Losing someone you love to another person's carelessness is a wound no settlement can heal. But the law gives your family a way to hold the responsible party accountable and to recover what that loss has cost — and will keep costing. Robert DiStefano handles these cases himself, with the care your family deserves.
A wrongful death claim is the civil case Florida law allows when someone dies because another person or company was careless or did something wrong. As a Fort Lauderdale wrongful death lawyer, Robert DiStefano helps Broward families bring that claim — so the people who caused the loss answer for it, and so the family is not left carrying the financial weight alone.
We know money is not why you are here. No amount brings back a husband, a wife, a child, or a parent. But a wrongful death case does two things that matter. It forces the truth into the open about how your loved one died. And it recovers the support, the services, and the companionship your family lost — the income they counted on, the bills left behind, and the void that person filled in everyday life.
Florida wrongful death cases follow their own special law — the Florida Wrongful Death Act — that controls who may recover, who is allowed to file, what your family can claim, and how long you have. The rest of this page walks you through each of those, in plain language, so you know where you stand before you ever pick up the phone.
Wrongful death cases are governed by a specific Florida statute — and by deadlines that are unforgiving. Here is the law that shapes your family's case, in plain terms.
Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16–768.26
This is the law that allows the case. It says the death must be caused by another's wrongful act, negligence, or default, that one person — the personal representative of the estate — files on behalf of everyone, and that the estate and the surviving family (such as a spouse, children, and certain parents) may recover. It also sets a 2-year deadline from the date of death.
Fla. Stat. § 768.21
The Act lists the losses survivors may claim: lost support and services the person provided, lost companionship and guidance, and the mental pain and suffering of a spouse, children, and certain parents. The estate may also recover lost earnings and net accumulations, plus medical and funeral expenses it paid.
Fla. Stat. § 768.81 amended 2023
Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule. A recovery is reduced by the share of fault assigned to your loved one, and if they are found more than 50% at fault, the claim recovers nothing. Insurers push this hard in death cases — proving where the real fault lies protects your family.
Florida common law
Florida does not cap most compensatory damages in an ordinary wrongful death case. There is no statutory ceiling on the value of the support, companionship, and suffering your family lost. The law lets us pursue the full, true measure of that loss rather than an arbitrary limit.
This page provides general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutes and case law change; your specific case requires a consultation.
Fatal cases in Broward are not abstract to us. They happen on the same highways we drive, at the same properties we pass, in the same waterways that make this place home. We know the roads, the records, and the local agencies these cases run through.
DiStefano Law is not an out-of-state intake service. We are a Fort Lauderdale firm, on Oakland Park Boulevard, that has represented grieving Florida families for four decades.
When you call our office, you reach a firm where the founding attorney does the work. Robert DiStefano has practiced Florida personal injury law for more than 40 years and handles every wrongful death matter himself. You will not be passed down a chain or left explaining your loss again and again to a stranger.
A wrongful death case asks a great deal of a family that is already grieving. We try to carry as much of that weight as we can. We open the estate and get the personal representative appointed so the case can be filed correctly. We secure the crash report, the property records, or the safety history before that evidence disappears. And we work with the experts — accident reconstructionists, economists, and others — who prove both what happened and what your family truly lost.
We take these cases on a contingency fee — no fee unless we recover for you. There is nothing to pay up front, and we advance the costs the case needs. For outcomes in serious and catastrophic-injury matters, see related case results →
Tell us what happened in a free, confidential call. We move quickly to preserve the report, the scene, and the records before they are lost.
We help open the estate and get the personal representative appointed so the claim is filed by the right person, the right way.
With the right experts, we document fault and the true value of the support, services, and companionship your family lost.
Related help from our firm: traumatic brain injury claims, child injury cases, or reach us anytime through our contact page.
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Taravia Google
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Paulavia Google
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Get a free, confidential, same-day case review. There is no fee unless we recover for you, and no pressure — just straight, compassionate answers about your family's rights and what comes next.
(954) 572-8000