A Bradenton wrongful death lawyer represents families after a loved one is killed by someone else's negligence, including fatal car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, boating, and construction accidents, drownings, falls, and defective products. Under Florida law, the claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate on behalf of the surviving family members. Have our 30 years of experience in personal injury go to work for you. No fees or costs unless we get results.
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Heintz Law represents grieving families in Bradenton, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island, Manatee County, and the Suncoast. Founding Partner Steven E. Heintz and our Bradenton wrongful death attorneys handle these claims as part of the firm's personal injury lawyer practice, with care for the family's time and privacy and preparation for trial from the first conference. Families in Sarasota County can also learn more on our Sarasota wrongful death lawyers page.
A wrongful death claim in Florida is a civil lawsuit seeking compensation when a person dies because of another's negligence, wrongful act, default, or breach of contract. It allows surviving family members and the estate to recover for their losses, and it can proceed whether or not criminal charges are filed.
Florida's Wrongful Death Act applies when the person, had they survived, would have been able to bring an injury claim. The wrongful death claim takes the place of that injury claim. It is separate from any criminal case, and it uses a lower standard of proof, so a family can pursue a civil claim even if a criminal case ends without a conviction.
In Florida, only the personal representative of the deceased person's estate can file the wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative is named in the will or appointed by the probate court. The lawsuit is brought for the benefit of the estate and every survivor, and all of them must be identified in the complaint.
Under Florida law, survivors who may recover include:
Florida's wrongful death law treats "minor children" as children under 25 years old, which is broader than the usual age of majority. That definition affects which children can recover certain damages.
If no personal representative has been appointed, the probate process in the Manatee County Circuit Court usually needs to start first. Our Bradenton wrongful death attorneys help families coordinate the probate step so the wrongful death claim can move forward on time.
Florida law allows each survivor to recover lost support and services. Spouses may recover for lost companionship and protection and for their mental pain and suffering. Children may recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for their own grief. Parents of a minor child may recover for their mental pain and suffering.
"Services" means household tasks the person regularly performed, such as childcare, home maintenance, and transportation, that the family now has to replace. "Support" includes money and in-kind contributions.
The personal representative may recover, for the estate, the deceased person's lost earnings from the date of injury to death, the loss of prospective net accumulations the person would likely have saved over a normal life, and medical or funeral expenses paid by or charged to the estate.
Prospective net accumulations are the savings the person probably would have built and left to the estate after personal expenses and support for the family. They are available when the survivors include a spouse or children or grandchildren, or in some cases when the deceased was an adult with a surviving parent and no lost support.
Estate recoveries may be subject to valid creditor claims made through probate. Survivor recoveries generally are not.
Generally not as a separate claim. In Florida, when injuries cause a person's death, the injury claim is replaced by the wrongful death claim. The deceased person's own pain and suffering before death is generally not recoverable, but the survivors' losses, including their grief, are.
When a person is injured and later dies from an unrelated cause, the injury claim may continue in a different form. That distinction matters in cases involving a long hospitalization before death, and it is reviewed early in every case.
Our Bradenton wrongful death attorneys handle deaths caused by car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, and rideshare crashes, boating and personal watercraft accidents, construction accidents, falls, drownings, negligent security, defective products, dangerous property, and impaired drivers.
In most Florida wrongful death cases, the lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of death. Claims against a government agency require written notice to the agency and the Florida Department of Financial Services within two years of the death. Some claims, such as those against manufacturers, may involve additional time limits.
The deadline runs from the date of death, not the date of the incident. When a crash or fall happens months before the death, the timing matters. Evidence such as video, vehicle data, and maintenance records can disappear long before the deadline, so early investigation protects the family's claim.
Claims against public agencies, such as a city, county, school district, or public transit service, carry damage caps of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the Legislature approves more, and punitive damages are not available against them.
A Florida wrongful death claim generally requires proof that the defendant owed the deceased person a duty of care, failed to meet it, and that failure caused the death, along with proof of the family's and estate's losses. The same rules that would have applied to an injury claim apply to the wrongful death claim.
Evidence often includes:
The outside professionals we retain may include accident reconstruction engineers, safety engineers, and vocational economists who calculate lost support, services, and net accumulations.
It can. Florida uses modified comparative fault. If the deceased person is found partly at fault, the recovery is reduced by that percentage. If the deceased person is found more than 50 percent at fault, there is generally no recovery. A survivor's own negligence can also reduce that survivor's share.
Defendants frequently argue that the person who died was speeding, distracted, impaired, or not wearing a seat belt. Because the person cannot tell their side, physical evidence, video, and reconstruction are especially important in wrongful death cases.
Yes, in limited cases. Florida allows punitive damages in wrongful death cases when the defendant's conduct involved intentional misconduct or gross negligence, such as driving while impaired, knowingly keeping a dangerous truck on the road, or concealing a known product defect. Punitive damages are not available against government agencies.
Punitive damages are meant to punish and deter, not to compensate. A claim for them generally requires the court's permission after a showing of evidence, and the law sets limits on the amount in most cases.
Yes. Under current Florida law, when a death results from medical negligence, adult children cannot recover for lost companionship and their own grief, and parents of an adult child cannot recover for their mental pain and suffering. Bills to repeal this rule have been debated, but as of 2026 it remains in effect.
Medical negligence claims also have their own pre-suit procedures and deadlines. Families who believe medical care contributed to a death should have the timeline reviewed promptly.
A wrongful death recovery is divided according to each survivor's and the estate's damages under Florida law, not simply by the will. When the family agrees, the personal representative proposes an allocation. When a survivor is a minor or there is disagreement, the court may need to approve the division.
Florida generally requires court involvement for settlements on behalf of minor children above $15,000, so a judge can confirm the child's share is protected. Planning the allocation early, with each survivor's losses documented, helps avoid disputes and delays.
Wrongful death claims are usually paid by the at-fault party's liability insurance, such as an auto, commercial, trucking, property, or product liability policy. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the deceased person's or household's policy may also apply in crash cases. Several policies often apply in one case.
Florida does not require most drivers to carry bodily injury coverage, so uninsured motorist coverage can be critical after a fatal crash. Personal injury protection coverage also includes a death benefit, and life insurance proceeds generally do not reduce what the family can recover from the at-fault party.
After a loved one's wrongful death, families should request the crash or incident report and medical examiner's report, keep the vehicle and any product involved, gather financial records, avoid recorded statements to insurers, and begin the probate process so a personal representative can be appointed.
No family should feel rushed while grieving. These steps simply protect options while decisions are made.
Our Bradenton wrongful death attorneys handle each case in stages, from first contact through probate coordination, investigation, pre-suit negotiation, discovery, mediation, trial, and appeal. Every file is prepared from the start as if a jury will hear it, because the defense's view of trial risk shapes how it values the claim.
Steven E. Heintz is the Founding Partner of Heintz Law, a Bradenton firm that represents only injured people and their families. His approach is careful preparation, aggressive advocacy where the facts call for it, and trial readiness from the first conference. Settlement on the right number is welcome. Settlement that shortchanges a family is not.
Wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery. For fatal crashes in Bradenton, see our Bradenton car accident lawyer page, and for families caring for a loved one with life-altering injuries, see our catastrophic injury lawyers page.
If your family lost a loved one because of someone else's negligence in Bradenton, Palmetto, or anywhere in Manatee County or the surrounding counties, Heintz Law can explain your family's rights under Florida law, help with the personal representative process, and protect the evidence while you grieve.
Have our 30 years of experience in personal injury go to work for you. No fees or costs unless we get results.
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