Clifford A. Rieders
Partner, since 1975
Areas: Litigation; Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Products Liability; Professional Liability; Torts; Aviation & Aerospace; Civil Practice; Federal Practice and Appeals; Constitutional and Civil Rights; Class Actions; Dram Shop Liability; Railroad Law
Thomas Waffenschmidt
Areas: Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Wrongful Death; Motor Vehicle Accidents; Civil Litigation; Products Liability; Trial Practice.
Pennsylvania Accident Compensation Attorney
If you lost a loved one in an accident or by other means, we offer our condolences. We cannot take away the pain of the loss, but we can advise you regarding your legal options and help you take appropriate action if a wrongful death has occurred as a result of:
- A car, truck or motorcycle accident
- A bicycle, pedestrian or recreational accident
- An aircraft or train accident
- A fall on public or private property
- An industrial accident or construction accident
- Medical malpractice or surgical error
- A dangerous or defective product
At Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Harris, Waters, Waffenschmidt & Dohrmann, our team of attorneys has represented many clients in state and federal wrongful death lawsuits, helping them recover financial compensation and assisting them in gaining closure. If you live in Pennsylvania, or if you are from out of state and you lost a loved one in Pennsylvania, we can help you understand your legal rights and enable you to make informed decisions about how to move forward.
Your Rights Under the Law
Pennsylvania law is unusual with regard to damages in wrongful death cases in that it contains provisions for both wrongful death and survival action, or action for the estate for the deceased person. When a person dies from another person or entity's negligence or failure to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances, a claim may be brought to recover damages resulting from that negligence.
In a wrongful death claim, close relatives of the deceased may recover their own financial losses incurred from the wrongful death of their loved one. Specifically, they may recover medical expenses, death-related expenses such as funeral and burial costs, past lost contributions from the decedent, future lost contributions from the decedent, and a sum that will fairly and adequately compensate them for the monetary value of the services, society and comfort that the deceased loved one will no longer be able to provide.
In a survival claim, a person acting on behalf of the deceased may recover damages under any claims that the deceased individual could have brought on his or own behalf if he or she had not died. Survival claims include recovery for the suffering of the decedent from the injury until the death, lost earnings from the injury until death, future lost earnings, past noneconomic damages for the mental and physical pain, suffering, and inconvenience and loss of life's pleasures that the decedent endured from the moment of injury until death.
Contact a Williamsport Wrongful Death Attorney · The Consultation Is Free
Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Harris, Waters, Waffenschmidt & Dohrmann can advise you if you lost a loved one because of an accident, a medical procedure or a defective product. Contact us to speak to a highly experienced Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer about your situation.
