Fort Wayne wrongful death lawyers and claims: a guide for families

Personal Injury Attorney Fort Wayne is a free attorney referral service, not a law firm. It can connect your family with a participating independent attorney’s office, and the directory of Fort Wayne personal injury law firms shows which local firms name wrongful death among their practice areas. None of this is legal advice.

What a wrongful death claim is

Under Indiana Code 34-23-1-1, when a death is caused by another’s wrongful act or omission, a claim may be brought for it. The kinds of loss Indiana law names include reasonable medical, hospital, funeral and burial expenses, and lost earnings. A lawyer can explain what else may be part of a claim in a particular family’s situation.

Wrongful death claims arise from many kinds of events: a crash on a Fort Wayne road, a fall, an accident at work, medical care that went wrong, or something else entirely. The cause shapes which rules apply, which is why the sections below look at several of them.

Who brings the claim: the personal representative

In Indiana, a wrongful death claim is generally brought by the personal representative of the person who died. That is the person who handles the estate of the person who died. Family members who are grieving often do not know whether a representative has been appointed yet, and that is fine: a lawyer can explain how the estate side and the claim fit together and what has to happen first.

If a case is filed in court for a Fort Wayne death, it would generally be in the Allen Circuit Court or the Allen Superior Court. Allen County court records can be looked up on mycase.IN.gov by selecting Allen County, according to the Allen County Clerk.

Different rules for a child or an adult with no dependents

Indiana has separate wrongful death rules depending on who died. Different rules can apply when the person who died was a child or an adult with no dependents. The child rules are in Indiana Code 34-23-2-1, and the rules for an adult without dependents are in Indiana Code 34-23-1-2. Which set applies is one of the first things to ask a lawyer about.

The deadline for a wrongful death claim

Indiana law generally requires a wrongful death action to be started by the personal representative within two years. Some situations have a shorter or different clock:

• A city, town, county or the state. If a public body or its employee was involved, a written tort claim notice is generally due within 180 days after the loss for a city, town or county, and 270 days for the State of Indiana. See the Indiana tort claim notice.
• Medical care. A claim against a health care provider generally has two years from the date of the act or omission and goes first to a medical review panel. The medical malpractice guide explains the process.
• A death at work. Workers’ compensation can provide benefits to dependents when a worker dies from a job injury, and a claim with the Worker’s Compensation Board generally has to be filed within two years after the death. See the workers’ comp guide.

When fault is shared

Insurers sometimes argue that the person who died was partly to blame. Indiana generally follows modified comparative fault, set out in Indiana Code 34-51-2: where the claimant’s share of fault is 50 percent or less, any recovery is generally reduced by that share, and at 51 percent or more recovery is generally barred. Claims against a government unit can follow different fault rules. How fault is weighed in a death claim is a question for a licensed Indiana attorney.

Deaths after medical care

When a family believes a death followed a medical mistake, Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act applies alongside the wrongful death rules. That Act brings its own steps, including the medical review panel, its own deadline and a limit on what can be recovered; the medical malpractice guide explains them. A licensed Indiana attorney can say how the two sets of rules fit together for your family.

Deaths at work

In general, workers’ compensation is the main remedy against the employer for a death from a job injury in Indiana. The Board describes workers’ comp as an accident insurance program paid by the employer that can provide benefits to dependents when a worker dies from a job injury. If someone other than the employer caused the death, such as another driver or the maker of faulty equipment, a separate claim may also be possible. A lawyer can explain how the two fit together.

What to keep safe while you grieve

You do not need to organize everything at once. When you have the energy, these items help any lawyer understand what happened:

• The death certificate and any police, incident or hospital reports.
• Medical bills, funeral and burial bills, and receipts.
• Pay stubs, tax returns or other records of the person’s earnings.
• Insurance letters and anything you have been asked to sign.
• Names of witnesses, and photos or messages from around the time of the event.
• The will, if there is one, and any court papers about the estate.

If an insurance company asks for a recorded statement or offers papers to sign, it is reasonable to say you will respond after speaking with a lawyer.

Questions families often ask a wrongful death attorney

• Who should be the personal representative, and do we need to open an estate first?
• Which deadline applies, and is a tort claim notice needed?
• Do the rules for a child or for an adult with no dependents apply here?
• How is your fee figured, and what costs could the family owe? (In Indiana, a contingency fee agreement must be in writing and signed.)
• Who in your office will be our contact, and how often will we hear from you?

Our list of questions to ask an injury lawyer has more, and how injury lawyers charge explains contingency fees in plain words.

Finding a wrongful death lawyer in Fort Wayne

Your family has two ways to start here. The free referral line connects you with the intake team of a participating independent attorney’s office; calls may be recorded, and the office should tell you its name. Or you can choose a firm yourself from the A to Z directory, where many listings show wrongful death among the firm’s own practice areas, with the firm’s address, phone and website. Speaking with someone does not commit your family to anything.

Questions people ask