Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawyer
Losing a family member because of someone else’s carelessness is devastating. No legal claim can undo that loss, but a wrongful death case can hold the responsible parties accountable and provide financial security for the family left behind. Muggeo & Associates represents families in Massachusetts and beyond after fatal car and truck crashes, aviation accidents, resort and travel incidents, workplace accidents, and other preventable deaths.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
In Massachusetts, a wrongful death claim may be brought when a person’s death is caused by another’s negligence, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, or certain other wrongful acts. Common examples include fatal motor vehicle crashes, plane and helicopter crashes, dangerous property conditions, defective products, carbon monoxide exposure, drowning, and medical negligence.
Who Can Bring the Claim?
A Massachusetts wrongful death case is brought by the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate, known as the personal representative, on behalf of the family members entitled to recover. If no estate has been opened, one must be opened in the Probate and Family Court before the case can proceed. We help families with that step.
Who Receives Compensation?
Damages are distributed to the family members designated by statute, which generally include the surviving spouse, children, and in some cases parents or other next of kin, depending on who survives the decedent.
Damages in a Wrongful Death Case
- The fair monetary value of the decedent to the family, including lost income, services, protection, care, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, and advice
- Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
- Medical expenses incurred before death
- The decedent’s own conscious pain and suffering before death, where proven
- Punitive damages where the death was caused by gross negligence or willful, wanton, or reckless conduct
How Long Do We Have to File?
Most Massachusetts wrongful death claims must be filed within three years of the date of death, or within three years of when the executor or administrator knew or should have known of the factual basis for the claim. Claims against public employers, claims arising outside Massachusetts, and claims involving international travel can have different and shorter deadlines.
Deaths Outside Massachusetts
When a death occurs in another state or country, such as an aviation accident or a resort incident abroad, questions about which law applies and where the case can be filed become critical. Our firm handles multi-state and international matters and has an office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
How We Help Families
We handle the investigation, deal with the insurers, work with the estate, and pursue every responsible party, so the family can focus on each other. We understand these cases are deeply personal, and we keep families informed at every step.
Learn more about our personal injury, aviation, and travel and resort litigation practices.
Talk to a Lawyer Today
Call Muggeo & Associates at (978) 741-1177, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or send us a message. Our office is at 133 Washington Street in downtown Salem.
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines change and depend on the facts of each case. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.