What Families Don’t Realize After a Fatal Accident: The Legal Decisions That Matter Most in the First 90 Days

You’re thrown into a whirlwind of grief and shock. Questions swirl around without answers. Legal matters are often the last thing on your mind. But in the weeks after a fatal accident, critical legal decisions are quietly being made in the background. Decisions taken (or not taken) in the first 90 days have the power to impact a family’s legal options for years to come.

They can determine whether a family has the opportunity to seek justice, protect their financial futures, and hold the right parties accountable. The problem is, too many families don’t realize this until it’s too late.

Why the First 90 Days Matter in a Fatal Accident Case

The moments and days right after a fatal accident are crucial. Why? Important evidence can vanish in an instant. Security videos will be overwritten. Cars will be fixed or scrapped. Witness memories will blur. Accident scenes will change. Documents will be lost. Insurance companies will get to work on their side of the story.

Families often believe they can “deal with the legal issues later.” Unfortunately, later may be a little too late. Taking legal action in the first 90 days typically involves preserving evidence rather than filing lawsuits. Waiting too long can result in irreparable loss of facts and an inability to prove what really happened.

Insurance companies move quickly after a fatal accident. Adjusters will begin assessing the claim and quickly develop a defense strategy. Adjusters may call, offer sympathy, and ask for a recorded statement, all with the goal of gathering information to potentially limit the company’s liability.

A family’s early, unrepresented statements can:

• Trap a family into a partial or inaccurate account of events
• Destroy the viability of future wrongful death or other legal claims
• Be used to shift the fault to a different, innocent party
• Lead to an unfair settlement that doesn’t match the true value of the loss

Remember: Once something is said, it cannot be taken back.

Families also often incorrectly assume that a wrongful death claim will happen automatically if someone dies from a crash; however, such claims are not automatic. A number of factors come into play in fatal accident cases. For instance, liability in fatal accidents may also involve: 

• Drivers who were negligent, reckless, or violating traffic laws
• Employers who allowed or contributed to a dangerous condition or activity
• Property owners who failed to correct known hazards
• Manufacturers who sold a defective product 
• Repair companies that failed to notice or fix a problem
• Government entities responsible for maintenance or enforcement 

Determining fault in a fatal accident case requires investigation, information gathering, and legal analysis, and the work is more difficult as more time passes.  

The Driving Forces Behind the Legal Claims

After a fatal accident, many legal claims are ultimately brought on behalf of the person who died. Among other issues, the estate-related claims can involve:

• Opening an estate for legal purposes 
• Naming an appropriate representative to act on the estate’s behalf
• Coordinating survival and wrongful death claims 
• Making sure claims are brought in the correct manner and on time

Mistakes here can slow a case or create unnecessary legal hurdles later.

Surviving family members face more than emotional loss after a fatal accident. Financial pressures also start to build. Funeral costs, lost income, medical bills, and everyday expenses don’t pause just because of a fatal accident. For many families, financial pressure ramps up quickly. Insurance companies know this, and they move quickly to try to settle cases at any cost.

Early and quick settlement offers are often calculated long before a family has time to understand the full financial impact of the loss, the amount of future lost income and benefits that won’t be earned, the costs of ongoing support for children or dependents, and /or the true value of their non-economic losses. Please be aware that once a settlement is reached, families typically cannot seek additional compensation, even if the original deal was far too low.

Preserving Time-Sensitive Evidence is Critical in Every Fatal Accident Case

Vehicle electronic data, videos and other surveillance footage, workplace safety logs, and cell phone records are some of the most important evidence in fatal accident cases. But all of these items are also time-sensitive.

Without legal intervention, this evidence may be permanently lost in the normal course of business (and well before a family can get access to it). We know the legal process doesn’t wait for a family’s grief to run its course. However, Connecticut wrongful death claims and certain other related claims have strict deadlines for filing and taking certain actions.

These legal deadlines can work against a family’s natural grieving timeline, with devastating results.

Families often assume they have “plenty of time.” However, in practice, time is of the essence early in a fatal accident case, or the door may close quietly before a family is ready or even aware.

The Power of Early Legal Guidance 

Early discussions with an attorney don’t have to mean rushing into litigation. Instead, it means gathering key information about your rights before others make critical decisions on your behalf.

The right wrongful death attorney can (and will): 

• Manage communications with insurance companies 
• Preserve important evidence before it’s lost 
• Investigate all potentially responsible parties 
• Provide a clear understanding of options and timelines
• Allow families to focus on healing while protecting their rights

While we take our legal obligations to our clients seriously, we know our most important role is providing compassionate, trustworthy advice when families need it most.

Working With the Right Legal Team Early Can Protect Families From Mistakes

At Slager Madry, we treat every fatal accident case with care, respect, and tenacity. We don’t see families as files or numbers. We see individuals who have experienced a life-changing loss. We are determined to hold the responsible parties fully accountable and to help our clients find a way to move forward in the face of unimaginable loss.

In a fatal accident case, these matters are just as important as the legal representation. While we care about the legal results, our priority is on you.

Seek Guidance From a Skilled Fatal Accident Attorney as Soon as Possible

The first 90 days after a fatal accident are emotionally difficult, but they are also legally important.

Families don’t have to make big decisions in a hurry. But families need accurate information before important legal opportunities pass.

If your family has lost a loved one in a fatal accident in Stamford or elsewhere in Connecticut, it is important that you know your legal rights as early as possible to protect your future and the memory of your loved one. You don’t have to go through this alone – contact our office today.