Bradenton Wrongful Death Lawyer

Families call us expecting to be told what their case is worth. The first thing they usually learn instead is that in Florida, they cannot file it themselves. One person, appointed through the probate court, brings the entire claim on behalf of everyone. That surprises almost everybody, and it is where these cases either start correctly or start over.

Legler, Murphy & Battaglia, PLLC has represented Manatee County families in fatal accident claims since 1989. A Bradenton wrongful death lawyer at this firm will walk you through the mechanics without pressure and without asking you to decide anything on the first call.

Free and private consultation: +1 (941) 748-5599.

Who Is Allowed to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?

Only the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate may file. Section 768.20 of the Florida Statutes puts the claim in that one person’s hands, and it is brought for the benefit of the estate and all surviving family members at once.

This is not a formality. Spouses, adult children, and parents do not each file their own lawsuit in Florida. They are named as survivors within the single claim, and their individual losses are presented inside it.

The personal representative is usually named in a will. When there is no will, the probate court appoints someone, often the surviving spouse or an adult child. Opening the estate is therefore the first practical step in most of these cases, and it runs alongside the injury investigation rather than after it. Knowing the steps to take after wrongful death in Florida, including opening the estate early, helps keep the family’s claim on track. Our guide to who can file a wrongful death claim in Florida walks through that appointment in more detail.

Which Family Members Count as Survivors?

Florida defines survivors as the spouse, children, and parents of the person who died, plus blood relatives and adoptive siblings who depended on them for support or services. That definition comes from section 768.18 of the Florida Statutes.

One detail catches families off guard. Florida treats children under 25 as minor children for wrongful death purposes, regardless of the age of majority. A 23 year old is in a different position under the statute than a 26 year old, and that distinction affects what can be claimed.

Who qualifies as a survivor is not always obvious. Blended families, adult children in different circumstances, dependent siblings, and parents of an adult child all raise real questions. Getting the survivor list right early avoids the far worse problem of discovering it late.

What Can a Bradenton Family Recover After a Fatal Accident?

Florida separates the losses into what survivors lose personally and what the estate loses. Section 768.21 of the Florida Statutes sets out both.

Who claims it	What the law allows
Surviving spouse	Lost support and services, loss of companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering
Minor children (under 25), and all children if there is no surviving spouse	Lost parental support and services, lost parental companionship, instruction and guidance, mental pain and suffering
Parents of a deceased minor child	Mental pain and suffering
Parents of a deceased adult child	Mental pain and suffering, where there are no other survivors
Any survivor	Medical and funeral expenses that survivor personally paid
The estate	Lost earnings from injury to death, lost prospective net accumulations, medical and funeral expenses charged to the estate

Lost support and services is where the largest number in the case often sits, and it is the one families tend to underestimate. It is not only a paycheck. It is childcare, home maintenance, transportation, elder care, and every unpaid contribution the household relied on and now has to buy or go without.

If you are trying to work out what your family can claim, call +1 (941) 748-5599. There is no cost and no obligation.

How Long Do You Have to Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?

Two years from the date of death, under section 95.11 of the Florida Statutes. That is the outside limit, not a suggested pace, and Florida shortened this window in recent years, so older articles online still describe a four-year deadline that no longer applies.

Two years also has to accommodate opening the estate and appointing a personal representative before suit can be filed. Families who wait 20 months to call frequently find that the probate step alone consumes what is left.

There are narrow exceptions. Where the death resulted from certain intentional acts, Florida allows the claim to be brought at any time. Claims against a government entity carry their own written notice requirements that arrive far sooner than two years.

Why Fault Gets Contested Hardest in Fatal Cases

Because the person who could contradict the other side is gone. Insurers know it, and in fatal crash files they argue comparative fault more aggressively than in any other kind of case.

Florida reduces recovery by the deceased person’s share of responsibility and bars it entirely if that share exceeds 50 percent, under section 768.81 of the Florida Statutes. Shifting the blame onto someone who cannot answer is a cheap strategy with a large payoff.

Answering it takes physical evidence rather than testimony. Vehicle event data recorders, roadway measurements, the medical examiner’s findings, phone records establishing whether the other driver was distracted, and commercial vehicle logs all speak when a witness cannot. Much of that evidence has a short life. Vehicles get released and crushed, and electronic data gets overwritten. When a phone may have played a role, a Bradenton distracted driving accident attorney can act quickly to preserve those records before they disappear.

Fatal collisions on Interstate 75, State Road 64, State Road 70, and the US 41 corridor through Bradenton are investigated by law enforcement first, and that report is a starting point rather than a conclusion. Our Bradenton car accident attorneys work these crashes from the same office, and we frequently reach conclusions the initial report did not.

Fatal cases also involve defendants who are rarely a single driver. A commercial employer may be responsible for how a vehicle was maintained or how many hours its driver had been working. A bar or restaurant may face liability under Florida’s narrow dram shop rules. A property owner or contractor may be responsible for a roadway hazard or an unmarked work zone. Each additional responsible party brings additional insurance coverage, and identifying them is a matter of investigation rather than of asking.

The other side moves quickly on these cases. Commercial carriers dispatch investigators to fatal scenes within hours, sometimes before the family has been notified. A letter preserving evidence, sent early, is often the single most valuable document filed in the first month.

How These Cases Actually Proceed in Manatee County

Most wrongful death claims move on two tracks at once, and understanding that removes a lot of confusion.

The probate track opens the estate and appoints the personal representative. The civil track investigates the death, identifies every source of coverage, and builds the damages case. Neither waits for the other.

Suits arising in Manatee County are filed in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit at the judicial center on Manatee Avenue West. Any settlement reached on behalf of the estate requires court approval and a court approved allocation among survivors, which is one reason these cases are not resolved with a phone call and a check.

Families are usually surprised by how little they are asked to do. We gather records, deal with the carriers, and handle the probate coordination. Most of what you provide is the personal side of the case, and that comes later, when you are ready.

What Happens to the Money at the End of a Case?

A wrongful death recovery is not deposited into one account and split by handshake. The personal representative receives it on behalf of the estate, and the court approves how it is allocated among the survivors and the estate before anyone is paid.

Allocation is driven by what each survivor actually lost. A spouse who lost decades of support and companionship and a dependent child under 25 are in different positions than an adult sibling. Where survivors agree, the allocation is usually presented jointly. Where they do not, the court decides.

Liens and reimbursement claims are resolved before distribution. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and hospitals may all assert a right to be repaid out of the recovery, and those amounts are frequently negotiable. Reducing a lien puts money back in the family’s hands just as surely as increasing the settlement does, and it is part of the work rather than an afterthought.

Funeral costs, outstanding medical bills, and estate administration expenses are accounted for in the same process. Families are given a written breakdown before anything is signed.

A Firm That Has Sat With Manatee County Families Since 1989

Kennedy Legler, Edward Murphy, and Alyson Battaglia have practiced together in Bradenton for more than 35 years, and all three still handle cases personally. In a wrongful death file, that continuity is not a marketing point. It means the person who takes your first call is the person who will be there at the end.

We keep these conversations quiet and unhurried. Nobody is asked to sign anything on the first call, and there is no cost to talk. If we do not think a claim exists, we will tell you that too.

You can reach the rest of our practice through our Bradenton personal injury attorneys hub, and read what families have said on our reviews page.

Questions Bradenton Families Ask After a Fatal Accident

We have not opened an estate yet. Is it too late to do anything?

No, and this is the most common starting point. Families almost never have a personal representative appointed in the early weeks, and the investigation does not wait for probate. Evidence preservation, insurance identification, and witness contact can begin immediately while the estate is being opened in parallel.

The insurance company already offered the policy limits. Should we accept?

An early limits offer usually means the carrier has concluded liability is clear and wants the file closed before anyone looks for additional coverage. There is frequently more than one policy: a commercial policy behind a work vehicle, an umbrella policy, an employer’s coverage, or uninsured motorist coverage on the family’s own policy. Accepting and signing a release can extinguish claims against parties nobody has identified yet.

Can we bring a claim if criminal charges are pending against the driver?

Yes. The civil claim and the criminal prosecution are separate proceedings with different standards of proof and different purposes. The criminal case does not compensate your family and the prosecutor does not represent you. The two can proceed at the same time, though the timing of depositions sometimes needs to be coordinated.

What if our family member survived for a period before dying?

That period matters. Medical bills, lost earnings, and the pain the person experienced between the injury and death are part of what the estate may claim. It also affects which claim applies, because a case where someone survives for months is built differently than one where death is immediate.

Does the family have to be in agreement to move forward?

The personal representative brings the claim, so unanimous agreement is not legally required to proceed. In practice, disagreement among survivors makes a case harder, and allocation of any recovery is ultimately approved by the court. We raise these questions early, gently, because addressing them at the beginning is far easier than at the end.

When You Are Ready, We Are Here

There is no right week to make this call. Some families call within days, others months later. Either way, the two-year deadline runs from the date of death, and evidence stops waiting long before that.

Call Legler, Murphy & Battaglia, PLLC at +1 (941) 748-5599, or schedule a free consultation whenever you are able. Someone answers 24 hours a day, the conversation costs nothing, and you don’t pay until and unless we win your case.