Philadelphia Fatal Car Accident Lawyer

File a Survival Action Claim

A survival action claim compensates for what your loved one experienced and lost between the time of injury and death. This claim stands in their shoes. It recovers the damages they would have pursued if they had survived the crash.

If your loved one lived for any period after the accident, the survival action includes compensation for their pain and suffering during that time. Whether they survived for minutes, hours, or days, they likely experienced physical pain, emotional distress, and fear.

The survival action can also cover medical expenses incurred before death and lost wages from the time of injury until death. Any compensation recovered becomes part of your loved one's estate and is distributed according to their will or Pennsylvania inheritance law.

In fatal car accident cases, our Philadelphia fatal car accident lawyer pursues both claims together to maximize your family's recovery. They address different losses and provide different types of compensation, and you're entitled to both.

Who Can Bring a Claim After a Fatal Car Accident in Philadelphia

Pennsylvania law designates who can file these claims.

The personal representative of your loved one's estate (the executor named in their will or an administrator appointed by the court) has the legal authority to bring both the wrongful death claim and survival action.

If the personal representative doesn't file a wrongful death claim within six months of your loved one's death, the law allows certain family members to file directly. These statutory beneficiaries include:

• The surviving spouse
• The children
• The parents

So if your spouse died and the estate's executor hasn't filed a wrongful death claim after six months, you, as the surviving spouse, can file it yourself.

We handle the paperwork and legal filings regardless of whether you're the personal representative or a statutory beneficiary filing after six months. We make sure the claims get filed correctly and on time.

What Happens If Your Loved One Was Partially at Fault

Pennsylvania's modified comparative negligence rule applies to fatal accident cases just like any other injury claim.

• If your loved one shares some responsibility for the crash, it affects your recovery, but you can still pursue compensation as long as their fault was 50% or less.

Here's how it works.

Say your spouse was driving through an intersection when another driver ran a red light and hit them at high speed, killing them instantly. The investigation shows the other driver was clearly at fault for running the red light. But it also reveals your spouse was driving five miles over the speed limit. The fault gets assigned at 90% to the other driver and 10% to your spouse.

Your total damages are calculated at $2 million. Because your spouse was 10% at fault, your recovery gets reduced by that percentage. You'd receive $1.8 million instead of the full $2 million.

But if the investigation determined your loved one was 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover anything under Pennsylvania law, even though the other driver also contributed to the crash.

The insurance company will try to inflate your loved one's fault percentage to reduce what they pay. They'll scrutinize every detail, including speed, lane position, phone records, and toxicology reports, looking for anything to shift blame. We fight their attempts to unfairly assign fault and ensure the percentage reflects what actually happened.

You can still recover meaningful compensation even if your loved one shares some fault. Our Philadelphia fatal car accident lawyer has helped families recover substantial settlements in cases where their loved one bore partial responsibility for the crash.

Your Timeline to File Both a Wrongful Death Claim and a Survival Action

Pennsylvania gives you two years from the date of death to file both claims. Miss that deadline, and you likely permanently lose your right to compensation, regardless of how clear the other driver's fault was or how catastrophic your losses are.

Two years might seem like enough time when you're in the immediate aftermath of a fatal accident. It's not. The first months are consumed by grief, funeral arrangements, estate matters, and trying to keep your family functioning. Insurance companies drag out investigations and negotiations. Evidence takes time to gather. Before you realize it, months have passed.

The sooner you contact our Philadelphia fatal car accident lawyer, the better. We can start investigating while the evidence is fresh, witness memories are clear, and the accident scene hasn't changed. We can deal with insurance companies while you focus on your family. And we ensure all claims get filed well before the deadline approaches.

What Your Family Can Recover Financially

The compensation available depends on whether it's part of the wrongful death claim or the survival action. Both address real needs your family faces.

Wrongful Death Damages

The wrongful death claim compensates your family for specific losses.

• You can recover the value of the financial support your loved one would have provided over their expected lifetime. If your spouse earned $75,000 annually and would have worked another 25 years, that lost income has a calculable value.
• You can seek compensation for the services your loved one performed. If your spouse managed the household, handled yard work, and provided childcare, those services have economic value.
• You can recover funeral and burial expenses. These costs add up quickly, often reaching $10,000 to $15,000 or more.
• The claim includes compensation for lost companionship, guidance, and emotional support. Your spouse won't be there to support you through life's challenges. Your children have lost a parent's love, advice, and presence. Pennsylvania law recognizes these losses, though no amount of money replaces what you've lost.

Survival Action Damages

The survival action recovers what your loved one experienced before death. If they survived for any period after the crash, compensation for their pain and suffering during that time gets included. This addresses the physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish they endured.

All medical expenses from the accident until death are recoverable, including ambulance, emergency room, hospital stays, surgery, ICU care, and whatever treatment they received attempting to save their life.

Don't let insurance companies minimize your family's loss. Contact us today for a free consultation to understand your full legal options.

How Our Philadelphia Fatal Car Accident Lawyer Builds a Strong Case for Your Loved One

Every wrongful death case is unique, so how we help depends on your specific situation. But every wrongful death case requires proving four legal elements. Here's what our Philadelphia car accident lawyer needs to establish and how they do it.

The Defendant Owed a Duty

Under Pennsylvania law, every driver has a legal duty to operate their vehicle with reasonable care. This means following traffic laws, paying attention to the road, driving sober, and taking basic precautions to avoid harming others.

This element is usually straightforward. If they were behind the wheel, they owed a duty of care to other drivers, including your loved one.

The Defendant Breached That Duty

A breach means the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care.

They ran a red light. They were texting while driving. They were drunk. They were speeding excessively. They failed to yield. Any violation of traffic laws or failure to drive safely constitutes a breach.

We prove the breach by gathering evidence.

We obtain the police report documenting citations or violations. We request traffic camera footage showing what happened. We interview witnesses who saw the defendant's driving behavior. We examine the defendant's phone records if distraction is suspected. We review toxicology reports if impairment is an issue.

If the defendant received a traffic citation for the crash, that helps establish breach.

The Breach Caused the Death

We must prove a direct connection between the defendant's negligent actions and your loved one's death.

If the defendant ran a red light and T-boned your loved one's car, causing fatal injuries, that causation is clear.

We establish causation through accident reconstruction when necessary.

Experts analyze vehicle damage, road evidence, and physics to show how the crash occurred and why it was fatal. We obtain the autopsy report and medical records showing the injuries that caused death. We demonstrate that those injuries resulted directly from the defendant's negligent actions.

Sometimes the insurance company argues other factors caused or contributed to the death: a pre-existing medical condition, your loved one's own actions, or road conditions. We counter these arguments.

Damages Resulted

We document every loss your family has suffered. We build a complete financial picture so the insurance company and, if necessary, a jury understand the full scope of your family's losses.

We Protect You From Insurance Company Lowballing

Insurance companies make lowball offers to grieving families, hoping you'll accept quick money and go away.

They know you're vulnerable. They know you're facing immediate financial pressure from funeral costs and lost income. They're counting on you not knowing what your case is actually worth.

We've seen insurers offer $50,000 on cases worth over $1 million. They ignore non-economic damages like lost companionship. They inflate your loved one's fault to reduce their liability.

We don't let them get away with it. We calculate what your case is truly worth, and we don't negotiate down from that number without good reason. We respond to lowball offers by showing them the evidence. We demonstrate why their offer doesn't come close to fair compensation.

The insurance company also tries to blame your loved one for the crash. They scrutinize every detail, looking for ways to shift fault. We counter their blame-shifting with our own investigation and evidence showing what actually happened.

We Are Not Afraid to Go to Trial if Necessary

Most wrongful death cases settle before trial. But some don't. When the insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, we take the case to a jury.

We've tried hundreds of personal injury cases in Philadelphia courts, including fatal accident cases. We know how to present your loved one's story to a jury in a way that honors their memory and demonstrates the devastating impact their death has had on your family.

You shouldn't have to fight insurance companies while grieving your loved one. Let our experienced fatal accident lawyers handle every legal detail so you can focus on your family.

Discuss your case with our fatal car crash lawyer in Philadelphia, PA, today.

What Sets Our Philadelphia Fatal Accident Team Apart, and Why Choose Us

We built this firm to represent families facing the worst moments of their lives. When you lose someone in a fatal accident, we understand you're grieving, you're scared about your financial future, and you're trying to hold your family together.

When you meet with us, we don't immediately jump into legal strategy. We ask about your loved one. Who were they? What did they mean to your family? How has their death affected your daily life? We need to understand who you lost to effectively represent you.

We ask about your financial situation. Were they the primary earner? Are you facing immediate money problems? Do you have young children who need support? These details shape how aggressively we pursue your case and what settlement terms we'll accept.

We explain the legal process clearly because you've never dealt with a wrongful death case before. We walk you through what wrongful death and survival action claims are, who can file them, what evidence we need, and what timeline we're working with. We answer your questions in plain language, not legal jargon.

You won't get handed off to a paralegal. You'll work directly with one of our attorneys who knows your case and cares about your outcome. When you call with questions, whether it's during business hours or at nine o'clock on a Saturday night, you'll reach a lawyer from our firm, not an answering service.

Our team understands that no amount of money brings your loved one back. But fair compensation helps ensure your family's financial security and holds the person who caused this tragedy accountable. We fight to make sure you receive every dollar you're entitled to under Pennsylvania law.

Experience and Recognition

We've represented injured people and grieving families in Pennsylvania for over 50 years. We've recovered more than $100 million for our clients, including substantial settlements and verdicts in wrongful death cases.

Our attorneys have earned recognition:

• Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
• Named to America's Top 1000 Personal Injury Attorneys
• Included in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
• Listed among the Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Top 25

This experience matters when you're facing insurance companies with aggressive defense teams. We know how fatal accident cases work in Pennsylvania courts. We've negotiated with every major insurance carrier. We've taken wrongful death cases to trial and won significant verdicts for families.

Insurance companies know our reputation. They know we thoroughly investigate cases, hire top experts, and aren't afraid to go to trial. That track record gives us leverage during settlement negotiations and often results in better outcomes for our clients.

When your family is facing the unthinkable, you need lawyers who will fight as hard for you as we do. Talk to us about your case.

Contact Our Philadelphia Fatal Car Accident Lawyer at van der Veen, Hartshorn & Levin Today for a Free Case Evaluation

Losing your spouse, parent, or child in a car accident is devastating. And insurance companies are asking for statements.

The legal system feels overwhelming when you're barely getting through each day. You don't have to navigate this alone. We represent families who've lost loved ones to fatal car accidents.

We handle the investigation, deal with insurance companies, and fight for the compensation your family needs. We understand what you're going through, and we're here to help.

For help from a fatal car accident lawyer in Philadelphia, reach out to van der Veen, Hartshorn & Levin online or call today.