitive Damages

In some cases, punitive damages may also be available to punish and deter truly egregious conduct that results in a fatal car accident. If an intoxicated driver crashes into a victim and causes a deadly car accident, for example, the courts may award punitive damages to penalize the defendant for reckless and wanton driving behaviors.

Who Receives a Settlement for a Wrongful Death Case?

The damages to be recovered in a wrongful death suit are for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors. When there are no children but there is a surviving spouse, the spouse recovers everything. When there are children and a surviving spouse, half of the damages go to the spouse and other half is divided among the surviving children. When there are children or grandchildren but no surviving spouse, the damages will be divided among them according to the laws of right of representation in New Mexico.

How Long Do You Have to File a Fatal Car Accident Claim in Albuquerque?

Under section 41-2-2 of the New Mexico Statutes, you have three years from the date of the death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If you wait longer than that, you will be barred from bringing suit, except in certain limited circumstances.

The statute of limitations states: “Every action instituted by virtue of the provisions of this and the preceding section [41-2-1 NMSA 1978] must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues. The cause of action accrues as of the date of death.”

According to this law, the clock on the statute of limitations starts counting down on the date of the decedent’s death. This differs from the deadline on a personal injury claim, as the date of the victim’s death might not match the date of the car accident.

Who Could Be Liable for Death Resulting From a Car Accident?

Liability in a fatal car accident claim in Albuquerque will most likely go to the person or party most at fault for causing the crash. If this is a negligent or reckless motor vehicle driver, his or her car insurance company can be held liable for survivors’ losses.

Other possibilities include:

• The owner of a vehicle
• An auto part manufacturer
• An employer
• A trucking company
• A property owner
• A dram shop
• The government

Liability can vary depending on the specific circumstances of the fatal car accident. It is important to work with an attorney to identify all of the liable parties in your case, as this can allow your family to pursue maximum compensation from multiple insurance providers.

Discuss Your Fatal Car Accident Claim with an Albuquerque Attorney

After a fatal car accident, you may be more focused on your grief than practical considerations. However, it is important to seek legal guidance. At the Fine Law Firm, we are experienced Albuquerque wrongful death lawyers who can help you seek the full scope of damages available to them under the circumstances.

Contact us via our online form or call us at (505) 494-1646 to schedule a free consultation. The Fine Law Firm also assists injured individuals in Rio Rancho and elsewhere in New Mexico.