The phone call comes, or the knock on the door, and the world stops. In a single violent moment, the structure of a family is shattered. The grief that follows a fatal car crash is suffocating, but the practical reality hits just as hard. The bills don’t stop coming because a funeral needs to be planned. The mortgage is still due even if the primary earner is gone.
When a loved one dies because another driver was careless, reckless, or negligent, the surviving family members are left in a terrible position. You are forced to make high-stakes decisions while living through the worst days of your life. The law in Ohio provides a framework for families to fight back, but the system is not automatic. It requires action. You have specific rights designed to secure your financial future and hold the at-fault party accountable.
File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The state handles criminal charges. If the driver was drunk or reckless, the police and prosecutors might seek jail time. That punishes the offender, but it does nothing to support the widow or the children left behind.
Your avenue for justice is civil court. A wrongful death lawsuit is a claim brought against the person or company responsible for the crash. It is a legal assertion that the death was preventable and caused directly by negligence. To win, we have to prove that the other driver had a duty to drive safely, they breached that duty, and that specific breach killed your family member.
This investigation starts immediately. While you are mourning, evidence is disappearing. Skid marks fade. Witnesses move away. Dashcam footage gets overwritten. You have the right to hire an attorney to step in and freeze that evidence. We reconstruct the crash to prove exactly what happened, ensuring the narrative isn’t twisted by the other side.
Economic Damages
The financial hole left by a sudden death is deep. The law allows the estate and the family to recover “economic damages.” These are the tangible, math-based losses that result from the crash.
First, there are the immediate costs. If your loved one was taken to the hospital before they passed, those medical bills are often astronomical. Ambulance fees, emergency surgery, and ICU stays are all recoverable. The cost of the funeral and burial is also a claimable expense.
Then, there is the future. If a father dies at 35, he had decades of earning potential ahead of him. That money was meant to buy groceries, pay for college tuitions, and fund a retirement. When a driver kills him, they steal that future income from his family. We use forensic economists to calculate exactly what that lost income amounts to, factoring in inflation, potential raises, and benefits like health insurance or 401(k) matching. You have a right to every cent that would have come into your household had the accident not occurred.
Compensation for Non-Economic Loss
Money replaces a paycheck, but it doesn’t replace a person. Ohio law recognizes that the damage done to a family goes beyond the bank account. “Non-economic damages” are the legal remedy for the human cost of the tragedy.
This includes the loss of consortium. For a spouse, this means the loss of companionship, intimacy, and partnership. For children, it is the loss of parental guidance, instruction, and upbringing. A child growing up without a parent suffers a deficit that is hard to quantify, but the law demands it be valued.
Mental anguish is also a factor. The psychological trauma inflicted on the survivors is real. The depression, the grief, and the emotional instability caused by the sudden loss are all grounds for compensation. Furthermore, if the victim survived the crash for any period of time before dying, the estate can claim damages for the conscious pain and suffering they endured in those final moments.
Seek Punitive Damages
Most car accident claims focus on making the family whole. However, some actions are so reckless that the court allows for “punitive damages.” These are not meant to compensate you; they are meant to punish the defendant.
These apply when the at-fault driver showed a “conscious disregard” for the safety of others. High-level drunk driving cases often fall into this category. The same goes for extreme road rage or drag racing. If the behavior was malicious or egregiously reckless, you have the right to ask a jury to send a message. It hits the defendant in their wallet to ensure they, and others watching, think twice before acting that way again.
Challenge Corporate Defendants
Not every fatal crash involves two sedans. If your family member was killed by a semi-truck, a delivery van, or a rideshare vehicle, the legal landscape shifts. You are likely not just suing a driver; you are suing a corporation.
Trucking companies and commercial carriers have massive insurance policies and aggressive legal teams. They often have investigators on the scene before the police clear the wreckage. You have the right to meet this force with your own.
In these cases, we look beyond the driver. Did the company hire a driver with a bad record? Did they force the driver to ignore federal hours-of-service rules to meet a deadline? Did they skip maintenance on the brakes? You have the right to hold the employer liable for the systemic failures that put a dangerous vehicle on the road.
Silence Insurance Adjusters
Here is the reality of the weeks following the funeral: the phone will ring. It will be an insurance adjuster. They will offer condolences. They will sound sympathetic. They will ask for a recorded statement “just to clear things up.”
You have the right to say absolutely nothing to them.
Insurance adjusters protect the insurance company’s profit margins. Their goal is to settle the claim for the lowest possible number. They know you are vulnerable, grieving, and likely worried about money. They might offer a quick check to make the problem go away. If you sign their release, your rights are gone forever. You cannot come back later when you realize the settlement doesn’t cover a fraction of your lifetime loss.
Your attorney acts as a shield. We handle the calls. We handle the letters. We ensure you don’t say anything that can be used against you later.
Act Before the Clock Runs Out
Time is not on your side. Every state has a “statute of limitations,” which is a strict deadline for filing a lawsuit. In Ohio, you generally have two years from the date of the death to file a wrongful death claim.
The legal system offers a path to stability, but you have to take the first step. You do not have to carry the weight of the legal battle while you are trying to heal. Let a professional fight for the future your family deserves. You can visit us at:
- Westerville – 4151 Executive Pkwy, Suite 355, Westerville, OH 43081
- Mansfield – 33 S. Lexington-Springmill Rd, Mansfield, OH 44906
Call now for a free consultation on (614) 224-4114.