If you have lost a spouse, child, or parent in a fatal accident in Kansas City, Kansas, you may have the right to seek compensation through a wrongful death claim. A Kansas City wrongful death lawyer at Bretz Injury Law can help your family pursue justice and fair financial recovery. Call us at 913-392-6352 to speak with an attorney today.
Attorney Matthew Bretz has more than 30 years of experience handling serious injury and wrongful death cases across Kansas. He prepares every case for trial, which gives families real leverage when dealing with insurance companies that try to minimize what they owe. His approach is direct, focused, and built around each family he serves.
You should not have to face this process alone. Contact Bretz Injury Law to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help your family move forward.
How Can Bretz Injury Law Help Your Family With a Kansas City Wrongful Death Claim?
No amount of money can undo the loss of someone you love. But a wrongful death claim can help your family cover the financial costs that follow a sudden death. It can also hold the person or company responsible for their actions.
Insurance companies often try to settle wrongful death claims quickly and for far less than what families deserve. They may contact you within days of the accident with an offer that sounds fair but does not reflect your full losses. Having an experienced attorney on your side can change the outcome of your case.
When you work with Bretz Injury Law, we will:
- Listen to your family and answer your questions with honesty
- Investigate the accident thoroughly and collect the evidence needed to build your case
- Work with experts to determine the full value of your losses
- Handle all communication with insurance companies on your behalf
- Prepare your case for trial so that insurers take your claim seriously
- Fight for the compensation your family needs to protect your future
Grieving families should not have to fight insurance companies at the same time. Let our Kansas City wrongful death lawyers handle the legal process while you focus on your family.
What Is Wrongful Death Under Kansas Law?
A wrongful death happens when someone dies because of another person or company’s negligent, reckless, or intentional actions. The law recognizes that when a person is killed due to someone else’s fault, that person can no longer file a lawsuit on their own behalf. Instead, their surviving family members can bring a wrongful death claim.
Wrongful death cases are heard in civil court. They are separate from any criminal charges that may also be filed. You can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit even if no criminal case is brought against the responsible party. You can also pursue a wrongful death case even if the responsible party is found not guilty in criminal court.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
Kansas law allows two types of legal actions after a fatal accident. A wrongful death lawsuit compensates the surviving family members for their own losses, such as lost financial support and companionship. A survival action allows the victim’s estate to recover what the victim would have been entitled to had they survived, such as their own pain and suffering before death.
Both types of claims may apply in your case. Your attorney can explain which actions are available to your family based on the facts of your situation.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Kansas?
Under Kansas wrongful death law, only certain family members have the legal right to file a wrongful death claim. Understanding who qualifies is an important first step.
The following people may be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Kansas:
- A surviving spouse
- Children and stepchildren of the victim
- Grandchildren of the victim
- Parents of the victim
- Domestic partners
- People who depended on the victim for financial support
- Anyone entitled to the victim’s property under Kansas inheritance laws
If you are not sure whether you qualify to file a wrongful death claim, our attorneys can review your situation during a free consultation.
What Causes Wrongful Death Cases in Kansas City?
Fatal accidents can happen in many different ways. At Bretz Injury Law, we represent families in wrongful death claims that arise from a wide range of situations.
Common causes of wrongful death in Kansas City include:
- Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
- Workplace and construction accidents
- Medical errors
- Dangerous or defective products
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Premises liability, including slip and fall accidents
- Drunk driving crashes
Every wrongful death case is different. Our attorneys will investigate the specific facts of your case, identify every responsible party, and build a claim based on the evidence.
How Do You Prove Negligence in a Wrongful Death Case?
Most wrongful death cases are based on a legal concept called negligence. Negligence means that someone failed to act with reasonable care, and that failure led to another person’s death.
To prove negligence in a wrongful death case, your attorney must show four things:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to your loved one
- The defendant breached that duty through careless, reckless, or wrongful actions
- The breach of duty directly caused your loved one’s death
- Your family suffered real losses as a result
Proving these elements requires a thorough investigation, strong evidence, and often testimony from expert witnesses. Bretz Injury Law works with accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, and financial analysts to build a clear and compelling case for your family.
What Compensation Can Your Family Recover?
Kansas wrongful death law allows families to seek both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover financial losses that can be measured in dollars. Non-economic damages cover losses that are harder to put a number on but are just as real.
Compensation available in a Kansas City wrongful death case may include:
- Medical expenses incurred before the victim’s death
- Funeral and burial costs
- Loss of the victim’s income and future earning potential
- Loss of employment benefits, including health insurance and retirement
- Loss of household services the victim provided
- Pain and suffering experienced by the victim before death
- Loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support
- Loss of consortium for the surviving spouse
Placing a dollar value on the loss of a loved one is one of the hardest parts of a wrongful death case. Our lawyers work with economists, vocational experts, and mental health professionals to present the full picture of your family’s losses.
What Is My Kansas City Wrongful Death Case Worth?
The value of a wrongful death case depends on the specific losses your family has suffered. No two cases are the same, and there is no simple formula for calculating what your family is owed.
Some of the most important factors that affect the value of your case include:
- Your loved one’s age and life expectancy before the accident
- Their income and future earning potential
- The financial and emotional ways they contributed to your family
- The age and needs of surviving children or dependents
- The nature of the at-fault party’s conduct
- Your family’s medical costs, funeral expenses, and other financial losses
Many of your losses do not have a clear price tag. The grief of losing a parent, spouse, or child cannot be measured in dollars. Our attorneys work with economists and life care planning experts to present the full scope of what your family has lost, both financially and emotionally.
How Does Comparative Negligence Affect a Wrongful Death Claim in Kansas?
Kansas follows a comparative negligence rule. This means that if your loved one shared some fault for the accident, your family’s compensation may be reduced by the percentage of blame assigned to them.
For example, if your loved one was found to be 20 percent at fault, your family’s total compensation would be reduced by 20 percent. Under Kansas law, as long as your loved one was not more than 50 percent at fault, your family can still recover damages.
Insurance companies often try to shift blame to the person who died because that person cannot defend themselves. This is one of the most important reasons to have an experienced wrongful death attorney who can protect your loved one’s reputation and fight back against unfair blame.
What Is the Deadline to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Kansas?
Kansas law sets a two-year statute of limitations for most wrongful death cases. This means your family generally has two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a lawsuit. The deadline may start from the date of death, which is not always the same as the date of the accident.
Two years may seem like a long time, but evidence can disappear, witnesses can move, and important details can fade. There are also limited exceptions that can shorten or extend the deadline in some situations. Contacting an attorney early helps protect your family’s rights and gives your legal team more time to build a strong case.
What Steps Should You Take After Losing a Loved One in a Fatal Accident?
The days and weeks after a fatal accident are overwhelming. While your focus should be on your family, there are steps you can take early on to protect your legal rights.
First, try to preserve any evidence connected to the accident. This includes photographs, police reports, medical records, and witness contact information. If the accident involved a vehicle, do not have it repaired or destroyed until your attorney has had a chance to examine it.
Second, be cautious when speaking with insurance companies. Adjusters may contact you soon after the accident. They may seem sympathetic, but their goal is to settle your claim for as little as possible. You are not required to give a recorded statement or accept an early offer. It is wise to speak with a wrongful death attorney before agreeing to anything.
Third, contact an experienced wrongful death lawyer as soon as you are able. The sooner your attorney can begin investigating, the stronger your case will be. Critical evidence, such as surveillance footage, black box data, and witness memories, can be lost if too much time passes.
Why Matthew Bretz Fights for Wrongful Death Families
Attorney Matthew Bretz understands the devastation of losing a loved one to a preventable accident. On Valentine’s Day in 1992, his 16-year-old sister Marlee and two of her friends were killed in a train collision. That loss changed the direction of his life and his legal career.
After working on the defense side early in his career, Matthew Bretz made the decision to switch to representing injured people and their families. For more than 25 years, he has stood beside families who have lost loved ones and helped them pursue accountability against negligent individuals and companies.
He serves on the National Board of Directors for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and trains trial lawyers across the country through the Keenan Trial Institute. His work is driven by a simple belief: when negligence takes a life, the responsible party must be held accountable.
What to Expect When You Contact Bretz Injury Law
When you call Bretz Injury Law, you will speak with an attorney who listens. During your free consultation, we will ask about the accident, your loved one, and how the loss has affected your family. We will explain your legal options in plain language and answer any questions you have.
There are no upfront fees. Bretz Injury Law handles wrongful death cases on a contingency basis. This means you do not pay any attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family.
What should I bring to my free consultation?
If you have any of the following, bring them to your meeting: the police report or accident report, your loved one’s medical records, the death certificate, insurance information for all parties involved, photographs from the accident scene, and any letters or offers you have received from insurance companies. Even if you do not have all of these documents, we can still evaluate your case.
Contact a Kansas City Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
Losing a loved one to someone else’s negligence is one of the most painful experiences a family can face. You deserve an attorney who will take your case seriously, prepare it for trial, and fight for the compensation your family needs.
Bretz Injury Law represents families across Kansas City and throughout Kansas in wrongful death cases. Call 913-392-6352 or submit a consultation request online. Attorney Matthew Bretz and his team bring more than 30 years of trial experience to every case they handle.
Your family’s future matters. Let Bretz Injury Law help you protect it.