Greenville Wrongful Death Lawyer

Are you looking for a wrongful death lawyer in Greenville, SC? At Woron and Dhillon, LLC, we are trusted wrongful death lawyers serving clients across Greenville and the surrounding area.

If you have lost a spouse, child, or parent because of someone else’s carelessness in Greenville, your family may be entitled to compensation. Insurers move quickly after a death, with little compassion for what families are going through.

Woron and Dhillon, LLC has represented South Carolina families in fatal accident claims for more than 30 years combined, including cases against trucking companies, bars that overserved drunk drivers, and medical providers. Our Greenville, SC wrongful death lawyer can explain who is permitted to file, what the claim covers, and what the process will ask of you. Contact us for a free consultation.

Wrongful Death Lawyer Greenville, SC

Our Greenville wrongful death attorney represents the family of a person who died because of another party’s negligence or intentional act. The claim belongs to the survivors, not the person who died, and it is meant to compensate them for what the death took from their lives, like financial support, companionship, guidance, and the ordinary presence of someone they loved.

Greenville County tied for the most fatal traffic collisions of any county in South Carolina in 2023, with 71, according to SCDPS collision data. Crashes are the most common source of wrongful death claims in Greenville, but falls, medical errors, defective products, and violence on poorly secured property cause them as well. A wrongful death attorney in Greenville, SC sorts out which parties can be held responsible and pursues every one of them.

Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle in Greenville

Wrongful death is not a single kind of case because it is the outcome of many different kinds of negligence. The following are the fatal incident types our Greenville wrongful death attorneys handle the most:

• Car accidents. High-speed collisions on I-85, wrong-way crashes, and intersection wrecks along Wade Hampton Boulevard take lives in Greenville every year. We obtain the Highway Patrol’s reconstruction file, download vehicle data, and identify every policy that may apply.
• Truck accidents. When a commercial vehicle is involved, the carrier’s insurer often has adjusters at the scene before the family has been notified. Our truck accident work starts with preservation demands for driver logs, dispatch records, and maintenance history before any of it can disappear.
• Drunk driving deaths. The impaired driver is rarely the only responsible party. South Carolina permits claims against establishments that served a visibly intoxicated patron, and proving bar liability can be the difference between a policy-limits recovery and one that reflects the actual loss.
• Pedestrian accidents. Most fatal pedestrian crashes happen after dark on arterial roads. We investigate lighting, crosswalk placement, and driver speed, and we do not accept the assumption that the person on foot was at fault.
• Bicycle accidents. A cyclist struck by a vehicle has no margin for error. These cases turn on right-of-way evidence, and we secure it quickly.
• Slip and falls. A fall down unlit stairs, from a defective ladder, or through an unguarded opening can be fatal, particularly for older adults. Property owners and product manufacturers may both bear responsibility.
• Medical malpractice deaths. A missed diagnosis, a surgical error, or a medication mistake can end a life that should have continued. Medical malpractice claims require qualified physician review before filing, and we arrange it.
• Brain injuries. Some victims survive the initial trauma for days or weeks before dying. Those cases include both the death claim and a separate claim for what the person endured before passing.

Why Choose Woron and Dhillon, LLC as my Wrongful Death Lawyer in Greenville, SC?

Attorneys Who Try Cases

Amar Dhillon has practiced law for 26 years. Motor vehicle collisions are the center of his practice. He has also handled motorcycle and bicycle crashes, medical malpractice, and pharmaceutical injury cases, all of which regularly result in wrongful death claims. He is a member of the American Bar Association and two trial lawyers’ associations.

Brett Woron is a 2010 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law who has taken both civil and criminal cases through verdict. That matters in wrongful death litigation, where defendants often calculate that a grieving family will accept less rather than face a courtroom. He has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and belongs to the South Carolina Association for Justice and the Richland County Bar Association.

A wrongful death claim is the most serious matter a personal injury lawyer in Greenville, SC will ever handle, and our firm treats it that way.

Results in Fatal Injury Cases

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients and grieving families. Results in death cases include:

• $1,625,000 for the estate of a young man killed while riding as a passenger with a drunk driver, resolved through a wrongful death and dram shop claim
• $1,200,000 in a death claim arising from a defective ladder
• $575,000 in a case our firm describes as a hospital tragedy

Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We take wrongful death cases on a contingency fee. There is no attorney fee unless we recover for your family, and the initial consultation with our Greenville wrongful death attorney is free.

What Is Important To Understand About Wrongful Death Cases?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Wrongful Death Cases

Liability in a wrongful death case is proven the same way it would have been had the person survived: the defendant owed a duty of care, breached it, and caused the death. What changes is the measure of damages, which now belongs to the surviving beneficiaries. Under South Carolina law, compensation that our Greenville wrongful death lawyers can help you pursue may include:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medical bills incurred between the injury and the death
• Lost financial support the deceased would have provided over a working lifetime
• Loss of companionship, guidance, and care, which is valued separately for each beneficiary
• Mental shock and grief experienced by the survivors
• Exemplary damages when the death resulted from recklessness, willfulness, or malice

A separate survival claim, brought on behalf of the estate, covers the pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death. In a case where a person lived for a period after the injury, the two claims are typically pursued together.

What Are Important Aspects of a Wrongful Death Case?

Wrongful death claims follow rules that ordinary injury cases do not.

• Who files? The claim is brought by the executor or administrator of the estate, appointed through probate court. If no estate has been opened, we help you open one, and a personal representative can be appointed solely for this purpose.
• Who benefits? South Carolina law directs the recovery first to the surviving spouse and children. If there are none, it passes to the parents, and then to the heirs.
• The filing deadline. Under the state statute of limitations, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within three years of the date of death. Claims against government entities carry shorter deadlines.
• Court approval. Every wrongful death settlement must be reviewed and approved by a court before the funds can be distributed. This protects the beneficiaries but adds a step to the timeline.
• Shared fault. If the deceased contributed to the incident, the recovery is reduced by that percentage, and barred if it exceeds 50 percent. A preexisting condition does not, on its own, defeat the claim.

What Is The Wrongful Death Case Timeline?

With probate and court approval built in, wrongful death claims tend to take longer than injury claims with comparable facts. A straightforward case may resolve within a year. Contested cases involving multiple defendants often take two years or more.

• Estate and representative. Our Greenville wrongful death attorney can petition the probate court to appoint a personal representative, which must happen before a claim can be filed or settled.
• Investigation. We gather the coroner’s findings, law enforcement reports, medical records, and employment information, and we retain reconstruction or medical witnesses as the facts require.
• Demand and negotiation. Once the losses are documented, we present a demand to each responsible insurer and negotiate on behalf of the beneficiaries.
• Litigation. If fair value is refused, we file in the Court of Common Pleas and proceed through discovery, mediation, and, when necessary, trial.
• Approval and distribution. After a settlement or verdict, the court reviews the terms and orders distribution among the beneficiaries.

What Should You Bring to Your Wrongful Death Consultation?

When meeting with our Greenville wrongful death lawyer, we recommend that you bring the following:

• The death certificate, if issued
• Any police, Highway Patrol, or coroner’s report, or the incident number
• Medical records and bills from the final treatment
• Funeral and burial invoices
• Information about your loved one’s employment and income
• Any correspondence from insurance companies or the responsible party

At the consultation, our Greenville wrongful death attorney will explain the claim in plain language, identify the likely defendants, and tell you what to expect from the probate process. You will not be pressured to make a decision that day.

Most Dangerous Locations for Fatal Accidents in Greenville

The City of Greenville’s Traffic Safety Action Plan identifies Laurens Road, North Pleasantburg Drive, Woodruff Road, and Wade Hampton Boulevard as the corridors where the city’s fatal and serious injury crashes concentrate. Interstate 85 through Greenville County carries heavy truck traffic, and the interchanges at Pelham Road and Woodruff Road are chronic sites of high-speed rear-end and sideswipe collisions.

When a death occurs in Greenville, SC, the Greenville County Coroner investigates the cause and manner, and the coroner’s report is often the first piece of evidence in a wrongful death claim. The Greenville County Probate Court handles appointment of the personal representative and approval of the final settlement.

Reach Out to Woron and Dhillon, LLC to Schedule a Consultation

When you are ready to learn what your legal options are after losing a loved one to negligence, our Greenville wrongful death attorneys will meet with you at no cost, in our office, at your home, or by video, and explain what the claim involves. There is no fee unless we recover for your family. Our phones are answered at all hours, and we respond promptly. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with our Greenville wrongful death lawyer.