# Wrongful Death Lawyer - Springfield & Westfield, MA | Dunn & Phillips, P.C. > Springfield wrongful death lawyers who handle both the injury case and the probate side. We prepare every case for trial. Free consultation for families; no fee unless we recover. [Canonical page](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/wrongful-death/) --- - [All injury cases](/practice/personal-injury/) - [Car Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/car-accidents/) - [Truck Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/truck-accidents/) - [Motorcycle Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/motorcycle-accidents/) - [Slip and Fall](/practice/personal-injury/slip-and-fall/) - [Dog Bites](/practice/personal-injury/dog-bites/) - [Workers' Compensation](/practice/personal-injury/workers-compensation/) - [Medical Malpractice](/practice/personal-injury/medical-malpractice/) - [Wrongful Death](/practice/personal-injury/wrongful-death/) [Practice Areas](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/) [Personal Injury](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/) Wrongful Death # Wrongful Death Lawyer in Springfield, MA When negligence takes a life, Massachusetts law gives the family a claim - brought through the estate, measured by everything the person was to the people they left. [New injury? Call or text (413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) [Request a free consultation](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/contact/?practiceArea=Personal%20Injury) Not sure you have a case? [Try the quick size up](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/consult/). A few quick taps. Have the firm call you Free. A real person calls you back. Phone That phone number looks too short. Please check it so we can call you back. What happened? (one line is fine) Have the firm call me Short version is fine. Save the details for the call. Sending this does not make us your lawyers yet. Something went wrong. Please call or text the 24-hour injury line at [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) instead. Thanks. We have it. A real person will call you back. If this is urgent, call or text [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657). No case matters more, and no case is harder to call about. When a crash on I-91, a preventable error in a hospital, an unsafe property, or a workplace incident takes someone's life, the family is left with grief, a probate court, and - often within days - an insurance company that would like the matter resolved quietly. You do not have to talk to them, and you do not have to sort any of it out alone. Dunn & Phillips has represented Western Massachusetts families in wrongful death cases from our offices in [Springfield](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/locations/springfield/) and [Westfield](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/locations/westfield/) for decades. A call reaches a real person 24 hours a day at [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657); the conversation is free, whenever your family is ready to have it. ## How Massachusetts wrongful death claims work The claim is brought by the estate's **personal representative** - the executor named in a will, or an administrator appointed by the probate court - for the benefit of the surviving spouse, children, or next of kin. That structure means a wrongful death case begins in two courts at once: the probate court that appoints the representative, and the court where the injury case proceeds. Most firms handle one side and farm out the other. We do both under one roof - [probate and estate administration](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/wills-estates/) is a core practice here - so the appointment, the estate, and the death case move together instead of waiting on each other. ## What the law says a life was worth to its family Massachusetts measures wrongful death damages by the loss to the survivors: the income and benefits the person would have earned and provided; the value of the services and care they gave - everything a spouse, parent, or grandparent actually does; and the **loss of society**: the companionship, guidance, counsel, and comfort that made the person irreplaceable. Funeral and burial expenses are recoverable. And where the person survived the injury for a time, the estate carries a separate claim for their **conscious pain and suffering**. Where the death resulted from malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct - or gross negligence - Massachusetts also allows **punitive damages**, a remedy most states deny in death cases. A drunk driver, a carrier that kept a disqualified trucker on the road, a facility that ignored warnings: where the facts support punitive exposure, defendants stop treating the case as a line item. No recovery restores anything. It is still the only remedy the civil law offers, and families should not accept a discounted one quietly. ## Built for trial Defendants defend death cases hard, because the numbers are large and the decedent cannot testify. The answer is preparation: evidence preserved in the first weeks - vehicles, scene evidence, records, data, camera footage, witnesses; the right experts on liability, medicine, and the economic measure of the loss; and a case file built from the beginning as if a Hampden County jury will hear it. Insurers know which firms prepare that way. It is reflected in what they offer. ## The deadlines, and the real deadline The statute allows generally **three years** from the death (or from when the personal representative reasonably should have known of the claim), with shorter notice periods when a city, town, or state agency is among the defendants. The real deadline is evidentiary: footage overwrites, vehicles get scrapped, witnesses scatter. Families should not have to think about litigation in the first weeks after a death - that is what we are for. Even one early call lets us quietly preserve what the case will need, while your family attends to what matters. There is no fee and no cost to your family unless we recover. That is in writing before we begin. Common questions ## Wrongful Death FAQs Who can bring a wrongful death case in Massachusetts? The claim belongs to the estate and is brought by its personal representative - the executor or administrator - for the benefit of the surviving spouse, children, or next of kin. A family member usually must be appointed by the probate court first. We handle that appointment as part of the case; our firm does probate work every week. What compensation does a wrongful death claim cover? The law measures what the person was to their family: lost income and benefits the person would have provided, the value of their services and care, and the loss of companionship, guidance, and comfort. Funeral and burial costs are recoverable, and where the person survived the injury for a time, a separate claim covers their conscious pain and suffering. Are punitive damages available? Yes - Massachusetts is unusual in allowing punitive damages in wrongful death cases where the death resulted from malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, or gross negligence. Where the facts support it, punitive exposure changes how seriously a defendant and its insurer treat the case. How long does the family have to act? Generally three years from the death, or from when the personal representative knew or should have known the claim existed. Cases involving government defendants carry shorter notice deadlines, and the evidence that proves these cases - vehicles, records, camera footage, witnesses - disappears far faster than any statute runs. What does this cost a grieving family? Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless there is a recovery. We front every cost of building the case, and the free first conversation can happen when your family is ready - though the earlier we can begin preserving evidence, the more we can do. New Personal Injury Direct A new injury intake reaches a real person 24 hours a day. Call or text, or start with the intake form and we will get back to you. [Call or text (413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) [Start the injury intake form](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/#start-your-case) [Try the quick size up](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/consult/) Where we are Springfield, Main Office 185 Belmont Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108 [(413) 787-9955](tel:+14137879955) [Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=185%20Belmont%20Avenue%2C%20Springfield%2C%20MA%2001108) Westfield, Personal Injury Law Center 56 Washington Street, Westfield, MA 01085 [(413) 562-8300](tel:+14135628300) [Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=56%20Washington%20Street%2C%20Westfield%2C%20MA%2001085) Other injury case types we handle - [Car Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/car-accidents/) - [Truck Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/truck-accidents/) - [Motorcycle Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/motorcycle-accidents/) - [Slip and Fall](/practice/personal-injury/slip-and-fall/) - [Dog Bites](/practice/personal-injury/dog-bites/) - [Workers' Compensation](/practice/personal-injury/workers-compensation/) - [Medical Malpractice](/practice/personal-injury/medical-malpractice/) **“Pay nothing unless we win” applies to personal injury matters only.** If we win, our fee is a percentage of the amount recovered and is paid out of that settlement or verdict, along with case costs; if there is no recovery, you owe no fee or costs. The percentage and terms are set out in a signed written fee agreement. This promise does not apply to our other practice areas, whose fees are charged as described in your fee agreement. This page is general information only, not legal advice for any specific situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every matter depends on its own facts; for advice on your particular circumstances, talk to a licensed attorney. Published by Dunn & Phillips, P.C., 185 Belmont Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108. Responsible attorney: Cornelius W. Phillips, III. Explore more [Practice areaPersonal injury at Dunn & PhillipsEvery injury case type we handle, and the team that handles them.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/)[Free worksheetsMassachusetts legal worksheetsFillable PDFs, including the after-an-accident worksheet.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/worksheets/)[Talk to usRequest a consultationFree, confidential, and without obligation.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/contact/)