At Tronfeld West & Durrett, we offer over five decades of experience in Virginia law providing compassionate, professional legal support to help families achieve justice after the wrongful death of a loved one.
In this difficult time, our goal is to alleviate the burden of the legal process so that you can focus on healing. Our attorneys will work tirelessly to ensure all responsible parties are held accountable, building strong cases through thorough investigations and the dedication you deserve.
Our Virginia Beach Wrongful Death Lawyers Are Here to Help You Claim Compensation
In Virginia, you can seek compensation following a wrongful death if negligence or a wrongful act caused your loved one’s passing. Our personal injury lawyers can help you by:
- Investigating the circumstances surrounding the wrongful death and identifying liable parties.
- Gathering evidence, including medical records, accident reports, and witness statements, to build a strong case.
- Advocating for your rights and seeking fair compensation for your losses, including medical expenses, funeral costs, lost income, and emotional suffering.
- Representing you in negotiations with insurance companies and in court, ensuring your voice is heard and your interests are protected.
We can guide you through the claim process to recover damages that address both economic and emotional losses, considering all the damage caused to your family. It’s our commitment to pursue justice for those enduring the tragic and unchangeable outcomes of a wrongful death.
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Turning Pain Into Power: Let’s Demand Accountability
No family is ever prepared for the devastation of losing a loved one because someone else failed to act responsibly. While grief is deeply personal, the law offers a public remedy: accountability.
At Tronfeld, West & Durrett, our mission is to help grieving families transform their loss into action. When carelessness or misconduct takes a life, we believe in holding wrongdoers responsible. We do it in court, through detailed investigations, and by pursuing maximum financial recovery on your behalf.
For answers to your questions about a wrongful death in Virginia Beach, call:
800-321-6741
Why Legal Action Matters in a Wrongful Death Case
When a loved one dies unexpectedly due to negligence, it often leaves more than emotional trauma. It creates a financial crisis. Medical bills, funeral costs, and lost income can place enormous pressure on those left behind. And worse, many families are left with unanswered questions about what really happened.
Legal action is how you start getting answers. It forces the negligent party to face their role in your loved one’s death, and it allows your family to seek real, measurable relief.
- A wrongful death claim allows you to pursue compensation for funeral expenses, medical care, lost future income, and benefits your loved one would have provided.
- Litigation can uncover evidence of systemic negligence, such as a hospital’s understaffing problem or a trucking company’s reckless scheduling practices.
- When families speak up, change often follows. Your case may lead to new policies or improved safety standards.
We understand the profound emotional weight of every wrongful death case. Our Virginia Beach wrongful death lawyers work with compassion, urgency, and purpose. While we focus on obtaining justice, your family can concentrate on healing.
What Is Considered a Wrongful Death in Virginia?
After a tragic loss, it’s natural to wonder whether what happened was simply an accident or something that should have been prevented. Virginia law provides a clear definition, and if your loved one’s death meets that standard, you may have grounds to pursue a claim.
Wrongful death is not just about what happened. It’s about whether it was avoidable and whether someone failed to uphold their legal responsibilities.
According to the Virginia Code, a wrongful death occurs when a person dies due to the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another party. In legal terms, it’s the type of case your loved one could have filed themselves if they had survived.
In Virginia, we often see wrongful death claims arising from:
- Fatal vehicle crashes caused by distracted or impaired drivers
- Medical malpractice, such as surgical errors or delayed diagnoses
- Nursing home negligence resulting in fatal falls, infections, or abuse
- Unsafe premises, such as deadly fires or building code violations
- Fatal workplace accidents involving defective equipment or safety violations
A wrongful death attorney thoroughly investigates these cases through expert testimony, records, and witness accounts to determine if a wrongful death claim is warranted. If we find that your loved one’s death could have been prevented, we’ll guide you through the next legal steps.
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How Do You Prove Wrongful Death in a Lawsuit?
To hold someone legally responsible for a wrongful death, you must prove the same elements as a personal injury claim, but with added focus on how the death has impacted your family. These are the elements that your attorney will consider:
- Duty of care: The defendant had a legal obligation to act safely or provide proper care.
- Breach of duty: That duty was violated through negligence, oversight, or misconduct.
- Causation: Their actions or omissions directly led to your loved one’s death.
- Damages: Your family experienced financial and emotional losses because of the fatal incident.
In extreme cases involving gross negligence or intentional harm, the court may also award punitive damages.
At Tronfeld, West & Durrett, we gather and preserve key evidence like accident reports, surveillance footage, expert evaluations, and testimony from eyewitnesses. Our goal is to tell your story with clarity and legal strength so that the full impact of your loss is understood, recognized, and properly compensated.
What Is The Difference Between Wrongful Death And Negligence?
In Virginia, wrongful death occurs when someone dies as a result of another person or entity’s negligent, reckless, or intentional actions. It is a legal claim brought by the deceased person’s family or estate to seek compensation for their loss. Negligence, however, refers to the failure of an individual or entity to exercise reasonable care, leading to harm or injury to another person. While negligence can lead to a wrongful death claim if it results in death, not all negligence cases result in fatalities.
How is a Wrongful Death Different from a Personal Injury?
People often confuse wrongful death claims with personal injury lawsuits. Both arise from negligence or intentional wrongdoing, but the legal options and damages are quite different.
- Personal Injury Claims
- Brought by the injured person themselves.
- Seek compensation for the injured party’s medical bills, lost income, pain, and suffering.
- The injured person remains the plaintiff and controls the case.
- Wrongful Death Claims
- Filed by surviving family members or the estate after a fatality.
- Focused on losses suffered by survivors—both financial (like lost future income) and intangible (like grief and loss of companionship).
- Virginia law, under Virginia Code § 8.01-53, defines who can file these claims—starting with spouses, children, and parents.
A crucial difference is that in wrongful death claims, the deceased’s personal suffering isn’t directly compensated unless brought as a separate survival action. Instead, the claim belongs to family members who’ve lost the financial and emotional support of their loved one.
These nuances mean that even if you’ve handled a personal injury claim before, pursuing a wrongful death action demands additional evidence, different damage calculations, and strict compliance with procedural rules. Our firm ensures families understand these distinctions from day one, so they don’t unknowingly leave compensation on the table.
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Types of Losses in a Wrongful Death Case
In Virginia, wrongful death claims are designed to compensate survivors for both measurable economic losses and profound personal loss that can’t be quantified on a balance sheet. In a free initial consultation, we can guide you on the best options for your family, considering:
Noneconomic Damages
Virginia law recognizes survivors’ right to compensation for:
- Sorrow and mental anguish: Reflecting the pain of losing a spouse, child, parent, or sibling.
- Loss of companionship and guidance: Particularly significant for spouses and children deprived of support and affection.
- Loss of kindly offices and services: The everyday acts of care and connection that shape family life.
These damages are subjective, which makes them vulnerable to insurance adjusters minimizing their value. Our wrongful death attorneys in Virginia Beach work closely with family members, mental health professionals, and grief experts to help juries understand the true human impact of the loss.
Economic Damages
Beyond emotional losses, wrongful death cases address real financial consequences, including:
- Lost future income and benefits: This includes everything the deceased would have earned over a lifetime—wages, bonuses, retirement contributions, and even potential career advancements. Calculating this often requires economists to project earnings based on career path, education, and health.
- Loss of household services: Many don’t realize how much value is tied up in household tasks, childcare, and maintenance, which survivors may now have to pay others to perform.
- Medical expenses prior to death: Sometimes a person battles for days or weeks in the hospital after an incident before succumbing to injuries. These costs can be significant and are recoverable in a claim.
- Funeral and burial costs: Virginia law, under Virginia Code § 8.01-52, explicitly allows recovery for reasonable funeral expenses.
Punitive Damages
In some cases, Virginia allows punitive damages when a death results from willful misconduct or “conscious disregard” for human life. These damages are rare but serve as a powerful tool to hold reckless individuals or corporations accountable. For instance, a drunk driver causing a fatal crash or a company knowingly ignoring safety hazards.
Attorney Jay Tronfeld notes:
“In one of our cases involving a deck collapse, our firm secured nearly $1 million in each settlement. It wasn’t just about the physical injuries—it was about proving how the loss of life tore apart family relationships and created financial gaps no one expected. These cases require thorough evidence of both economic losses and the irreplaceable emotional bonds broken by the tragedy.”
Common Causes of Accidents Leading to Wrongful Death Claims in Virginia Beach
Wrongful death in Virginia Beach can occur due to a variety of causes, such as:
- Motor vehicle accidents: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and other similar incidents resulting from negligent driving, like speeding or drunk driving.
- Medical malpractice: Errors in diagnosis, treatment, or surgery.
- Premises liability: Fatal injuries resulting from unsafe property conditions, such as slips and falls, inadequate security, or structural collapses.
- Workplace accidents: Occurring due to safety violations or equipment failures.
- Product liability: Involves defective or dangerous products that cause death, including faulty automotive parts, unsafe children’s products, or malfunctioning medical devices.
Our team at Tronfeld West & Durrett has extensive experience handling a wide range of wrongful death cases, alongside a proven track record of securing multi-million dollar settlements (as highlighted in our case results).
We can do the same for you. That’s why we offer free initial screening calls where you’ll talk with an expert about your case.
Types of Damages You Can Claim After the Wrongful Death of a Loved One
When you claim for wrongful death, the damages you’re seeking aim to compensate for the financial and emotional impact of the loss. For this, it’s essential to know how wrongful death claims work, but overall, you’re entitled to seek compensation for:
Medical Expenses
Reimbursement for any medical bills that accumulated as a result of the care needed before your loved one passed away. This helps offset the costs of emergency services, hospital stays, treatment, and any other medical-related expenses.
Lost Wages
This covers the earnings your loved one would have contributed to your family. It accounts for their expected lifetime earnings, considering their age, career, and earnings at the time of death.
Pain and Suffering
Compensation for pain and suffering addresses the physical and emotional distress your loved one endured before passing. This can also encompass the mental anguish and grief suffered by the family due to the loss of their loved one.
Funeral Costs
This includes the total expenses for funeral and burial services, alleviating the financial burden of arranging a funeral.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
According to Virginia Code § 8.01-50, wrongful death claims can be initiated by the representative of the deceased’s estate for the benefit of the family members outlined below:
Surviving Spouse – The spouse is typically the primary claimant in wrongful death cases. They are entitled to seek compensation for the emotional distress and the financial impact resulting from the death.
Children – Minor children and dependents can claim damages that cover the loss of parental guidance, emotional support, and expected financial contribution to their future.
Parents – In the absence of a spouse or children, the deceased’s parents can file a claim. Their compensation typically covers emotional suffering and loss of companionship.
Other Dependents – Extended family members or dependents who financially relied on the deceased at the time of their death might also be eligible to file under certain conditions, seeking compensation for their financial and emotional losses.
How to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Virginia Beach
The process of filing a wrongful death claim in Virginia Beach involves a series of critical steps. Undertaking this process with expert legal help allows for a thorough evaluation of the case, precise calculation of damages, and robust representation in court.
- Consult with an experienced attorney at Tronfeld West & Durrett to establish who can file the claim and determine the best course of action.
- Collect evidence such as medical records, accident reports, and witness statements.
- Prove negligence by demonstrating that the defendant’s breach of duty directly caused the death and damages.
- Calculate damages by analyzing the deceased’s earnings, medical costs, and the emotional impact on the family.
- File the claim within the legally specified time limits.
- Resolve your case either through settlement negotiations or by going to trial.
At each step of the process, our team will provide comprehensive support and guidance. From collecting necessary evidence to negotiating settlements and representing you in court, our commitment is to treat your case with the highest level of care and professionalism.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death Claims
What Is The Statute Of Limitations For Wrongful Death In Virginia?
How Much Are Most Wrongful Death Settlements
The amount you can recover in a wrongful death settlement depends on several factors, including the circumstances of the death, the deceased’s age and earnings potential, and the financial and emotional impact on the surviving family. There is no fixed average since each case’s circumstances dictate the compensation amount.
Settlements can range from modest sums to millions of dollars, particularly in cases involving significant negligence or the potential for high future earnings. At Tronfeld West & Durrett, we’ve consistently achieved substantial results, like a recent settlement of nearly a million dollars for the deceased’s family.
How Long Will My Wrongful Death Claim Take?
One of the most frequent and most stressful questions grieving families ask is, “How long will this take?” The truth is, there’s no single timeline because every wrongful death claim has unique factors that affect how quickly it resolves.
What Affects the Timeline?
Several variables determine whether your case can settle in months or whether it may stretch into a multi-year battle:
- Complex liability disputes: If multiple defendants are blaming each other—or the deceased—resolving the case can take longer. This is especially true in cases involving product defects, medical malpractice, or large corporations.
- Evidence gathering: Medical records, autopsy reports, and expert opinions all take time. Any delays in securing documents or witness statements can extend the process.
- Insurance tactics: Insurance companies sometimes drag out negotiations to pressure families into low settlements. Knowing when to hold firm or file suit is crucial.
- Court backlog: Virginia Beach Circuit Court, like many courts statewide, can have crowded dockets, delaying trial dates by months or even years.
Virginia’s Legal Deadlines
Virginia law sets firm deadlines for wrongful death claims:
- Under Virginia Code § 8.01-244, you have two years from the date of death to file a lawsuit. Missing this deadline almost always means you lose your right to recover.
- There are rare exceptions, such as when the cause of death wasn’t reasonably discoverable right away, but these are narrow and require fast legal action.
Our wrongful death lawyers prioritize moving quickly to preserve evidence and meet critical deadlines. We also guide families through the legal process to avoid surprises and ensure they’re never left wondering what’s happening with their case.
Contact a Wrongful Death Attorney for Advice in Virginia Beach
With over 50 years of serving the Virginia Beach community, we have the necessary knowledge, resources, and experience to build a strong case, file a claim, and successfully recover compensation for your family.
To schedule a free consultation with our legal team and seek justice for your loved one, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
Call or text 800-321-6741 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form