Florida Wrongful Death Lawyer | Broward County & South Florida

Florida Wrongful Death Lawyer

When a Family Loses Someone, They Deserve an Lawyer Who Will Hear Their Story.

Florida Advocates represents grieving families across Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach County in wrongful death claims. When you lose a loved one because of another person’s or company’s negligence, you need an Lawyer who understands how insurance companies evaluate these claims — and exactly how to defeat the arguments they will make to reduce your family’s recovery.

Susan Brown spent years as a bodily injury insurance adjuster before becoming a trial Lawyer. She knows from the inside exactly what the insurance company is going to argue against your family’s claim — and she begins building the counter-evidence from day one.

Losing Someone to Another Person’s Negligence Is Not Like Any Other Loss

Wrongful death is not a legal term designed to minimize what your family has experienced. It is the recognition that someone you love died because another person or company failed in a duty they owed — and that failure has legal and financial consequences that the responsible party must answer for.

No claim changes what happened. What it does is hold the responsible party accountable, relieve your family from the financial burden their negligence created, and protect the people your loved one would have continued to take care of.

At Florida Advocates, we understand this is the hardest thing your family will ever go through. We also understand that the window to act is narrow, the evidence that proves your case is time-sensitive, and the insurance companies on the other side are already working to reduce what your family will recover.

When you call us, you will speak with our team directly. Your loved one’s story will be heard from the first call. And we will begin protecting your family’s rights immediately.

“Let our family help yours, because family never settles for less.”

Florida Wrongful Death Statistics — The Scope of Preventable Loss

Florida is one of the deadliest states in the nation for preventable deaths. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2023:

Beyond traffic fatalities, Broward County recorded:

• 37 motorcycle rider deaths out of 761 motorcycle crashes
• 9 bicyclist fatalities out of 888 bicycle crashes
• 12,465 hit-and-run crashes — among the highest rates in Florida

These numbers represent only traffic fatalities. They do not include workplace fatalities, drownings (Florida leads the nation in pediatric drowning deaths), medical negligence deaths, fatal premises liability incidents, or fatalities caused by defective products.

Behind every statistic is a family facing sudden loss, unexpected expenses, and an uncertain future. Many of these deaths were preventable — caused by distracted drivers, impaired operators, negligent property owners, or corporations that prioritized cost savings over safety.

When negligence causes death, Florida law provides a path for surviving family members to pursue accountability and compensation. But that path has strict deadlines and requires immediate action to preserve evidence.

Why Susan Brown Handles Wrongful Death Cases Differently

Most personal injury Lawyers have only ever worked one side of a claim — the plaintiff’s side. Susan Brown worked on both sides before she ever set foot in a courtroom as a trial Lawyer.

Before law school, Susan worked as a bodily injury and workers’ compensation insurance adjuster. She evaluated claims, reviewed medical records, and developed the valuation arguments that insurers use to justify low offers. She was selected as the designated adjuster for her company’s largest insured, managing complex claims under specialized handling procedures. She was then recruited by the state’s largest personal injury firm — which is where she decided to pursue her law degree to do that work herself.

That dual perspective matters more in wrongful death cases than in any other practice area, because wrongful death claims represent the largest potential exposure for insurers. From the first day, their adjusters and Lawyers are working to reduce that exposure — challenging cause of death, undervaluing earning capacity, disputing damages, and pressuring grieving families to settle before the full value is understood.

Susan knows their tactics because she has seen them from the inside. When she takes on your family’s case, she is not guessing what the insurance company will argue. She already knows. And she begins building the counter-argument from day one.

Learn more about Susan Brown →

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim Under Florida Law?

Under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, Florida Statutes §§ 768.16–768.26, when a person is killed due to the wrongful act, negligence, or default of another, surviving family members and the estate may pursue a civil claim against the responsible party.

Florida’s wrongful death statute is one of the more restrictive in the country in terms of who may recover and what damages are available. Understanding these limitations from the outset is essential to building a claim that captures every dollar your family is legally entitled to recover.

Who Can File a Florida Wrongful Death Claim?

In Florida, a wrongful death claim is brought by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate on behalf of eligible survivors and the estate itself. If your loved one did not name a personal representative in a will, the probate court will appoint one — typically a surviving spouse or adult child.

Eligible Survivors Who May Recover Damages:

The Surviving Spouse

Entitled to recover for loss of companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering from the date of injury, and lost support and services the deceased would have provided.

Minor Children (under 25)

Entitled to recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, mental pain and suffering, and the financial support the parent would have provided through adulthood.

Adult Children (when no surviving spouse)

May recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, guidance, and mental pain and suffering when there is no surviving spouse.

Parents of a Deceased Minor Child

Entitled to recover for mental pain and suffering and lost support — without regard to the existence of other survivors.

Parents of a Deceased Adult Child

May recover when there is no surviving spouse or children, or when the adult child was supporting the parent.

Blood Relatives and Adoptive Siblings

May recover for loss of support and services if they were partially or wholly dependent on the deceased.

The Estate Itself May Also Recover For:

• Medical expenses related to the injury that caused death
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Lost wages and benefits between the date of injury and the date of death
• Lost net accumulation — the income and savings the deceased would reasonably have accumulated and left to survivors over their expected lifetime

What Insurance Companies Do After a Florida Wrongful Death

Wrongful death claims represent the largest potential exposure for insurers. Their response is immediate, coordinated, and aggressive. Here is what we routinely see in Broward County wrongful death claims:

• Contacting family members within days of the death — before grief has even begun to lift, before a funeral has been held, and before the family has had any opportunity to consult an Lawyer.
• Requesting recorded statements during the most vulnerable period — these statements are not for the family’s benefit. They are taken to extract admissions, inconsistencies, or anything that can later be used to reduce the claim.
• Making a fast settlement offer designed to close the claim before its full value is understood — adjusters are trained to identify families in financial distress and time their offers to maximize the chance of acceptance.
• Undervaluing future earning capacity using flawed economic models — insurer-retained economists often use assumptions that minimize lost wages, lost net accumulation, and lost benefits over the deceased’s projected lifetime.
• Disputing cause of death — arguing that pre-existing conditions, not the negligent act, caused or substantially contributed to the death.
• Minimizing non-economic damages — adjusters routinely undervalue mental pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of guidance for surviving children.
• Asserting comparative fault against the deceased — under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule, any percentage of fault assigned to the deceased reduces the family’s recovery. Insurers will argue fault aggressively, even on facts that do not support it.
• Delaying the claim until financial pressure forces a lower settlement — funeral costs, medical bills, and lost income create financial pressure that insurers exploit.

What Damages Can Florida Wrongful Death Survivors Recover?

For Surviving Spouses

• Loss of the deceased’s support and services
• Loss of companionship and protection
• Mental pain and suffering from the date of injury

For Minor Children

• Loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance
• Mental pain and suffering from the date of injury
• Lost financial support the parent would have provided

For Adult Children (no surviving spouse)

• Mental pain and suffering from the loss of a parent
• Lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance

For Parents

• Mental pain and suffering from the loss of a child
• Lost support if the child was contributing to the parent’s care

For the Estate

• Medical expenses incurred before death
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Lost wages and benefits between injury and death
• Lost net accumulation — the income and savings the deceased would have accumulated over their working lifetime and left to the estate

The valuation of lost net accumulation is one of the most contested issues in wrongful death cases. It requires economic expert testimony and is heavily attacked by defense economists. Susan’s experience valuing claims from the insurance side gives her insight into how these arguments are constructed — and how to defeat them.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death We Handle in Broward County

Fatal Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Accidents

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of wrongful death in Broward County. The county recorded 219 traffic fatalities in 2023 — crashes on I-95, I-595, US-1, A1A, and major arteries like Sunrise Boulevard, Broward Boulevard, and Oakland Park Boulevard that ended lives due to impaired driving, distraction, speeding, or red-light running.

The stretch of I-95 between the I-595 interchange and Marina Mile Boulevard has been called “America’s Deadliest Mile.” Fatal crashes on this corridor are unfortunately frequent, and they often involve commercial vehicles whose carriers, drivers, and insurers must be investigated as part of a comprehensive liability analysis.

Fatal car accidents → | Fatal truck accidents → | Fatal motorcycle accidents →

Premises Liability Fatalities

When a property owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions causes a fatal injury, that owner may face wrongful death liability under Florida premises liability law. Common scenarios in Broward County include:

• Unfenced or unsupervised swimming pools — Florida leads the nation in child drowning deaths
• Negligent security leading to assault, shooting, or homicide on a property
• Dangerous staircases, broken railings, or missing handrails
• Falls from balconies, parking garages, or unprotected edges
• Slip and fall injuries resulting in fatal head trauma — especially common in elderly victims
• Elevator and escalator failures
• Inadequately maintained common areas in apartment complexes, condominiums, and HOAs

Premises liability → | Slip and fall →

Workplace and Construction Fatalities

South Florida’s construction industry is among the most dangerous in the state. Fatal workplace accidents — falls from scaffolding, electrocution, trench collapses, struck-by incidents, crane failures — can give rise to wrongful death claims against negligent employers, general contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, or property owners.

Workers’ compensation immunity does not always protect third parties whose negligence contributed to the death. A thorough liability analysis is essential because the family’s recovery in a third-party wrongful death claim is typically far greater than what workers’ compensation provides.

Medical Negligence Deaths

When a healthcare provider’s negligence causes death — surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication mistakes, hospital-acquired infections, anesthesia errors, birth injuries — surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death medical malpractice claim. These cases require expert testimony, compliance with Florida’s strict pre-suit notice requirements under Florida Statute § 766.106, and an awareness of Florida’s restrictive recovery rules in malpractice cases.

Defective Product Fatalities

When a product defect causes a fatality — a defective vehicle component, dangerous medication, faulty appliance, defective firearm, unsafe consumer product — the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer may face liability under both product liability law and Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. These cases often involve multiple defendants across multiple states and require resources to litigate effectively.

Products liability →

Drowning Deaths

Florida leads the nation in drowning deaths, particularly among children. Wrongful death claims may arise from drownings in:

• Apartment complex and HOA pools
• Hotel and resort pools
• Private residential pools (when statutory pool barrier requirements were violated)
• Natural bodies of water with inadequate warnings or supervision
• Boating accidents involving negligent operation

Fatal DUI and Impaired Driver Crashes

When a wrongful death is caused by a drunk or impaired driver, the family’s case may include:

• A claim against the impaired driver and their insurer
• A potential dram shop claim under Florida Statute § 768.125 if alcohol was knowingly served to a habitually addicted person or to a minor
• Possible punitive damages under Florida Statute § 768.72

What to Do After Losing a Loved One to Negligence

The period after a sudden, preventable death is overwhelming. Legal deadlines may feel secondary to grief, funeral arrangements, and supporting children and other family members. We understand. But certain steps protect your family’s rights and should be taken as soon as you are able:

1. Obtain the death certificate, accident report, and any incident report
2. Preserve all documents related to the death — medical records, police reports, photographs, communications
3. Do not speak with insurance adjusters or sign any documents before consulting an Lawyer
4. Do not post about the death or the circumstances on social media — insurers monitor social media for content they can use against the claim
5. Identify and secure physical evidence — damaged vehicles, defective products, hazardous conditions, surveillance footage. Surveillance video at many businesses is overwritten on a 24 to 72-hour cycle. The moment you retain us, we send preservation demands.
6. Contact the deceased’s employer for information about life insurance, benefits, pension, and any workplace liability if relevant
7. Begin appointing a personal representative if one was not named in a will (probate court)
8. Contact Florida Advocates for a free, confidential consultation — we can begin protecting evidence and your family’s rights even while you are still focused on the funeral

Important Florida Wrongful Death Deadlines

Assuming an insurer will eventually make a fair settlement offer without the threat of litigation is a mistake that can permanently forfeit your family’s right to compensation. Witnesses move, become unavailable, or forget. Surveillance footage is deleted. Physical evidence deteriorates. The vehicle, defective product, or hazardous condition that caused the death may be repaired, discarded, or altered.

Contact us as early as you are able — even before you have made decisions about the case. We can begin preserving evidence and protecting your options without committing your family to anything.

Florida’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule — Why It Matters in Wrongful Death

In March 2023, Florida adopted a modified comparative negligence rule under Florida Statute § 768.81. In wrongful death cases this means:

• If the deceased is found partially at fault, the family’s recovery is reduced by that percentage
• If the deceased is found more than 50% at fault, the family recovers nothing

Insurers know this rule and will aggressively assign fault to the deceased — sometimes on facts that do not support it. Counter-investigation, witness statements, accident reconstruction, and expert testimony are often essential to defeat or minimize comparative fault arguments.

This is exactly the kind of evidence-building Susan does from day one. Her experience evaluating fault arguments from the insurance side allows her to anticipate, document around, and dismantle the comparative fault narrative insurers will inevitably build.

About Lawyer Susan Brown

Susan Brown oversees the Personal Injury Department at Florida Advocates. Before becoming an Lawyer, Susan worked as a bodily injury and workers’ compensation insurance adjuster. She was then recruited by the state’s largest personal injury firm — which is where she decided to pursue her law degree. That inside knowledge of how insurance companies evaluate, delay, and undervalue claims is what sets her apart from Lawyers who have only ever worked one side of a case.

Education

• J.D. with Honors — University of Florida College of Law (1999)
• Book Award in Legal Drafting
• Trial Advocacy Scholarship (won written competition)
• Teaching Assistant — Appellate Advocacy and Legal Research & Writing
• B.S. — Florida State University

Court Admissions

• Florida
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Appellate Experience

• Argued and won cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Argued and won cases before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Professional Memberships

• Broward County Trial Lawyers Association

Insurance Insider Background Worked as an insurance adjuster (workers’ compensation and bodily injury) before law school. Recruited by Florida’s largest personal injury firm. Throughout her legal career has represented both plaintiffs and insurance companies — which gives her a perspective most personal injury Lawyers simply do not have.

Learn more about Susan Brown →

Frequently Asked Questions — Florida Wrongful Death Claims

Florida Wrongful Death Local Resources

Hospitals & Trauma Centers (Broward County)

Broward Health Medical Center
(Level I Trauma Center — Adult & Pediatric) 1600 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: (954) 355-4400
Website

Memorial Regional Hospital
(Level I Trauma Center) 3501 Johnson Street, Hollywood, FL 33021
Phone: (954) 987-2000

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital
(Level I Pediatric Trauma) 1005 Joe DiMaggio Drive, Hollywood, FL 33021
Phone: (954) 265-5324

Probate Courts

Broward County Probate Court (17th Judicial Circuit)
201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: (954) 831-6565
Website

Miami-Dade County Probate Division
73 W Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130
Phone: (305) 275-1155

Vital Records

Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics
(Death Certificates)
Order online

Why Choose Florida Advocates for Your Family’s Wrongful Death Claim

You may have seen billboards, TV commercials, and online ads promising fast settlements. Many of these are “settlement mills” — high-volume firms that push for quick settlements rather than maximum recovery. A wrongful death case is the wrong kind of case to push through a settlement mill.

At Florida Advocates, we take a different approach:

• Direct Lawyer involvement — Susan Brown personally oversees your family’s case
• No rushed settlements — wrongful death cases require time to value properly; we build for maximum recovery, not quick turnover
• Insurance insider knowledge — we know how adjusters value wrongful death claims because Susan used to do that work
• Federal court experience — we can litigate at any level, including in the U.S. District Courts and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• Resources for complex cases — we advance all expert witness costs (economists, accident reconstructionists, medical experts) so your family does not have to

Your family deserves more than a billboard. You deserve an advocate who will hear your loved one’s story and pursue every dollar of accountability.

No Fee Unless We Recover for Your Family

We work on a contingency fee basis. That means:

• Free consultation — no cost to speak with us about your family’s case
• No upfront fees — we advance all case costs (filing fees, expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, economic experts, medical records)
• No Lawyer fees unless we recover for your family

You will never receive a bill from us while your case is active. We only get paid when your family does.

About Florida Advocates

Florida Advocates is a personal injury law firm headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida — in the heart of Broward County. We represent grieving families throughout Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, and all of Florida.

Office Locations:

Dania Beach (Broward County) — Headquarters
45 E Sheridan Street Dania Beach, FL 33004

North Miami (Miami-Dade County)
13499 Biscayne Blvd #107 North Miami, FL 33181

Tampa (Hillsborough County)
238 E Davis Blvd #210 Tampa, FL 33606

Phone: 754-290-3803
Email: info@fladvocates.com
Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Available by phone 24/7 for emergencies

Serving Wrongful Death Families Throughout South Florida

Florida Advocates represents grieving families throughout Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, and Hillsborough County, including:

• Fort Lauderdale
• Dania Beach — Office Location
• Hollywood
• Pembroke Pines
• Coral Springs
• Plantation
• Hallandale Beach
• Miramar
• Weston
• Pompano Beach
• Boca Raton
• Miami
• Miami Beach
• Hialeah
• North Miami
• Tampa

If you lost a loved one anywhere in Florida, we can help.

Contact a Florida Wrongful Death Lawyer

If you or your family has lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, contact Florida Advocates today. Your consultation is free and confidential. You pay nothing unless we recover for your family.

Call: 754-290-3803
Email: info@fladvocates.com

Call us for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover for you. After all, isn’t that what family would do?

Related Practice Areas

If your loved one’s death involved:

• A car accident
• A commercial truck
• A motorcycle
• A slip and fall
• A premises hazard
• A defective product
• A denied insurance claim