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A wrongful death changes the trajectory of an entire family. The grief is its own weight. Separately, surviving spouses and adult children face funeral arrangements, estate paperwork, life insurance claims, and an insurance company already working to limit what it pays.
At Mickey Keenan, P.A., our wrongful death lawyers represent surviving families throughout Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties, including the communities surrounding The Villages. Your fight is our fight. You are not a file number, and a wrongful death claim is not a case our firm treats like one.
With over 20 years of legal experience, 314 five-star Google reviews, and membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, our firm brings serious preparation to every wrongful death case we accept.
Call Mickey Keenan, P.A. at (813) 871-1300.
Speak With a Wrongful Death Lawyer at No Cost
The consultation is free and there are no fees unless we win. Call our Oxford office, located near The Villages, and speak directly with an attorney who has worked on both sides of these claims.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim Under Florida Law?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought against the party whose negligence caused a loved one’s death, seeking compensation for the family’s losses. The claim is governed by the Florida Wrongful Death Act and consolidates all family member claims into a single lawsuit.
What is the Florida Wrongful Death Act?
The Florida Wrongful Death Act, codified at Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16-768.26, defines who may file, who may recover, and what damages are available. The primary reason the Act matters is that it requires the personal representative of the deceased’s estate to file the consolidated claim on behalf of all surviving family members.
Who can be held liable?
Any party whose negligence, recklessness, or wrongful act caused the death may be held liable. This includes negligent drivers, property owners, commercial vehicle operators, manufacturers of defective products, and employers whose actions contributed to the fatal incident.
How is wrongful death different from personal injury?
A wrongful death claim follows the same negligence framework but focuses on the family’s losses rather than the deceased’s. In our experience, that distinction is the source of most early mistakes families make when handling the claim on their own.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?
Only the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file the wrongful death claim. The claim is filed on behalf of the surviving family members entitled to recover, with damages distributed to each according to their specific legal rights.
Who is the personal representative?
The personal representative is the person designated in the deceased’s will or appointed by the probate court when no will exists. Typically this is a surviving spouse, an adult child, or another close family member.
Who qualifies as a “survivor”?
Florida law defines survivors as the surviving spouse, children, parents, and certain blood relatives or adoptive siblings who depended on the deceased for support. Each survivor has different rights to recover specific damages depending on their relationship to the deceased.
What if there is no surviving spouse or children?
When the deceased leaves no surviving spouse or minor children, surviving parents and dependent relatives may still recover. The available damages depend on the specific family structure and the financial and emotional relationships with the deceased.
The Two-Year Filing Deadline Runs Through Grief
Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(d), wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death. That clock runs through funeral arrangements, estate administration, and the long period when grieving families are simply not thinking about civil litigation.
In our experience, this is the single most overlooked deadline in wrongful death cases. We move quickly to protect it.
Call Mickey Keenan, P.A. at (813) 871-1300. Free consultation, no fees unless we win.
What Damages Can Surviving Family Members Recover?
Recoverable Damages in Wrongful Death Claims
| Damage Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Loss of financial support | Recovery for loss of financial contributions, projected over the deceased’s expected working life. |
| Loss of companionship and protection | Recovery for loss of companionship, intimacy, protection, guidance, and instruction. |
| Mental pain and suffering | Recovery for mental pain and suffering; applicable to surviving spouses, minor children, and in specific cases, parents of adult children. |
| Medical and funeral expenses | Recovery for funeral expenses, burial costs, and medical expenses related to the deceased’s final injury. |
| Loss of net accumulations | Recovery for the income the deceased would have saved over the remainder of their life, most relevant for high-income decedents. |
Florida’s Wrongful Death Act recognizes specific damages categories, each tied to particular survivors. Recovery is calculated separately for each survivor within the consolidated claim, and the categories are not interchangeable across family members.
Loss of financial support
Surviving spouses and dependent children may recover for the loss of the deceased’s financial contributions, projected over the deceased’s expected working life. Economic experts calculate the present value, and in cases involving working-age decedents, this is often the largest damages component.
Loss of companionship and protection
Surviving spouses may recover for the loss of companionship, intimacy, and protection. Surviving children may recover for the loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance.
Mental pain and suffering
Surviving spouses and minor children may recover for mental pain and suffering caused by the death. Surviving parents may recover when a minor child dies, and the Florida Supreme Court has extended this recovery to parents of adult children when no other survivors are entitled to recover.
Medical and funeral expenses
Funeral expenses, burial costs, and medical expenses related to the deceased’s final injury are recoverable by the survivor or estate that incurred them.
Loss of net accumulations to the estate
When the deceased was working age, the estate itself may recover loss of net accumulations: the income the deceased would have saved over the remainder of life. This category matters most in cases involving high-income decedents.
What Should Surviving Family Members Do?
After a wrongful death, the steps the family takes in the early days affect both the legal claim and the family’s ability to navigate everything that follows.
Step 1: Preserve evidence and avoid statements
Do not provide statements to any insurance representative or investigator before consulting an attorney. Preserve clothing, vehicles, and other physical evidence, and request the official accident report and law enforcement investigative records.
Step 2: Coordinate the estate and the wrongful death claim
The wrongful death claim must be filed by the personal representative of the estate. Probate and the civil claim proceed on parallel tracks, and early coordination between the two processes prevents procedural conflicts later in the case.
Step 3: Contact an attorney before insurance contacts you
The at-fault party’s insurance often contacts surviving family members within days of the death. Those early conversations almost always work against the eventual claim. An attorney can intercept all such communication and protect the family from inadvertent statements.
Step 4: Document the family’s losses from the start
Begin keeping records of medical and funeral expenses, lost income contributions, and the personal impact on each surviving family member. This documentation becomes the foundation of the damages presentation when the claim moves forward.
What Florida Laws Apply to Wrongful Death Claims?
Florida’s wrongful death framework combines the Wrongful Death Act, the two-year statute of limitations, modified comparative negligence, and in vehicle cases, the state’s no-fault PIP rules.
Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule
Florida’s 2023 modified comparative negligence standard applies to wrongful death claims. The deceased’s share of fault reduces recovery proportionally, and recovery is barred entirely when the deceased was more than 50 percent at fault. Insurers routinely argue contributory fault, and rebutting those arguments is central to the claim.
Sovereign immunity in government cases
When the negligent party is a government entity, Florida’s sovereign immunity statute under Fla. Stat. § 768.28 requires pre-suit notice within three years and caps damages at $200,000 per claimant and $300,000 per incident absent a legislative claim bill.
Florida’s no-fault PIP system in fatal vehicle crashes
When a wrongful death results from a motor vehicle accident, the deceased’s PIP coverage provides up to $5,000 in death benefits. The larger wrongful death recovery then proceeds against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance and any other applicable coverage.
Why Choose Mickey Keenan, P.A. as Your Wrongful Death Lawyer
Mickey Keenan, P.A. brings published case results that include a $4.9 million wrongful death settlement benefiting the surviving spouse, mother-in-law, and children of the deceased.
How does Mickey Keenan’s insurance defense background help wrongful death families?
Mickey Keenan spent years defending insurance companies in wrongful death claims. In our work on the defense side, we saw the playbook insurers use: minimize the deceased’s earning trajectory, dispute the survivors’ financial dependence, and use comparative fault to reduce recovery. We now anticipate those moves before they begin.
Direct attorney access for surviving family members
Surviving family members at Mickey Keenan, P.A. communicate directly with their attorney throughout the case and receive Mickey’s personal cell number. Multiple authorized family members can coordinate with the attorney, which matters when adult children and a surviving parent participate together.
Prepared to take wrongful death cases to trial
Insurers know these cases carry significant exposure and respond with low early offers designed to close cases before families understand the claim’s value. Our firm is prepared to litigate when the insurer refuses fair compensation.
No fees unless we win
Our firm handles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis with no upfront costs. The family pays nothing unless we recover compensation, and the firm advances the costs of expert witnesses and case preparation.
Serving The Villages, Oxford, and the Surrounding Communities
Our office serving The Villages is located at 4125 Co Rd 106 Suite A in Oxford. We represent families from The Villages, Oxford, Wildwood, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Bushnell, and surrounding communities.
The firm also maintains offices in Tampa, Riverview, and Largo, handling wrongful death cases across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Sumter counties.
FAQ for The Villages Wrongful Death Lawyer
Who has legal authority to file a wrongful death claim in Florida?
Only the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file the claim. The personal representative is typically named in the will or appointed by probate court, and damages are distributed to each surviving family member according to their legal rights.
How long do we have to file a wrongful death claim?
Florida law requires the claim to be filed within two years of the date of death. Cases against government entities require pre-suit notice within three years of the incident, with damages capped under Florida’s sovereign immunity statute.
Can adult children recover damages in a wrongful death case?
Yes, in many cases. Adult children may recover for the loss of parental companionship and guidance, and where financially dependent on the deceased, for loss of support. The Florida Supreme Court has extended mental pain and suffering recovery to adult children of decedents who left no spouse or minor children.
What if our loved one was partially at fault?
Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule, recovery is reduced proportionally when the deceased shares fault and is barred entirely when the deceased was more than 50 percent responsible. Insurance companies routinely argue contributory fault, and rebutting those arguments with evidence is central to protecting the claim.
How long does a wrongful death case take to resolve?
Timeline depends on case complexity, the number of liable parties, available insurance coverage, and whether the case can be resolved through settlement or requires trial. Cases involving multiple defendants or government entities typically take longer than straightforward private liability claims.
Does Mickey Keenan, P.A. handle wrongful death cases throughout Central Florida?
Yes. Our office serving The Villages handles wrongful death cases throughout Sumter, Lake, Marion, and surrounding counties. The firm accepts cases across Florida from our four offices.
The Loss Is Heavy. The Legal Work Should Not Fall on the Family.
A wrongful death changes everything about a family’s future. The legal claim cannot undo the loss, but it can secure the resources to protect the family the deceased left behind.
At Mickey Keenan, P.A., your fight is our fight. Our team is ready to handle the legal work, hold responsible parties accountable, and pursue the full compensation Florida law allows. The consultation is free.
Call Mickey Keenan, P.A., at (813) 871-1300.
Mickey Keenan, P.A. 4125 Co Rd 106 Suite A Oxford, FL 34484 (813) 871-1300