Fatal car accidents average around 43,000 per year in the United States. Alarmingly, fatalities rose by 16% between 2018 and 2022. New Jersey car accident statistics for 2024 already total nearly 320 fatalities midway through the year.
If you lost a close family member in a fatal car accident in New Jersey, you’re likely looking for answers and a sense of justice and accountability. A successful claim for damages after a fatal car accident in New Jersey cannot bring the loved one back, but it does provide Cherry Hill car accident financial compensation to relieve associated financial burdens so family members can focus on moving forward through their grief.
What Causes Fatal Car Accidents?
The crash force in a car accident is tremendous, propelling vehicle occupants forward in a collision and then snapping them back against the car seat, all while the internal structures of the car collapse inward toward them. Seatbelts and airbags save lives, but sadly, they cannot prevent all fatal injuries. Even in a car accident at a sedate 30 miles per hour, a 100-pound person becomes a 3,000-pound force in a collision. In head-on collisions, the crash force doubles. Common causes of fatal car accidents include:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Failure to follow traffic laws
- Unsafe lane changes
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Intoxicated driving
- Drowsy driving
- Road hazards
- Defective auto parts
- Unsafe road conditions or roadway hazards
Fatalities in car accidents often result from traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, internal organ damage, and internal bleeding.
Filing a Fatal Car Accident Wrongful Death Lawsuit
When a loved one dies in a car accident caused by another driver’s careless or reckless actions, close family members can recover compensation through a wrongful death claim or lawsuit. In New Jersey, a personal representative of the deceased loved one may represent the family in a claim for economic and non-economic damages. Typically, compensation in a New Jersey wrongful death claim comes from the at-fault party’s car accident liability insurance. A successful claim recovers damages such as the following:
- Any medical expenses from before the death
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost income for the number of working years the decedent would have had remaining had they survived
- Lost benefits such as health care coverage and retirement contributions
- Loss of household services
- Compensation for grief and anguish
- Compensation for loss of companionship, consortium of a spouse, and/or the support and guidance of a parent, or the loss of a child
A successful wrongful death claim in Cherry Hill cannot bring the loved one back, but it relieves financial hardship and provides grieving family members with a sense of justice. After recovering compensation, the family representative distributes the compensation to the closest family members who suffered financial losses from the death. Typically this is a spouse, parent, or adult child of the decedent.
How Can a Car Accident Attorney Help?
You shouldn’t have to take on a complex legal claim requiring clear evidence, carefully calculated damages, and a compelling case against an at-fault party alone—especially while focusing on your grief. Insurance companies are not on your side and may reach out with a fast settlement for far less than your claim is worth. Call a fatal car accident attorney from Cuneo & Leonetti to represent your family’s best interests by investigating the claim, compiling evidence, and negotiating the largest possible settlement as we give your lost loved one back a voice for justice.