When a loved one dies due to someone else’s negligence, the last thing grieving families expect is for defendants to blame the victim’s prior health problems. Arizona law recognizes wrongful death claims even when the deceased had pre-existing medical conditions, but insurance companies and defense attorneys routinely use these conditions to reduce or deny compensation.
Wrongful death cases involving pre-existing conditions present unique challenges that require experienced legal representation to overcome aggressive defense tactics. In Arizona, defendants cannot escape liability simply because an accident victim had underlying health issues, yet they often attempt to shift blame away from their negligent actions by pointing to prior medical history. Understanding how Arizona courts handle these defenses can make the difference between securing fair compensation and walking away with nothing.
What Qualifies as a Pre-Existing Condition in Wrongful Death Cases
A pre-existing condition refers to any medical diagnosis, injury, or health impairment that existed before the incident that caused death. These conditions can range from chronic diseases to old injuries, and defendants frequently exploit them to argue they contributed to or caused the fatal outcome rather than the defendant’s negligence.
Arizona courts recognize that many people live with various health conditions without them being immediately life-threatening. The legal question is not whether the deceased had a pre-existing condition but whether the defendant’s negligent actions caused or substantially contributed to the death regardless of that condition.
Common pre-existing conditions defendants cite include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, prior back or neck injuries, arthritis, hypertension, cancer history, stroke history, respiratory conditions like COPD or asthma, and previous surgeries or trauma. Defense attorneys obtain medical records spanning years or even decades to identify any health issue they can present as an alternative explanation for death.
How Arizona Law Addresses Pre-Existing Conditions in Wrongful Death Claims
Arizona follows the “eggshell plaintiff” doctrine, which holds defendants fully liable for all consequences of their negligence even when the victim was more vulnerable due to pre-existing conditions. Under this principle established in Arizona case law, defendants must take victims as they find them and cannot reduce liability because someone was more susceptible to injury or death than an average person.
The wrongful death statute in Arizona, O.C.G.A. § 12-611 and related statutes, does not create exceptions for pre-existing conditions. If negligence caused or materially contributed to someone’s death, the responsible party remains liable regardless of the victim’s prior health status. Arizona courts consistently reject arguments that pre-existing conditions break the chain of causation when negligent conduct was a substantial factor in bringing about death.
The “Eggshell Plaintiff” Rule and Its Application to Wrongful Death
The eggshell plaintiff doctrine protects victims who are more fragile or vulnerable than average individuals. This rule means defendants cannot argue they should pay less because the victim had a weak heart, brittle bones, or any other condition that made injury more likely or severe.
Arizona courts apply this doctrine even in wrongful death cases, recognizing that many accident victims would have continued living with their conditions if not for the defendant’s negligence. For example, if someone with a heart condition dies in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, the drunk driver cannot escape liability by claiming the victim would have died from heart disease eventually. The key question remains whether the negligent act caused death at that time, not whether the person might have died from other causes in the future.
Common Defense Strategies Used to Blame Pre-Existing Conditions
Defense attorneys employ several tactics to minimize liability by emphasizing pre-existing conditions. Understanding these strategies helps families prepare for what they will face during litigation and settlement negotiations.
Obtaining Extensive Medical Records
Defense lawyers request complete medical histories going back many years, searching for any diagnosis, symptom, or complaint they can use. They scrutinize primary care records, specialist visits, emergency room treatments, prescription histories, and even dental records looking for evidence of prior health problems.
These fishing expeditions aim to paint a picture of someone already in declining health who was destined for a poor outcome regardless of the accident. Defense teams often hire medical experts who review these records and provide opinions that pre-existing conditions were the primary cause of death.
Hiring Biased Medical Experts
Insurance companies maintain relationships with physicians who regularly testify for defendants and provide opinions favorable to their interests. These experts review medical records selectively, emphasizing findings that support the defense while downplaying evidence of trauma or injury from the incident.
Defense medical experts often testify that the deceased was already at high risk of death from their pre-existing conditions and that the accident merely coincided with a natural decline. They may claim that heart disease, not the car accident, caused a fatal heart attack, or that a fall would not have killed someone without osteoporosis.
Arguing Natural Progression of Disease
Defendants frequently claim the death resulted from the natural progression of a chronic disease rather than the accident. This argument attempts to sever the causal connection between negligent conduct and death by suggesting the person was already dying.
Arizona law rejects this defense when negligence hastened death or caused it to occur sooner than it otherwise would have. Even if someone had a terminal condition, causing their death earlier than expected through negligence creates liability under Arizona’s wrongful death statute.
Claiming Comparative Fault
Some defendants argue the deceased’s failure to properly manage their pre-existing condition constituted comparative negligence that reduces the defendant’s liability. They may claim the person should have taken better care of their health, followed medical advice more closely, or disclosed their conditions to others.
Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence system under A.R.S. § 12-2505, which allows defendants to reduce damages based on the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. However, courts rarely find that having a pre-existing medical condition constitutes negligence unless the deceased actively concealed a dangerous condition in a context where disclosure was required.
How to Overcome the Pre-Existing Condition Defense
Successfully countering defense attempts to blame pre-existing conditions requires thorough preparation, strong medical evidence, and aggressive legal advocacy. Families should not accept defense characterizations of their loved one’s health at face value.
Establish Clear Causation Through Medical Evidence
The most effective response to the pre-existing condition defense is demonstrating through credible medical evidence that the defendant’s negligence directly caused death. This requires retaining independent medical experts who review all records objectively and can explain to a jury how the accident caused fatal injuries.
Expert testimony should address how the mechanism of injury from the accident produced specific trauma that led to death, distinct from any effects of pre-existing conditions. For example, in a car accident case, biomechanical experts can show the forces involved were sufficient to cause fatal injuries regardless of prior health issues.
Document Stable Pre-Existing Conditions
Medical records showing pre-existing conditions were stable and well-managed before the accident undermine defense arguments that disease progression caused death. Evidence of regular medical care, controlled symptoms, normal functioning, and positive prognosis all support that the person would have continued living but for the defendant’s negligence.
Testimony from treating physicians who knew the deceased before the accident provides powerful evidence about their actual health status. These doctors can explain that while conditions existed, they were not life-threatening and the patient was expected to live for years with proper management.
Demonstrate Life Expectancy Despite Conditions
Actuarial evidence and medical testimony about expected lifespan despite pre-existing conditions help juries understand the deceased would have lived many more years. Life care planners and economists can show the victim was working, caring for family, and living a full life despite their conditions.
This evidence directly contradicts defense claims that pre-existing conditions would have caused death soon anyway. Showing the deceased had plans for the future, was actively managing their health, and had no indication of imminent decline strengthens the causal connection between negligence and death.
Use the Defendant’s Own Evidence Against Them
Defense medical experts often contradict themselves or make statements during depositions that actually support the plaintiff’s case. Skilled attorneys identify these inconsistencies and use them to discredit defense theories at trial.
Additionally, statements from defendants immediately after the incident often acknowledge their fault without mentioning any pre-existing conditions. These admissions prove defendants knew their actions caused the death and only later developed the pre-existing condition defense after consulting with attorneys and insurance companies.
The Role of Medical Expert Testimony in These Cases
Medical expert testimony becomes crucial in wrongful death cases involving pre-existing conditions because juries need help understanding complex medical causation. Both sides will present experts, making the quality and credibility of testimony critically important.
Plaintiff’s Medical Experts
Families pursuing wrongful death claims need experts who can clearly explain that negligence caused death regardless of pre-existing conditions. The best experts have impressive credentials, extensive experience, and the ability to communicate complex medical concepts in understandable terms.
Effective plaintiff experts address the eggshell plaintiff doctrine directly, explaining that defendants cannot escape responsibility because the victim was more vulnerable. They walk juries through the medical evidence step-by-step, showing how the accident caused specific injuries or conditions that led to death, separate from any effects of prior health problems.
Challenging Defense Experts
Defense medical experts often have financial relationships with insurance companies and long histories of testifying for defendants. Exposing these biases during cross-examination undermines their credibility with juries.
Challenging defense experts also involves demonstrating they ignored or minimized evidence that supports the plaintiff’s theory of causation. Many defense experts never examine the deceased, rely on incomplete records, or make assumptions that lack medical foundation. Thorough cross-examination reveals these weaknesses and shows juries why defense opinions should not be trusted.
Impact on Damages in Arizona Wrongful Death Cases
Even when causation is established, pre-existing conditions can affect certain aspects of damages. Understanding how Arizona law treats damages in these cases helps families set realistic expectations while fighting for full compensation.
Under A.R.S. § 12-613, wrongful death damages include economic losses like lost financial support, loss of household services, medical and funeral expenses, and non-economic losses like loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support. Pre-existing conditions rarely affect non-economic damages because the loss of a loved one’s presence and relationship is the same regardless of their health.
Economic damages may be adjusted if pre-existing conditions affected life expectancy or earning capacity, but only if those conditions were already limiting the deceased before the accident. If someone was working full-time and managing their conditions successfully, defendants cannot speculate about hypothetical future limitations that never materialized.
Arizona’s wrongful death statute does not cap damages in most cases, allowing juries to award full compensation based on the actual losses suffered by surviving family members. Defendants cannot arbitrarily reduce these damages simply because pre-existing conditions existed.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Arizona
Arizona law under A.R.S. § 12-612 designates specific family members who have the legal right to file wrongful death claims. Understanding who can file is important because defendants sometimes challenge standing in addition to liability issues.
The deceased’s spouse has the first right to file a wrongful death claim in Arizona. If there is no surviving spouse or if the spouse does not file within a certain timeframe, the deceased’s children may file. If there are no surviving spouse or children, the deceased’s parents may bring the claim.
When multiple family members could potentially file, Arizona law requires coordination to avoid duplicative lawsuits. Typically, one representative files on behalf of all eligible survivors, and damages are distributed according to Arizona’s intestacy laws unless the family agrees to a different allocation.
Time Limits for Filing Wrongful Death Claims in Arizona
Arizona imposes strict deadlines for filing wrongful death lawsuits that cannot be extended regardless of the circumstances of the case. Missing these deadlines means losing the right to pursue compensation forever, even when liability is clear.
Under A.R.S. § 12-542, wrongful death claims must be filed within two years from the date of death. This statute of limitations applies regardless of whether pre-existing conditions complicate the case. The two-year period begins on the date of death, not the date of the accident if death occurred later.
Proving Causation When Multiple Factors Contributed to Death
Arizona law does not require that negligence be the sole cause of death, only that it be a substantial factor. This standard is particularly important in cases involving pre-existing conditions because it allows families to recover even when multiple factors contributed to the fatal outcome.
The Substantial Factor Test
Arizona courts apply the substantial factor test to determine causation in wrongful death cases. Under this standard, plaintiffs must show that the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in bringing about death, meaning it made a significant contribution even if other factors also played a role.
This test protects families from unfair denials of compensation when pre-existing conditions existed but were not the primary cause of death. As long as the negligent conduct substantially contributed to the death occurring when and how it did, liability attaches regardless of what other factors may have been present.
Concurrent Causes and Joint Liability
When negligence and pre-existing conditions both contribute to death, Arizona law treats the negligence as a concurrent cause. Defendants remain fully liable for all damages resulting from their portion of causation, and juries are instructed that multiple factors can combine to cause death without reducing defendant liability.
Courts instruct juries that if they find the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing death, liability exists even if pre-existing conditions also contributed. The law does not allow defendants to escape responsibility by pointing to other contributing factors they did not cause.
Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases Involving Pre-Existing Conditions
Certain types of wrongful death cases frequently involve disputes over pre-existing conditions. Understanding patterns in these cases helps families prepare for the specific defenses they will face.
Car Accidents and Heart Conditions
Defendants in car accident cases often argue that victims died from heart attacks caused by pre-existing heart disease rather than trauma from the collision. They claim the stress of the accident triggered a cardiac event that would have happened anyway.
Arizona courts recognize that negligent drivers remain liable even when accident stress triggers a heart attack in someone with heart disease. The eggshell plaintiff rule applies fully to these cases, and defendants cannot reduce liability because the victim had a vulnerable heart.
Medical Malpractice and Chronic Diseases
Medical malpractice wrongful death cases frequently involve patients with serious chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease. Defendants argue these underlying conditions caused death and that any treatment errors were inconsequential given the patient’s poor prognosis.
Arizona law holds healthcare providers liable when their negligence hastens death or causes death to occur sooner or differently than it would have from the underlying disease alone. Even patients with terminal conditions deserve proper care, and negligence that shortens their lives creates liability under A.R.S. § 12-611.
Nursing Home Neglect and Elderly Victims
Nursing home wrongful death cases almost always involve elderly victims with multiple pre-existing conditions. Facilities routinely blame malnutrition, dehydration, infected bedsores, and fatal falls on the natural decline of aging and existing health problems.
Arizona courts reject these defenses when evidence shows neglect caused or substantially contributed to death. The fact that nursing home residents are frail and have health problems does not excuse facilities from providing adequate care, and neglect that leads to death creates liability regardless of prior conditions.
Workplace Accidents and Physical Limitations
Employers and their insurance carriers sometimes argue that workers who die in workplace accidents had pre-existing injuries or limitations that contributed to the fatal incident. They claim prior back problems, joint issues, or other conditions made the worker more susceptible to injury.
Arizona workers’ compensation law and wrongful death law both protect workers regardless of pre-existing conditions. Employers take employees as they find them and cannot reduce liability because someone had prior injuries or physical limitations.
Gathering Evidence to Counter Pre-Existing Condition Defenses
Building a strong case requires collecting comprehensive evidence that demonstrates negligence caused death and pre-existing conditions were not the true cause. This evidence gathering should begin immediately after death while witnesses and records are available.
Medical Records and Expert Analysis
Obtaining complete medical records from all treating physicians is essential for understanding the deceased’s actual health status before the incident. These records often show pre-existing conditions were stable, well-controlled, and not life-threatening, contradicting defense claims of inevitable decline.
Expert medical analysis of these records by board-certified physicians in relevant specialties provides authoritative opinions about causation. Experts can identify exactly how the accident caused death and distinguish those injuries from any effects of prior conditions.
Witness Statements About Health and Activity Level
Family members, friends, coworkers, and others who knew the deceased can testify about their daily activities, energy levels, and quality of life before the incident. This testimony shows juries the person was living a full life despite any health conditions and was not in declining health.
Witnesses can describe seeing the deceased working, exercising, caring for family, pursuing hobbies, and making plans for the future. This evidence directly contradicts defense arguments that pre-existing conditions were causing rapid deterioration or imminent death.
Employment Records and Financial Documents
Work attendance records, performance reviews, and income documentation prove the deceased was functioning well despite pre-existing conditions. Steady employment and good performance show the person was not disabled or limited by their health problems.
Financial records including mortgage applications, retirement account contributions, and insurance policies demonstrate the deceased expected to live and work for many more years. These documents reveal their own assessment of their life expectancy and future plans.
Accident Scene Investigation and Reconstruction
Physical evidence from accident scenes often proves the force and severity of impact were sufficient to cause fatal injuries regardless of victim health. Photographs, vehicle damage, property damage, and expert reconstruction testimony establish the mechanism of injury.
This evidence shows juries that the accident itself was inherently dangerous and would have caused serious injury or death to anyone, not just someone with pre-existing conditions. Strong accident reconstruction evidence shifts focus away from victim health and back to defendant negligence where it belongs.
The Importance of Acting Quickly After a Wrongful Death
Time works against families in wrongful death cases involving pre-existing conditions. Evidence disappears, witnesses forget details, and defendants have more time to build their pre-existing condition defense.
Preserving Evidence Before It’s Lost
Physical evidence from accident scenes degrades or gets destroyed quickly. Vehicles get repaired, property gets fixed, and scene conditions change. Securing photographs, measurements, and physical evidence immediately after death preserves crucial proof of how the accident occurred.
Medical facilities destroy or recycle records after certain time periods. Obtaining medical records, emergency room reports, and autopsy findings quickly ensures this documentation is preserved before it becomes unavailable.
Preventing Defense Manipulation of Records
Once defendants know a wrongful death claim is coming, they have incentives to alter records or present them in misleading ways. Medical providers sometimes add entries to patient charts after the fact, and employers may modify personnel files to support their defenses.
Early involvement of an attorney prevents this manipulation by formally requesting records and putting defendants on notice that evidence must be preserved. Legal preservation letters create obligations to maintain all relevant documentation in its original form.
Securing Witness Testimony While Fresh
Witnesses have the clearest memories immediately after traumatic events. As time passes, memories fade, details become confused, and witnesses become less certain about what they observed.
Documenting witness statements through written accounts or recorded interviews while memories are fresh creates reliable evidence that cannot be challenged later as faded recollection. These early statements also lock witnesses into their accounts, preventing them from changing stories later under defense pressure.
How Arizona Courts Instruct Juries on Pre-Existing Conditions
Understanding how judges explain pre-existing condition issues to juries helps families know what legal standards will be applied at trial. Arizona uses standard jury instructions that clarify defendants cannot escape liability because victims were more vulnerable.
Judges instruct juries that defendants must take plaintiffs as they find them, including any pre-existing conditions or vulnerabilities. This instruction explains the eggshell plaintiff rule in plain language and tells jurors that prior health problems do not reduce defendant responsibility if negligence caused or contributed to death.
Juries also receive instructions on the substantial factor test for causation, explaining that negligence does not need to be the only cause of death as long as it was a substantial contributing factor. These instructions prevent juries from improperly reducing damages simply because pre-existing conditions also played some role in the death.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death and Pre-Existing Conditions in Arizona
Can my family still recover compensation if my loved one had serious health problems before they died?
Yes, Arizona law allows full recovery in wrongful death cases even when the deceased had significant pre-existing conditions. The eggshell plaintiff doctrine protects families by holding defendants liable for all consequences of their negligence regardless of the victim’s prior health vulnerabilities. As long as your attorney can prove the defendant’s negligent actions caused or substantially contributed to your loved one’s death, the existence of pre-existing conditions does not bar recovery or automatically reduce damages.
Insurance companies will certainly argue that pre-existing conditions caused the death or reduced life expectancy, but these are defenses you can overcome with strong medical evidence and expert testimony. Your attorney will work with medical experts to demonstrate that while your loved one had health conditions, those conditions were stable and manageable, and the defendant’s negligence is what actually caused death at that time. Arizona courts consistently reject arguments that defendants should pay less because someone was more susceptible to fatal injury, recognizing that many people live full lives while managing chronic conditions.
How do defendants typically use pre-existing conditions to reduce what they have to pay?
Defendants employ several tactics centered on shifting blame from their negligence to the victim’s prior health. They obtain extensive medical records going back many years, searching for any diagnosis or health complaint they can emphasize to suggest the person was already in declining health. Defense attorneys then hire medical experts who review these records and provide opinions that pre-existing conditions were the primary cause of death, not the accident or negligent act.
Common strategies include arguing the death resulted from natural disease progression, claiming the victim would have died soon anyway from their conditions, suggesting the victim was negligent in managing their own health, and presenting selective evidence that exaggerates the severity of prior conditions while minimizing evidence of stability. Defense lawyers may also argue for reduced damages by claiming pre-existing conditions already limited life expectancy or earning capacity. Your attorney counters these tactics by presenting the complete medical picture, showing your loved one was living a productive life despite their conditions, and demonstrating through credible expert testimony that the defendant’s negligence caused death regardless of prior health status.
What is the eggshell plaintiff rule and how does it protect my case?
The eggshell plaintiff rule is a fundamental legal principle that defendants must take victims as they find them, including any pre-existing vulnerabilities or conditions that make them more susceptible to injury. Under this doctrine, defendants cannot reduce their liability by arguing the victim was more fragile than an average person. If someone with brittle bones suffers more severe fractures in an accident, or someone with a weak heart dies from accident-related stress, the negligent defendant remains fully liable for all resulting damages.
Arizona courts apply this rule to protect vulnerable individuals and ensure defendants cannot escape responsibility by blaming victim characteristics they did not cause. In wrongful death cases, this means families can recover full compensation even when pre-existing conditions made their loved one more likely to die from the defendant’s negligent actions. The rule recognizes that many people live with various health conditions without them being immediately dangerous, and negligent actors must answer for the full consequences when their actions prove fatal to someone managing those conditions.
Will my lawyer need medical experts to prove our case?
Yes, medical expert testimony is essential in wrongful death cases involving pre-existing conditions because jurors need authoritative explanations of complex causation issues. Your attorney will retain independent medical experts with impressive credentials who can review all medical records, examine the circumstances of death, and provide clear opinions about what caused your loved one to die. These experts explain to juries how the defendant’s negligence directly caused or materially contributed to death, separate from any effects of pre-existing conditions.
The defendant will certainly hire their own medical experts to support their pre-existing condition defense, making the battle of experts a central feature of these cases. Your attorney’s experts must be more credible, better qualified, and more persuasive than defense experts to overcome arguments that prior health problems caused death. Quality medical experts can demonstrate that while your loved one had certain conditions, those conditions were stable and the defendant’s negligent act is what actually caused death at that time. Without strong expert testimony, juries may be swayed by defense arguments that seem medically plausible but are actually misleading.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Arizona?
Arizona law under A.R.S. § 12-542 requires wrongful death lawsuits to be filed within two years from the date of death. This statute of limitations is strictly enforced, and missing this deadline means losing your legal right to pursue compensation forever, regardless of how strong your case is or how clear the defendant’s liability. The two-year period begins on the date your loved one died, not the date of the accident if death occurred later.
Very limited exceptions exist to extend this deadline, so you should consult with a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible after losing a loved one to someone else’s negligence. Even though you have two years, waiting reduces the strength of your case as evidence disappears, witnesses forget details, and defendants have more time to build their defenses. Starting the legal process early allows your attorney to preserve crucial evidence, secure witness statements while memories are fresh, and begin building the medical proof needed to overcome pre-existing condition defenses before that evidence becomes unavailable.
Can the defendant claim my loved one was at fault for not managing their health better?
Defendants sometimes attempt this argument under Arizona’s comparative negligence law, claiming the deceased should have taken better care of their health, followed medical advice more closely, or disclosed conditions to others. However, Arizona courts rarely find that simply having a pre-existing medical condition or not perfectly managing one’s health constitutes negligence that reduces recovery. People are generally not legally required to be in perfect health or to manage every medical condition perfectly.
Comparative negligence arguments only succeed when the deceased actively concealed a dangerous condition in a situation where disclosure was required, or engaged in reckless behavior that directly contributed to their death. For example, if someone knew they had a serious heart condition and were specifically warned by doctors not to engage in certain activities, then ignored that advice in a way that contributed to their death, defendants might successfully argue comparative fault. But simply having conditions, taking medication irregularly, or not following every doctor’s recommendation does not constitute legal negligence that reduces a wrongful death recovery.
What damages can we recover in an Arizona wrongful death case with pre-existing conditions?
Arizona’s wrongful death statute under A.R.S. § 12-613 allows recovery of both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include the financial support your loved one would have provided to the family, loss of benefits like health insurance and retirement contributions, loss of household services they performed, medical expenses related to their final injury or illness, and funeral and burial costs. Non-economic damages compensate for loss of companionship, guidance, protection, training, and emotional support that family members will never receive.
Pre-existing conditions rarely affect non-economic damages because the loss of a loved one’s presence and relationship is the same regardless of their health. You lose the same companionship, love, and guidance whether your family member had health conditions or was perfectly healthy. Economic damages may be adjusted if pre-existing conditions were already limiting earning capacity or life expectancy before the negligent act, but only based on actual limitations, not speculation. If your loved one was working full-time, managing their conditions successfully, and living a normal life, defendants cannot arbitrarily reduce economic damages by claiming hypothetical future problems that never materialized. Arizona does not cap wrongful death damages in most cases, allowing juries to award full compensation for the actual losses your family suffered.
How can Life Justice Law Group help our family with a wrongful death case involving pre-existing conditions?
Life Justice Law Group has extensive experience handling complex wrongful death cases where defendants try to blame pre-existing conditions instead of taking responsibility for their negligence. Our attorneys understand the medical and legal issues these cases involve and know how to counter defense tactics effectively. We work with top medical experts who can clearly explain to juries that your loved one’s death resulted from negligence, not prior health problems, and we aggressively challenge biased defense experts who misrepresent the medical evidence.
Our team begins building your case immediately, preserving crucial evidence before it disappears and documenting your loved one’s life and health before the fatal incident. We obtain complete medical records, interview witnesses, work with accident reconstruction specialists, and develop the comprehensive proof needed to overcome pre-existing condition defenses at trial or during settlement negotiations. You can reach Life Justice Law Group at (480) 378-8088 for a free consultation to discuss your case and learn how we can help your family pursue the full compensation you deserve despite the challenges pre-existing conditions create.
Why Choose Life Justice Law Group for Your Wrongful Death Case
When defendants hide behind pre-existing condition defenses, you need attorneys who understand both the medicine and the law. Life Justice Law Group combines legal expertise with access to leading medical experts who can prove causation even in complex cases involving prior health conditions.
Our firm has successfully handled wrongful death cases against defendants who initially seemed to have strong pre-existing condition defenses. We know how to investigate thoroughly, build compelling medical proof, and present your case persuasively to juries. We understand the tactics insurance companies use to minimize payouts and the pressure they put on families to accept inadequate settlements.
Life Justice Law Group handles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family. We advance all case costs including expert witness fees, so financial concerns never prevent you from pursuing justice for your loved one. Contact Life Justice Law Group at (480) 378-8088 for a free, confidential consultation about your wrongful death case.