Under Wisconsin law, the personal representative of the deceased or the beneficiary named by the deceased can file a wrongful death claim. This claim must be filed within 3 years of the date of the accident. Warshafsky won a $750,000 settlement for the family of a bicyclist who suffered wrongful death.
Margaret was a 41-year-old wife and mother from Grafton who loved getting out on her road bike for long rides. After months of planning and training, she embarked on a weeklong bike tour that crossed a different part of the state every year. As the group of cyclists she was riding with made their way through Neillsville, a truck with a trailer approached from the opposite direction. The truck’s trailer was careened into their lane from the side. Margaret and another cyclist were in the direct path of the runaway trailer. Both died at the scene.
The cause of the accident was the driver failing to secure safety chains from the truck cab to the trailer. Despite two dead cyclists and a third one badly injured, the only penalty was a $114 ticket for failing to fasten safety chains. Margaret’s grieving husband Joseph, suddenly a single parent of two teenagers and a 5-year-old, was incredulous. A $114 ticket? Two people dead and those responsible get off with a ticket?
On behalf of Joseph and his children, Warshafsky Law’s team of trucking accident lawyers filed a wrongful death suit. Although no amount of money would bring Margaret back, something had to be done. As with every case we take on, our Milwaukee wrongful death attorneys began preparing the case from day one with every intent of taking it before a judge and jury. After reviewing the police reports, eyewitness accounts and statements made by the driver to police, it quickly became obvious the young man who drove the truck wasn’t the only one at fault. The homebuilding company who hired him just days before had failed to give him any supervision to ensure proper safety measures were taken before heading out on the road. The business, of course, said it wasn’t fair to blame them for the driver’s forgetfulness.
A trial date was scheduled. Joseph’s case looked stronger every day. Then, attorneys for the homebuilder’s insurance company made an offer to settle. With most personal injury law firms, the attorneys are quick to settle and insurance companies know they can get away with lowball settlement offers. Not true for Warshafsky. Our willingness to take every case to court in order to get the highest possible compensation for our clients is well known in legal circles. So, if there’s an offer of settlement, it better be a good one.
In this case, after weighing the pros and cons of settling out of court versus going to trial, we advised Joseph to settle. Result: A $750,000 settlement, which in today’s dollars would equate to $1.1 million. Obviously, it couldn’t bring Margaret back, but it was enough for Joseph to ensure his children would get the college education their mother so badly wanted them to have.
If someone you care about has been killed due to the carelessness of others, the only way to secure compensation for medical bills, funeral expenses, lost time from work and the loss of companionship you’ve suffered is to file a civil suit. With our ability to uncover all those responsible in wrongful death and personal injury cases, Warshafsky Law has a history of securing enormous sums of money for our clients. In many cases, the awards are so large and so well publicized as to force entire industries to change the way they operate for the betterment of all. We call these Society Changing Judgments.
If you find yourself in need of a bicycle accident lawyer, Warshafsky Law offers a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Milwaukee personal injury attorneys. We will explain how the process of filing a wrongful death lawsuit proceeds and the amount of monetary compensation you might receive. We will also give you our professional opinion of the strength of your case.
If you decide to let us represent you, we ask for no payment from you until your case is resolved—either through an award from the court or from a settlement. Our No Win, No Fee policy ensures you owe us nothing if we do not secure compensation for you. With Warshafsky Law, there is never any financial risk to you.
The annual Ride of Silence honors cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding on public roadways. These are slow rides (12mph maximum) with no talking during the ride. In Milwaukee, the ride takes place every May 20 at 7pm, with all Wheel & Sprocket shops serving as starting points for a ride. If you are a cyclist, please consider joining us for this ride to help raise awareness of cyclist rights and to encourage friendly co-existence with motorists. There is no fee to join the ride.
