$1M+ Wrongful Death Recovery for Family After Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash

When a mother tragically died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, her surviving family members reached out to our firm for help. At that time, it was unclear whether any insurance coverage was available, and the police report provided very limited information as to the cause of the collision. The family engaged our firm due to our decades of experience with catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters and asked us to pursue recovery on their behalf.

The loss required the family to address immediate personal, legal, and estate-related matters, while it remained uncertain whether the at-fault driver had insurance at the time of the crash.

Investigating Insurance Coverage

One of the initial challenges was determining whether any liability insurance existed. The driver did not carry his own auto insurance and appeared to have limited personal assets. Through investigative efforts, our firm identified a separate insurance policy that provided coverage with limits exceeding $1 million.

Estate Guidance

Wrongful death cases often involve estate and probate requirements before any recovery can be distributed. Not only did we win the underlying motor vehicle accident case, but our firm also assisted with the process of estate creation and administration so the claim could proceed.

Medical Lien Reduction

In Washington, when a health insurer pays for medical treatment, it may assert a lien against settlement proceeds. In this case, a significant lien related to medical expenses was asserted against the Estate. Our firm negotiated a substantial reduction of that lien, increasing the net recovery available to the beneficiaries.

Final Settlement

After identifying and securing applicable insurance coverage, addressing estate administration requirements, and resolving the medical lien issues, our firm secured a seven-figure wrongful death recovery for the family in under six months.