Wrongful Death Attorney

Prior to recovering any compensation for a wrongful death case, you and your attorney need to gather evidence that will prove that wrongful death has happened. Usually, you would need to prove that someone’s negligence caused the death of your loved one. You are not required to prove that the defendant tried to kill the deceased person or that they meant to injure them intentionally. Instead, the proof will be based on the legal theory of negligence. Legally, negligence is made of four constituent factors that your experienced wrongful death lawyer must prove to more likely be true rather than false. These are the four factors:

• Accident or injury caused: Misconduct or recklessness on the part of the defendant must have led to severe injuries that your loved one suffered. Your lawyer must prove that the death of your loved one more likely than not should not have happened if the defendant had performed their duty of care.
• Duty of care owed: The defendant should have owed to your loved one the duty of reasonable care. The relationship between the defendant and the victim will dictate the level of care that is owed by the former to the latter. For instance, a friend sharing medical advice will owe different duties of care in comparison to an employer.
• Duty of care violated or breached: Your lawyer must be able to prove that the defendant breached their duty of care toward the victim. A breach may be any action that falls outside the defendant’s duty of care. If in the same situation another person would have responded differently, the defendant could be held guilty for violating their duty of care.
• Damages suffered: The fact that the defendant’s negligence caused some reimbursable damages must be proved. You can work with your wrongful death lawyer to gather a list of such damages which include hospitalization, lost wages, property damage, funeral expenses, etc.

What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?

In cases involving wrongful death, usually family members are compensated for losses. In survival action, the state of California permits the deceased person’s estate to recover for damages suffered by the person immediately before death. The California survival action statute states that plaintiffs might recover certain damages which were sustained prior to death. This includes any penalties, punitive or exemplary damages which the deceased individual would have been entitled to recover if they had survived. Such compensation does not include damages for disfigurement, pain, or suffering. Had they survived the incident, they could recover damages for lost wages and medical bills. Survival actions typically do not permit plaintiffs to claim the cost of pain and suffering. However, by facilitating recovery of punitive damages, they are meant to hold the at-fault party accountable for their wrongdoing.

What are the damages that can be recovered due to wrongful death?

The main purpose of filing a wrongful death claim is to recover compensation for surviving family members who might be suffering losses due to the passing of their loved ones. Family members are allowed to seek damages for economic and non-economic losses. However, the exact compensation that they can attain varies according to the circumstances of each particular case.

Economic damages

Economic damages refer to compensation for all financial losses that family members can claim. These include medical receipts, bills, pay statements, and any other verifiable financial documents. A court could also grant economic damages representing loss in future earnings or domestic services. For instance, if a person loses their spouse who would have worked for another 20 years, the surviving spouse can seek lost future income for those 20 years. This figure can factor in likely rises in inflation, wages, and other factors over time. Such estimations usually require the expertise of mathematicians and economists which Krasney Law attorneys use for their cases. Some other examples of retrievable economic damages include funeral costs, burial costs, and cost of medical care provided to the loved one before they passed away.

Non-economic damages

Sometimes, courts can also opt to provide compensation for non-economic damages, although we know that there is no amount which can replace the presence of a close family member. However, depending on the case, courts can award monetary compensation for loss of affection, love, moral support, companionship, and if appropriate, sexual intimacy. If the case does not settle prior to the trial, the jury might determine the amount required to compensate a family for the loss of their loved ones. Deciding to take legal action is never an easy step when you are grieving the loss of someone close to you. However, it is essential to fight for your rights and those of your family members in order to protect your future. Filing a lawsuit does not have to be a stressful process. With the right guidance from our attorneys at Krasney Law, you will have an advocate who will fight for your right to fair compensation on your behalf. If you are wondering in what ways a wrongful death lawyer can help you, keep reading the following section.

How can a wrongful death lawyer help?