Injury victims in Arizona are well-aware of their legal options should they suffer harm due to someone else’s negligence in an accident such as a car crash or a trip-and-fall incident. However, they might not acknowledge the ability to represent another person in a legal proceeding. In the event of a fatal accident in Arizona, surviving family members may be eligible to file a wrongful death suit on behalf of the deceased. Your family and the deceased person’s estate may be eligible to receive compensation for their losses through a wrongful death claim.

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wrongful death attorneys in arizona

When a loved one in Scottsdale has passed away, the legal team at Wade and Nysather Law Team can help the surviving family members seek justice and financial compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. We have extensive expertise in assisting families to file claims with insurance companies and litigate cases against negligent parties after a loved one’s untimely death. Our leading attorney is available today to discuss your situation in greater detail. For a no-cost first appointment in Scottsdale, Arizona, please dial (602) 547-2222.

Why Should You Work With Us?

There is no case too big or too little for our wrongful death lawyers in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Our lawyers take a client-centered approach to the law, spending time getting to know them as people before developing a case strategy.

  • Our track record of accomplishment in the insurance industry has benefited our clients.
  • Our legal team has dealt with instances involving a wide range of injuries and fatalities.
  • No up-front costs are associated with hiring one of our wrongful death attorneys in Scottsdale.

Advantages of Working with a Lawyer Specializing in Wrongful Death

An experienced plaintiffs’ attorney in Arizona can help you file a claim for wrongful death. Hiring a lawyer will relieve you of the burden of investigating the case, establishing liability, and collecting evidence. While you focus on funeral arrangements and healing as a family, your attorney can handle your county’s complex paperwork and claims to file.

If an insurance company tries to take advantage of you, you won’t have to worry about being taken advantage of by an insurance company acting in bad faith. Throughout the talks, your attorney will be there to defend your interests. Hiring a wrongful death attorney to handle your claim will provide you the freedom to concentrate on other matters.

Advantages of Working with a Lawyer Specializing in Wrongful Death

You will not be taken advantage of by insurance companies acting in bad faith, even if a corporation does. Your attorney will aggressively defend your interests at every negotiating stage. After hiring a wrongful death lawyer to handle your claim, you can move on with your life without worrying about the legalities.

First, we must stress the value of having a Scottsdale wrongful death attorney on your side. It takes time, money, and intelligent lawyers to prove fault in a wrongful death lawsuit. Getting an attorney can help you even the playing field against the opposing party, so there’s no shame in admitting you need aid.

How Are Arizona Wrongful Death And Negligence Defined

Most people don’t know that the law defines negligence in particular ways. In particular, the family or estate of the deceased person must show that four components of carelessness exist before the defendant can be held liable for damages. In most cases, the plaintiff (with the aid of their attorney) is responsible for proving the following:

Duty of care. The plaintiff has the burden of establishing to the court that the defendant was responsible for the deceased person’s well-being. Depending on the specifics of the fatal event, the duty of care in wrongful death proceedings will take on a variety of forms. As an illustration, a plaintiff in a car accident action must show that the defendant had a duty to drive safely and in accordance with all applicable laws. Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring their products are safe and effective functioning for end users.

How Are Arizona Wrongful Death And Negligence Defined

Breach of duty Once your attorney established that the suspected party owed the departed a duty of care, the plaintiff must show that the defendant breached that duty of care in some way that led to the decedent’s death. It is the burden of the plaintiff’s attorney to prove that the defendant was careless or negligent in their duty in allowing the sale of the dangerous goods that ultimately resulted in the victim’s death. The plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant’s actions directly caused the incident, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or failing to stop at a red light.

Causation. Negligence cannot be proven simply by establishing that the defendant disobeyed the law or violated their responsibility. It is also necessary to verify that the defendant’s conduct was the cause of the decedent’s death. A defendant’s failure to stop at a red light while operating a vehicle is not always grounds for criminal liability if the victim’s death resulted from another factor, such as a breakdown in the vehicle’s machinery (airbag failed to deploy, seat belt malfunction, etc.).

Damages. The last aspect of a successful wrongful death claim is proof of the plaintiff’s actual financial loss. Funeral and burial costs, pain and suffering damages, lost future income, etc., are all examples of monetary and non-economic losses that may be claimed.

An attorney needs to put time and energy into an in-depth examination of the incident to establish all of the requisite aspects of wrongful death. As part of this process, you’ll need to collect evidence like:

  • Vehicle “black box” data
  • Accident reports or police reports
  • Safety records of the defendant
  • Video or photo surveillance of the incident
  • Statements from eyewitnesses
  • Mobile phone data


Evidence requirements for proving wrongful death in Scottsdale, Arizona, depending on the nature of the case and the circumstances surrounding the decedent’s passing. An attorney may need to retain the services of a forensic scientist or engineer specializing in accident reconstruction to piece together what transpired correctly. The plaintiff can use the expert’s testimony before an insurance company or a wrongful death jury.

The Most Common Causes Of Death Due To Negligence Include:

The Most Common Causes Of Death Due To Negligence Include:

A wrongful death lawsuit may be filed when a person dies due to the recklessness, neglect, or malice of another person, company, or corporation. Wrongful death lawsuits can be brought for various reasons in Scottsdale, Arizona. Regularly, the Wade and Nysather Law Team assists clients who have suffered wrongful death as a result of:

 Car Collisions: Distracted driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, aggressive driving, road construction, and other factors can all lead to collisions on the road. In the United States, car crashes consistently rank high on the list of top causes of wrongful death.

Commercial Big Rig Accidents. Large commercial trucks can cause catastrophic damage in an accident, and the occupants of standard automobiles are almost always killed. In the event of a fatality caused by a commercial truck, multiple entities could be held responsible for the victim’s family’s financial losses.

 Bicycle or pedestrian accidents. Both pedestrians and bikers are in a precarious position when they are on or near a roadway. Accidents that include automobiles are far less likely to result in fatalities than vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists.

Product Defects. Everyone involved in the creation, production, distribution, and retail sale of a product has to reduce the likelihood of injury their wares will cause to members of the general public. In Scottsdale, Arizona, a person has the right to file a wrongful death case if they believe their death was due to a poor design, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn of probable hazards.

On The Job Accidents. A wrongful death lawsuit may be filed if an employee dies at work due to their employer’s negligence or a third party. This type of death may occur as a consequence of an accident or an act of violence. Unsafe working conditions, fires or explosions, inadequate training, faulty equipment, machine-related mishaps, vehicle accidents, and other factors are among the most common causes of unjustified deaths on the job.

Illegal activities. It is possible to have a wrongful death case if a person’s life is taken due to another person’s criminal conduct. These instances can emerge from a variety of different circumstances, including murder. On the other hand, there are a variety of other forms of illegal conduct that can result in death but do not necessarily constitute murder.

Medical malpractice. According to studies performed at Johns Hopkins, errors in medical care are the third largest cause of death in the United States. Surgical mistakes, improper medication, anesthesia mistakes, healthcare-acquired infections, Misdiagnoses, failure to diagnose, failure to treat, and other factors are among the most common causes of medical errors that lead to death. Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and failure to treat are among the most common causes of medical errors leading to death.

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In the event of a wrongful death lawsuit in Arizona, what kinds of compensation are available to be recovered?

As a consequence of filing a claim for wrongful death, surviving family members or the estate may be entitled to one or more of several different types of monetary compensation. This encompasses financial and emotional losses and other types of damage.

Damages to a family’s economic well-being comprise several different forms of money lost due to wrongful death. The following are some examples of this:

The total amount spent on a patient’s medical care before their passing.

Expenditure on a funeral and burial

If they had continued to live, the value of the deceased’s potential contributions to society, such as money or resources.

These intangible losses are known as “non-economic damages,” and they might be more challenging to quantify than financial ones. These are quantifiable losses, and they may be compensated for by insurance.

  • Nurturing
  • Love
  • Consortium
  • Affection
  • Companionship


The plaintiff and their attorney will often sum up any expenses that could be tallied while striving to determine the total economic losses in a wrongful death lawsuit. This includes medical bills, funeral home bills, out-of-pocket receipts, etc. The support the victim would have provided throughout an average lifespan will require more complicated calculations. The following are some of the factors that will be taken into account by the court:

  • The age of the person who passed
  • Their status in terms of their health before the event
  • The decedent’s earning potential
  • The decedent’s children’s needs
  • Various additional essential details


It will be more challenging to establish a monetary number for the damages that are not economical. An experienced wrongful death attorney in Scottsdale will work to adequately express the emotional distress, physical pain and suffering, and inconvenience that the family has to go through as a result of the untimely death of their loved one. This attorney will work to get the family the compensation they deserve for their losses.

Trusted economic and financial experts are frequently required to calculate non-economic and monetary damages so that insurance companies or a wrongful death jury can understand the full scope of the problem, the proper compensation amounts, and the reasoning behind the requested monetary settlement fee.

The Laws of Arizona Regarding Wrongful Death

You must abide by Arizona’s wrongful death statutes for your family or the deceased person’s estate to be eligible to receive financial compensation from a defendant. The process of bringing a claim for wrongful death and pursuing compensation requires compliance with various legal requirements, varying from state to state. Although there are likely numerous distinct laws that apply to your situation, you should educate yourself on the most important ones.

Restrictions placed on filing. In Arizona, the only people eligible to pursue a claim for wrongful death are the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, parents, or legal guardians. If you are the personal representative of the decedent’s estate or the decedent, you will also be able to file the claim.

The Laws of Arizona Regarding Wrongful Death

The applicable statute of limitations. It is vital to take action within at least two years of the date of the death of a loved one; nevertheless, the majority of families choose to focus on planning a funeral and burial before getting in touch with a lawyer. If you miss the deadline for filing your claim within the statute of limitations, your family may lose the ability to sue another party for the deadly accident.

The laws of comparative fault In a wrongful death case in Arizona, the doctrine of a pure comparative fault will be applied when there is a question of whether or not the deceased person was negligent. Your family might be eligible for a lower compensation award if the deceased member of your family contributed in any way to the accident. In Arizona, a plaintiff can be found at least partially responsible for an accident, even if they are 99 percent at blame.

Your potential claim for wrongful death may be governed by a number of statutes in Arizona, some of which may be explained in detail by the law firm of Wade and Nysather. Laws about product liability, premises liability, fault-based insurance, and possibly, even more could fall into this category. Employing legal representation will help guarantee that you correctly traverse all of the statutes pertaining to your wrongful death claim.

Bicycle or pedestrian accidents. Both pedestrians and bikers are in a precarious position when they are on or near a roadway. Accidents that include automobiles are far less likely to result in fatalities than vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists.

Product Defects. Everyone involved in the creation, production, distribution, and retail sale of a product has to reduce the likelihood of injury their wares will cause to members of the general public. In Scottsdale, Arizona, a person has the right to file a wrongful death case if they believe their death was due to a poor design, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn of probable hazards.

On The Job Accidents. A wrongful death lawsuit may be filed if an employee dies at work due to their employer’s negligence or a third party. This type of death may occur as a consequence of an accident or an act of violence. Unsafe working conditions, fires or explosions, inadequate training, faulty equipment, machine-related mishaps, vehicle accidents, and other factors are among the most common causes of unjustified deaths on the job.

Illegal activities. It is possible to have a wrongful death case if a person’s life is taken due to another person’s criminal conduct. These instances can emerge from a variety of different circumstances, including murder. On the other hand, there are a variety of other forms of illegal conduct that can result in death but do not necessarily constitute murder.

Medical malpractice. According to studies performed at Johns Hopkins, errors in medical care are the third largest cause of death in the United States. Surgical mistakes, improper medication, anesthesia mistakes, healthcare-acquired infections, Misdiagnoses, failure to diagnose, failure to treat, and other factors are among the most common causes of medical errors that lead to death. Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and failure to treat are among the most common causes of medical errors leading to death.

Seek the Counsel of a Scottsdale, Arizona, Wrongful Death Lawyer

Seek the Counsel of a Scottsdale, Arizona, Wrongful Death Lawyer

The death of a loved one is among life’s most trying experiences. We at the Wade & Nysather Law Group feel strongly that no Arizona family should deal with a wrongful death claim alone. While focusing on healing from your loss, your attorney can gather evidence and prepare a lawsuit against the responsible party. Reach our law office immediately to speak with a sympathetic lawyer. You can reach us at any hour of the day or night at (602) 547-2222 or through our web form to arrange a no-cost initial consultation in Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, and Mesa, AZ.

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