When a family needs a clear next step

Pembroke Pines Wrongful Death Lawyer

A death can leave a Pembroke Pines household without a parent, partner, or source of daily support.

Miller & Jacobs reviews potential wrongful death claims with attention to the family's legal roles, the evidence of responsibility, and the losses Florida law permits. You can start by explaining what happened and which decisions feel urgent.

Call 954-465-8733 → Send Us A Message

Your consultation is free. No attorney fee is owed unless compensation is recovered for you. The written fee agreement explains fees and costs.

$300M+

Reported Recoveries for Injured Clients

50+ Years

Combined Legal Experience

230+

Combined Jury Trials Across Their Careers

Former Prosecutors

Experienced Trial Attorneys

A place to begin

You can start with what you know.

Childcare, transportation, bills, and ordinary household work can become difficult when the person who provided them is gone. Keep an accurate account of those contributions and the changes after the death. Such records can help explain support and services without turning every family task into an automatic claim.

You do not have to decide who was at fault, open an estate, or gather every record before calling. Our Pembroke Pines personal injury team can help you understand whether a wrongful death claim may be available and how the family and estate fit into the process.

We can explain unfamiliar terms and help you focus on what needs attention first.

A conversation comes first

“You do not have to remember every detail today. Tell us what you can, and we will help you sort through what comes next.”

A relative can help collect paperwork, but authority to represent the estate is a separate question. Tell us who is coordinating the family and whether anyone has been appointed. Clear roles can reduce confusion about records, insurer contacts, and decisions.

Who can bring a claim

Who brings the action, and who may benefit?

The personal representative files the Florida wrongful death action for the survivors and estate under section 768.20. That role is different from being a beneficiary. A consultation can identify what authority exists and what still needs to be arranged.

The filing role

Personal representative

An appointment provides legal authority to act for the estate. If no one has been appointed, tell us whether probate counsel is involved. Being the closest relative or paying funeral expenses does not automatically make a person the authorized plaintiff.

Spouse

May have claims for lost support and services, companionship and protection, and mental pain under the statute.

Children

Age, the presence of a surviving spouse, and the type of case affect which categories apply.

Parents

The child's age, other survivors, and any medical negligence can change the available recovery.

Estate

May have its own statutory claims for certain lost earnings, net accumulations, and expenses charged to it.

The qualifying survivors Florida’s survivor definition includes specified relationships and, for some relatives, dependency requirements. Ages and family circumstances can affect particular rights. We review the actual family structure rather than assume every relative can bring a separate lawsuit.

The estate’s interests The estate may have claims for particular losses under the statute. Estate assets and wrongful death recovery are not interchangeable. Records of earnings, expenses, and who paid them help determine which losses belong in which part of the action.

What the law may recognize

Explain the support that disappeared.

The damages rules in Florida section 768.21 depend on the relationship and circumstances. A careful factual record helps identify eligible categories and avoids assuming that the same losses are recoverable for each person.

Survivors may have losses of their own

Financial contributions

Pay records, benefit information, tax documents, and regular household contributions can help describe lost support. The analysis considers the relevant survivor and applicable rules. An estimate based only on gross wages may miss necessary adjustments or duplicate another category.

Services and companionship

Household work, childcare, and other contributions may support a services claim where allowed. Certain relatives may also qualify for companionship or emotional-loss damages. Medical-negligence deaths have special restrictions; those rights must be reviewed before making a broad damages promise.

Medical and funeral expenses

Keep invoices, payment records, and documents showing whether a survivor or the estate incurred the expense. The legal category can depend on that distinction. Separate insurance benefits or probate distributions should not be casually added to the wrongful death calculation.

The estate may have separate losses

Income between injury and death

Qualifying earnings during that period, adjusted for support already counted for survivors.

Potential savings

In circumstances the statute allows, the estate may seek net accumulations the person likely would have left behind.

Charges to the estate

Qualifying medical or funeral expenses charged to the estate or paid on behalf of the person, without counting the same expense twice.

A specific medical-negligence limit: Florida excludes certain pain-and-suffering categories for adult children and parents of an adult child when the death claim arises from medical negligence. It does not tell the whole story of economic or estate claims. That distinction needs a case-specific review.

Investigating the event

Preserve evidence while the family makes arrangements.

The claim needs proof of wrongful conduct and its connection to the death. Immediate family obligations can make evidence collection difficult. Saving what is already available and identifying missing records can be enough to begin the legal assessment.

The evidence

Keep the original documents

Save report numbers, photographs, witness contacts, and correspondence from a driver, property operator, facility, or insurer. A short chronology helps locate records. Avoid rewriting a witness’s account to make it fit a theory; differences may be important to the investigation.

The responsibility

Identify responsibility

Ownership, operating contracts, employment, and maintenance records may distinguish the relevant entity from a business name on the paperwork. Each potential defendant needs a supported legal basis. A tragic outcome alone does not establish negligence by every participant.

The legal review

Review causation and disputed facts

Medical evidence may be needed to connect the conduct to the death. In negligence cases covered by comparative-fault law, the deceased's share can reduce recovery or bar it above 50%. The evidence and applicable theory control that analysis.

Protecting the claim. The family may be waiting for reports or estate paperwork while a legal filing period continues. Early review can identify the applicable calendar and whether additional notice or approval requirements affect the next step.

Protecting the claim

Probate and an investigation do not stop every deadline.

These decisions can come up at different times. We can help your family understand the records, authority, and legal dates involved before you decide how to proceed.

Check the cause of action

The ordinary Florida wrongful death period is generally two years under section 95.11. Exceptions and other governing laws can change the analysis. Do not rely on a general injury deadline or assume a criminal investigation extends the civil period.

Understand a release

A payment proposal may require estate authority, affect several parties, or raise settlement-approval and distribution issues. Read the documents before signing. The amount offered does not answer whether all legally eligible losses or claims have been evaluated.

Prepare for the consultation

Bring the date and circumstances of the death, existing appointment documents, known relatives, and insurer correspondence. Our Pembroke Pines injury overview offers broader context. The first call can identify useful next steps even when records are incomplete.

The people behind the firm

The partners serving Pembroke Pines.

Partners Mark J. Miller and Rick S. Jacobs serve Pembroke Pines clients from the firm's Pompano Beach office. Your consultation can address the evidence, the applicable claim, and the decisions ahead.

Mark J. Miller

Partner

Mark's biography describes work in insurance defense and prosecution before his plaintiff-side practice. That background informs the firm's evaluation of liability disputes and insurance positions.

Meet Mark →

Rick S. Jacobs

Partner

Rick's biography describes his service as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County and his trial work. Read the published background for details of his professional experience.

Meet Rick →

Our South Florida office is at 1600 S Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Call 954-465-8733 before visiting.

View Pompano Beach office directions

Questions families ask before they call

Pembroke Pines family questions after a death

These answers cover common starting points. What applies to your family depends on the facts and the relationships involved.

Can our family call before opening an estate?

Yes. Tell us whether a personal representative has been appointed and whether probate counsel is involved. Florida's wrongful death action must be brought by the authorized representative, but an initial discussion can address preservation and deadlines before every probate step is complete.

Can each sibling file a separate wrongful death suit?

Florida generally places the action with the personal representative for the survivors and estate. A sibling's potential rights depend on the statutory survivor definition and dependency facts. Multiple relatives do not automatically mean multiple separate claims for the same death.

Are household services recoverable if there was no paycheck?

Services may matter even when they did not produce wages, if the applicable survivor and statutory category permit recovery. Document the work, its frequency, and the person who relied on it. Valuation requires evidence and should avoid duplicating paid replacement expenses.

What changes when the death involved medical negligence?

Medical-negligence claims have distinct procedural requirements, and the wrongful death statute restricts certain emotional-loss damages for specified adult children and parents. Causation also may require specialized review. Tell us the circumstances so the correct framework can be assessed rather than applying ordinary crash rules.

What should we do if an insurer contacts a relative?

Save the message and any proposed documents. Before making a statement or signing a release, clarify who has authority to act and whose interests are affected. A family member's conversation does not necessarily resolve the estate's or other survivors' legal rights.

Where can a Pembroke Pines family meet the firm?

Miller & Jacobs serves the area from 1600 S Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Call 954-465-8733 for a free consultation and discuss communication arrangements. Fees and costs are addressed in a written agreement if representation is accepted.

Related Pembroke Pines guidance

These guides explain how different incidents are investigated. We can discuss how they relate to your family's circumstances.

Pembroke Pines injury overview → Catastrophic Injury claims → Premises Liability claims → Dog Bite claims → Boating Accident claims →