New Mexico Wrongful Death Lawyers

The Ammons Law Firm has recovered more than $1 billion for accident victims over more than three decades of practice, including families in New Mexico who lost a loved one due to another party’s negligence. If you have lost a loved one in New Mexico because of a trucking accident, defective product, or other wrongful conduct, contact The Ammons Law Firm to speak with a New Mexico wrongful death attorney and receive a free consultation.

New Mexico Wrongful Death Attorneys

Losing a loved one suddenly and without warning is among the hardest things a person can go through. That grief is compounded when the death happened because someone else acted carelessly or recklessly.

Families in this position are often left wondering whether they have any legal recourse against the party responsible. We help New Mexico families understand what the law allows and what steps a wrongful death claim actually requires.

The Ammons Law Firm has spent more than three decades representing people harmed by another person’s or company’s negligence. That experience shapes how we build a case from the outset. We work with investigators, accident reconstruction specialists, and other outside experts as needed to determine what happened and establish liability.

New Mexico Wrongful Death Lawyers
New Mexico Wrongful Death Lawyers

If a loved one was killed in an accident, contact our New Mexico personal injury lawyers to protect your rights. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe us nothing unless you recover. 

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New Mexico Wrongful Death Attorneys Can Help

A wrongful death is a death caused by the negligence, carelessness, or reckless conduct of another person or company. In New Mexico, common causes include truck accidents, tire and auto defects, car accidents, workplace and industrial accidents, defective products, and other serious incidents where someone's failure to act carefully cost a life.

New Mexico law does not automatically compensate a family simply because a loved one died. The New Mexico Wrongful Death Act creates the legal right to pursue a claim, but that claim must be brought within the deadlines the law sets and supported by evidence showing another party's negligence caused the death.

New Mexico wrongful death cases often arise out of the same underlying conduct as other types of New Mexico injury claims, including:

Wrongful Death Damages Under New Mexico Law

When a death is caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another, the deceased person's personal representative may bring a wrongful-death action under New Mexico's Wrongful Death Act. Under NMSA § 41-2-3, the jury may award compensatory and exemplary damages that it considers fair and just, taking into account the pecuniary injury resulting from the death as well as any mitigating or aggravating circumstances surrounding the wrongful conduct.

Recoverable damages may include:

  • Medical and related expenses incurred as a result of the injury before death
  • Compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering before death
  • Funeral and burial expenses
  • The pecuniary value of the decedent's life, including the value of expected financial contributions to surviving beneficiaries
  • The value of guidance, counseling, companionship, and other benefits that the decedent would reasonably have provided, where supported by the applicable New Mexico law
  • Other damages permitted under New Mexico's Wrongful Death Act and applicable case law

New Mexico courts recognize loss of consortium as a compensable form of damages in appropriate wrongful-death cases. The New Mexico Supreme Court recognized such a claim in Romero v. Byers, 1994-NMSC-031, 117 N.M. 422, 872 P.2d 840, and later addressed loss-of-consortium damages in Estate of Saenz v. Ranack Constructors, Inc., 2018-NMSC-004, 420 P.3d 576. Under New Mexico's wrongful-death framework, compensable consortium-related losses may include the loss of the deceased's society, companionship, guidance, and other benefits of the relationship.

The damages available in any given case depend on the facts related to the wrongful death. The Wrongful Death Attorneys at The Ammons Law Firm can assist you in determining the potential damages available in your case.

Contact Our New Mexico Wrongful Death Attorneys

New Mexico Wrongful Death Lawyers
New Mexico Wrongful Death Attorney

If you lost a family member because of another person's or company's wrongful conduct, we can help you understand your rights under New Mexico law. We've recovered more than $1 billion for clients, and attorney Rob Ammons has served as lead counsel in more than 430 cases resulting in verdicts or settlements of $1 million or more. Contact The Ammons Law Firm today for a free consultation.

If you are suffering after a loved one died because of the negligence of others, you may have a wrongful death case. Contact our New Mexico personal injury attorneys at The Ammons Law Firm today at 281-801-5617 for a free consultation.

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How Much Does It Cost to File a Lawsuit with The Ammons Law Firm?

How Much Does It Cost to File a Lawsuit with The Ammons Law Firm?

Personal Injury Attorney Rob Ammons explains what it costs to hire The Ammons Law Firm after a serious injury or the loss of a loved one in an accident. There is no initial cost. The firm handles cases on a contingency fee basis, advancing all expenses for the investigation and prosecution of the case. If and when the case is won, the firm is paid a percentage of the settlement, verdict, or judgment collected

  • “I found Mr. Ammons and his associates to be highly qualified ethical attorneys. Mr. Ammons reached out to us often to keep us informed on how our son’s case was proceeding. Mr. Ammons worked to attain the best settlement for us while keeping the best interest of our son in his legal recommendations. Mr. Ammons and his associates are good people and I am very satisfied with the results he was able to attain for our son.”

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Mexico Wrongful Death Claims

  • Who receives the compensation in a New Mexico wrongful death case?

    New Mexico law establishes rules governing who may receive compensation in a wrongful-death case. Under NMSA § 41-2-3, the distribution generally depends on the decedent’s surviving spouse, children or other descendants, parents, siblings, and other qualifying family members. The statute provides a specific order of priority for eligible beneficiaries and addresses how the recovery is allocated when multiple beneficiaries survive.

  • What if there’s no will and no one has been appointed to handle the estate yet?

    A personal representative generally needs to be appointed to bring a wrongful-death claim in New Mexico because the claim is brought in the name of the personal representative. If the deceased did not leave a will, the estate can still be opened through the probate process, and the court can appoint a personal representative. New Mexico courts provide information about probate procedures, including informal probate, for people who need to establish an estate and appoint a personal representative.

    Because the appropriate probate procedure can depend on the circumstances, families should consider consulting a New Mexico attorney about establishing the estate and pursuing any potential wrongful-death claim.

  • Is a wrongful death claim the same as a criminal case?

    No. A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought by the personal representative seeking compensation for the family. A criminal case, if one is filed, is brought by the state and focused on punishment, not compensation. The two are separate, and a wrongful death claim can move forward regardless of whether criminal charges are filed or how they turn out.

  • Is a wrongful death claim different from a “survival” claim?

    In some states, families file two separate types of claims, one that survives on behalf of the deceased, and a separate wrongful death claim for the family. New Mexico doesn’t split it that way. Its Wrongful Death Act itself functions as the survival mechanism, meaning damages the deceased experienced between the injury and their death, such as pain and suffering or medical expenses, can generally be pursued within the same wrongful death claim rather than a separate lawsuit.

  • Can more than one family member bring a wrongful death claim in New Mexico?

    Generally, the wrongful-death action itself is brought by the decedent’s personal representative, rather than by each family member separately. However, multiple family members may be beneficiaries of the wrongful-death recovery and may have their own individual interests or claims.

    Family members can also have separate attorneys representing their individual interests in the case. For example, a surviving spouse and other eligible family members may have different interests concerning damages, the allocation of the recovery, or individual claims such as loss of consortium. Each person may therefore have an attorney advocating for their interests, even though the wrongful-death action is brought through the personal representative.

  • Does it cost anything upfront to speak with a wrongful death attorney?

    No. The Ammons Law Firm handles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there’s no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered.

The Ammons Law Firm Client Testimonials: From the People Who Have Been Through the Process With Us

The people in this video are real clients of the Ammons Law Firm. They came to us when they needed help, and now they are looking back on that experience and sharing what working with our team was actually like. Their words are their own, and we are proud of every one of them.
The Ammons Law Firm Client Testimonials: From the People Who Have Been Through the Process With Us

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  • We Wrote the Book on Tire Defect Litigation

    Attorney Rob Ammons has not only handled some of the most complex tire defect cases but also wrote the book on how to properly litigate these types of cases.

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    Unlike smaller law firms, we have the resources necessary to tackle even the most complex cases. To ensure our clients get the best possible results, we hire industry experts and other professionals to advise on any complex legal issues.

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