Wrongful Death Attorneys in Hobbs, NM

Why Choose Kemmy Law Firm?

Choosing the right law firm to handle your wrongful death case is difficult. There are many firms to choose from in New Mexico. But we believe there are several factors that set Kemmy Law Firm apart.

We are a family-owned and -operated law firm. We choose to come into work with our loved ones and are committed to treating every client as part of the Kemmy family. We are also careful not to take on too many cases. Instead, we prioritize quality over quantity. We want to be sure we have plenty of time to dedicate to each case, ensuring we never rush or miss something important. By intentionally limiting our caseload, we make each client feel like our only one.

The Kemmy Law Firm is passionate about truly helping our clients in difficult times. Many other wrongful death attorneys want to help, but also want to resolve your case quickly and move on to the next.

We put your interests above our own and want to obtain the best possible outcome that holds negligent businesses and individuals responsible for their actions.

When it comes to choosing a wrongful death lawyer, it is best to work with someone who has handled similar cases in the past. Given that, between u, we have over 50 years of experience, we have seen and handled it all.

We have also been able to build strong relationships with various medical, vocational, economic, accident reconstruction, engineering, and other industry experts. When complicated and contentious cases arise, we can reach out to highly knowledgeable, educated, experienced, and articulate professionals who can support your claim.

New Mexico Wrongful Death Cases We Handle

Our wrongful death attorneys at Kemmy Law Firm represent families following:

• Fatal car accidents
• Fatal truck accidents
• Fatal work-related accidents
• Fatal medical malpractice
• Fatal oilfield accidents
• Fatal defective and dangerous product accidents
• Fatal nursing home negligence and abuse
• Fatal daycare neglect

Handling a claim that resulted in a person’s death is not the same as handling a typical personal injury claim that resulted in moderate or serious injuries. When your loved one has passed away, you need a wrongful death attorney with specific experience handling wrongful death cases—not an attorney who focuses on solely personal injury cases.

There are nuances and complexities to wrongful death cases that a personal injury lawyer may not be fully prepared for.

Our Wrongful Death Lawyers Will Identify Who’s Responsible

Following a fatal accident, you may suspect that someone else’s careless, reckless, or malicious conduct is to blame. But your gut feeling is far different than proof. You need evidence of the other party’s conduct and a direct link to the accident and your loved one’s death.

Our wrongful death attorneys are highly experienced in collecting and preserving evidence. We independently investigate all of the fatality cases we take on.

We begin by gathering any police or incident reports, photos, videos, and eyewitness statements. We comb through public records to learn more about the other party’s backgrounds. If you believe a business is at fault, we will look into whether the business has been found responsible for other people’s injuries or deaths before.

However, conducting an in-depth investigation is difficult when a great deal of information is under the other party’s control. This is typical when the at-fault party is a business or government entity. Under these circumstances, we may recommend filing a wrongful death lawsuit as soon as possible. This way, we can fully utilize the discovery process and gather additional evidence.

You have to prepare for the responsible party to defend themselves. A business or individual and their insurer may claim your loved one was partly or fully to blame. They may say your relative was also negligent, which limits their own liability.

Regardless, we will scrutinize your wrongful death case and prepare for all possible defenses. From there, we will aggressively fight for you and the deceased.

Wrongful Death Compensation

New Mexico allows certain family members to recover compensatory and exemplary damages. Compensatory damages and intended to compensate you for your physical, psychological, and financial injuries.

Compensatory damages often include:

• Medical expenses your loved one incurred between the date of the accident and their date of death;
• Funeral and burial expenses;
• Your loved one’s pain and suffering between the date of the accident and date of death;
• Loss of your loved one’s financial contributions to the household;
• Loss of future inheritance;
• Loss of your loved one’s companionship;
• Loss of your spousal relationship; and
• Your mental anguish.

Exemplary damages are also known as punitive damages, and they are meant to punish the wrongdoer. There is no cap on how much you can receive for punitive damages. However, defendants have been known to appeal large punitive damage awards and succeed in having them reduced.

Only certain individuals are entitled to receive wrongful death compensation. New Mexico law states:

• If your loved one left behind a surviving spouse and no children, then the spouse receives the compensation.
• If your loved one left behind a surviving spouse and a child or grandchild, then the spouse receives one-half of the compensation, and the remaining compensation is divided among the children and grandchildren of any deceased children.
• If your loved one did not leave behind a spouse, but a child or grandchild, then the children and grandchildren receive the compensation.
• If your loved one was a minor, who was unmarried and had no children, then the parents receive equal portions of the compensation.
• If your loved one left no surviving spouse, parent, child, or grandchild, then a surviving sibling receives the compensation.

When you pursue a wrongful death claim, you want to be confident in the value of your case. A wrongful death lawyer from Kemmy Law Firm will carefully document your expenses, including medical, funeral, and burial bills, and financial losses, including the loss of a parent or spouse’s income.

We will consider all of your emotional and intangible losses. A spouse that is not there for a child’s birthday, a brother who is not there at the Sunday barbecue: these kinds of losses – the loss of the human person and the relationship – outweigh the harms to the family’s finances. Because we believe that every loss must be taken into account, we fully prepare your case to show intangible losses as well.

Wrongful Death Claims in New Mexico

The process of pursuing wrongful death compensation goes through multiple phases:

Investigation and Analysis: Before negotiating a settlement with an insurer or filing a lawsuit, you need proof of the other party’s fault and your damages. The first phase is to have a wrongful death attorney thoroughly investigate the fatal accident then analyze the available evidence. Your accident lawyer can then provide thorough and candid advice regarding the strength and value of your claim.

The Insurance Claim: Not all at-fault parties have insurance, but many do. If a business was at fault, it should have liability insurance. If a driver was at fault, they should have auto insurance. If a negligent doctor was at fault, they should have malpractice insurance. An insurance claim attorney will deal with communicating with the insurer, including providing evidence of the policyholder’s fault and your injuries.

The Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Filing a lawsuit is important for several reasons. During litigation, we can use the discovery process to obtain additional information. This evidence may be vital to proving your case. The information also may help us identify weaknesses and plan to combat certain defenses. Filing a lawsuit shows the insurer you are serious about recovering full and fair compensation for your loss. It also gives you another opportunity to obtain compensation if a settlement is unavailable.

Settlement Negotiations: Once discovery is complete, we typically enter into negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurer. We may go back and force with the insurer several times. Whether or not it is easy to reach an agreement depends on the complexity of your case and the strength of the evidence against the policyholder. It also depends on how much you and the insurer disagree on the value of your damages.

Trial: When we are unable to obtain a wrongful death settlement, the only other way to pursue compensation is to take your case to trial. At Kemmy Law Firm, we are experienced and aggressive litigators. We are not afraid to fight for your right to compensation before a jury.

New Mexico Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

New Mexico gives you three years to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The clock starts to run on the date of your loved one’s passing.

We Take Wrongful Death Cases to Trial and Win

At the Kemmy Law Firm, you can be confident that your wrongful death claim is being handled by skilled litigators and dedicated legal professionals. We do not push clients to accept low settlement offers, and we make sure you know what’s happening at every stage of your case.

When you work with one of our wrongful death lawyers in Hobbs, NM, you will have someone who is ready to handle your case from start to finish and through a trial if necessary.

Though we can never guarantee a specific outcome, we are proud of our record of success in getting justice for clients who lost loved ones. And when we demand compensation, we seek the maximum amount possible for you and your relatives’ loss and injuries.