Death of fiance/ father of my son

[floridagal23]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My fiance was killed by a drunk driver.... he was the passenger in the vehicle. The driver lived. It was a month before our son's 4th birthday. He did not have life insurance, and because we weren't married.... I ended up losing everything... our house, my vehicle, even my job. My fiance owned the company I worked for and when he was killed the company went under. He had obtained the financing for my vehicle b/c he had given it to me as a xmas present, and the house was only in his name.
The accident was so terrible - that it took the crime scene investigators almost a year to determine who was driving... they have solid evidence and now the state is currently filing charges against the driver. This accident occurred in Aug of 2006. Her insurance company paid out $25,000 for wrongful death which was immediately absorbed by the attorneys and the estate. I had given up that there was any chance my son or myself would be able to sue her for damages... until I spoke with a woman in my office who had something similar happen.... she told me she sued the drunk driver who killed her husband for child support payments till they were 21 and she won!! Is this true - is this something I would be able to do even though we weren't married? I work 50+ hours a week and comute 125 miles a day to work just to make ends meet.... and although my son does collect social security... it sure isnt enough to cover child care, after school care... much less put away for college or savings.... my son is only 6. Has anyone out there had any experience with this sort of case? Is it too late? Please help!

[Dogmatique]

Because you weren't married I'm not even sure you have standing to sue as it's generally only next of kin (immediate family) who can do this. You might be able to file on behalf of the minor child.

There are occasional exceptions, and I'm going to try and find out a little more information for you.

ETA: read through this, too: [url]http://www.statutes-of-limitations.com/state/florida[/url]

Added:

Florida does not allow a fiance/e to sue for wrongful death. There's still the matter of your child though, so again I'll post back once I can find something concrete.

[Dogmatique]

To keep the URLs in one post....

It seems the SOL has already expired. In the slim chance that you can still file suit, read the links and call a few personal injury lawyers and see what they say.

SOL

[url=http://www.statutes-of-limitations.com/state/florida]FLORIDA Statute of Limitations Personal Injury[/url] Statute of Limitations

Wrongful Death

[url=http://www.pantaslaw.com/FAQs/FAQ%20Information/faqtext-wrongfuldeath.asp]FAQTEXT-Wrongful Death[/url]


[url=http://accident-law.freeadvice.com/wrongful_death/suing-wrongful-death.htm]Wrongful Death Case - Who May Sue for wrongful death damages?[/url]

[ecmst12]

1. That would assume that the at fault driver has anything to collect from.

2. That would assume that you (or someone else on your son's behalf) did not sign a release of further liability when accepting the $25k from the insurance company.

[CourtClerk]

Also, Social Security isn't responsible for supporting your child, paying for daycare, after school care or putting money in the bank for college. That's YOUR job. Your boyfriend could have taken out a life insurance policy naming his child as beneficiary. Lots of things could have happened to ensure your child is/was taken care of in the event of one of his parent's death. I hope this is a lesson for you and you are well insured.