Orlando Drunk Driving Wrongful Death Lawyers

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), someone is killed in a drunk driving collision about every 45 minutes in the United States. In fact, alcohol is the leading cause of motor vehicle fatalities in the U.S. The State of Florida consistently ranks among the top three states in the country with the highest number of annual alcohol-related fatalities. If you lost a loved one in an Orlando drunk driving crash, you may be entitled to compensation for your loss.

The Orlando drunk driving wrongful death lawyers at Bailey Fisher have seen the devastating impact a fatal drunk driving collision has on surviving family members. While we are keenly aware that monetary compensation cannot bring back your loved one, we also believe that the drunk driver involved in the collision should be held accountable. Our Orlando drunk driving wrongful death lawyers are committed to seeking justice for the surviving family members who are living with the financial devastation and emotional trauma caused by a fatal drunk driving crash.

Orlando Drunk Driving Facts and Figures

Along with being home to about two million people, Orlando is also a world-famous tourist destination thanks to attractions such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. That means that at any given time there may be hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the city’s roadways and all it takes is one drunk driver behind the wheel to cause a devastating collision.

In a single decade (2009 – 2018) 7,573 people lost their lives in Florida because of an accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data published by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) tells us that in Orange County alone there were 276 impaired driving accidents in 2021 that resulted in 180 injuries and 36 drunk driving fatalities.

Is a Drunk Driving Fatality a Wrongful Death in Florida?

When a drunk driver causes a collision that results in fatal injuries to an innocent victim, the victim’s surviving loved ones often suffer financially and emotionally. The Florida Wrongful Death Act (FWDA) was enacted to provide a legal pathway for survivors to pursue compensation from a party that caused or contributed to a “wrongful” death, defined as “…the death of a person that is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person, including those occurring on navigable waters, and the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued…” In the case of a drunk driving accident, the “negligence” necessary to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit is typically easy to satisfy with proof that the driver was impaired at the time of the collision.

Am I Entitled to Compensation for an Orlando Drunk Driving Wrongful Death?

In a Florida wrongful death lawsuit, only the decedent’s Personal Representative may initiate a lawsuit; however, the lawsuit may seek damages for both the estate of the decedent and eligible survivors. Eligible survivors under the FWDA may include:

The decedent’s spouse.
The decedent’s children
The decedent’s parents.
A blood relative or adopted sibling if you were partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services.
The decedent’s child born out of wedlock, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father, unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the child’s support.

What Type of Compensation Is Available in an Orlando Drunk Driving Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

In an Orlando drunk driving wrongful death lawsuit, the estate of the decedent may be entitled to damages (compensation) for:

Medical and funeral expenses paid directly by the estate.
Lost wages, benefits, and other earnings, including the value of lost earnings that the deceased person could reasonably have been expected to make if he or she had lived.
Lost “prospective net accumulations” of the estate, or the present value of net savings, after living expenses, the decedent likely would have accumulated during his or her lifetime had they lived.

Eligible survivors may also be entitled to damages for the financial hardship and emotional trauma suffered because of the defendant’s negligence. Specifically, an eligible survivor may be entitled to:

The value of support and services the deceased person provided to the surviving family member
Loss of companionship, guidance, and protection provided by the deceased person
Mental and emotional pain and suffering due to the loss of a child, spouse, or parent
Medical or funeral expenses any surviving family member has paid for the deceased person.

Get Help from Experienced Orlando Drunk Driving Wrongful Death Lawyers

If you lost a loved one in an Orlando drunk driving accident, you have a limited amount of time within which the law allows you to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. Consulting with the experienced Orlando drunk driving wrongful death lawyers at Bailey Fisher Law immediately is the best way to ensure that your right to pursue justice and to receive compensation from the at-fault driver is preserved.

Call us at 407-628-2929 or submit our online form today. One of our experienced Orlando drunk driving wrongful death lawyers will evaluate your case for free. For viable personal injury cases, we will follow up with the necessary legal action to hold the responsible party accountable for their negligence and recover the financial compensation you deserve for your pain, suffering, and losses.