Families who lose a loved one to a tragic accident will be devastated emotionally, and they can also face difficult financial times. A wrongful death claim helps families cover the costs of laying someone to rest. It can also protect loved ones as they face a future without the financial support the deceased may have supported the family with.
Anyone who contributed to the cause of a fatal accident can be held liable. Maison Law of Lemoore stands beside local families and demands as much support as possible at such a difficult time. Families can contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a real lawyer and find out about every benefit available. This free meeting is always confidential.
Should My Family Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
California families should be supported after a tragic loss of life. That support should come from anyone who played a role in causing a fatal accident. Insurers from those at fault must be called upon for support. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters can make it difficult for family members to secure assistance with even basic needs.
Families often have to lean on a skilled attorney to make sure insurance companies can’t escape accountability or limit financial support. A lawyer can make sure the blame in the accident isn’t shifted, allowing the insurer to avoid liability.
A Lemoore Wrongful Death Attorney can also fight to get more for families, often much more in financial support than they could secure themselves.
These are a few other benefits for families with compassionate and experienced legal representation:
- A lawyer fully investigates the accident and backs the claim with powerful evidence.
- A lawyer fights back when insurers try to change the facts in the case, such as trying to blame an innocent victim for what happened.
- A lawyer examines the family’s needs to determine what they’ll require to recover and rebuild their lives. Include those damages and future protections in a wrongful death claim.
- A lawyer files a claim on behalf of the family, while causing as little disruption to grieving loved ones as possible.
- A lawyer handles the frustrating negotiation process and gets aggressive with insurers to make sure any settlement that’s accepted covers every need.
- A lawyer is ready to file a lawsuit if an insurer refuses to accept full responsibility for the family’s wellbeing.
Fortunately, the majority of wrongful death claims are settled before a court date is necessary. Most insurance companies will increase settlement offers rather than go before a judge and jury. They want to avoid the cost of a trial and the bad publicity of putting a grieving family through even more difficulties. A good lawyer represents the threat of a lawsuit, making insurers work harder to provide everything families require.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
California law empowers certain family members to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the entire family.
The main parties who are permitted to bring a wrongful death claim on behalf of a loved one include the following:
- Surviving spouse or legal partner of the deceased
- Children of the deceased
- Parents, siblings, or cousins when no surviving spouses or children are present
- A personal representative who has been appointed to the estate
A skilled Wrongful Death Attorney can also represent the family and guide them through this complex and frustrating process. An attorney can also represent a single member of the family in the claim, making sure the client receives a fair share of support.
What Types of Wrongful Death Cases Can Earn Support for Kings County Families?
The places we go each day, the neighborhoods we live in, and even the products in our homes can put ourselves or our loved ones in grave danger. Just traveling local highways in Bakersfield can provide an enormous risk for us as we head to work, to school, or drive over to Hanford.
When a careless driver’s mistake or a landlord’s negligence causes a tragedy, the victim’s family is justified in filing a legal claim to get help with the many consequences of a life lost.
These are just a few of the different types of deadly accidents we commonly represent families for:
- Deadly Car accidents on busy throughfares like Highway 198
- Deadly Truck accidents
- Fatal Motorcycle accidents
- Fatal Pedestrian accidents
- Deadly Bicycle accidents
- Drownings, such as a tragedy at NAS Spuds Pool
- Deadly Slip-and-fall accidents at businesses like Save Mart
- Nursing Home Abuse
- Criminal acts that claim lives
- Fatal dog attacks, perhaps at a park like Heritage Park
- Fatal construction accidents
- Fatal farmworker accidents
- Fatal accidents in any workplace
In the case of a fatal accident on the job, California’s Workers’ Compensation would provide death benefits for families left behind, but not every family receives the same level of support. A skilled wrongful death attorney can make sure administrators turn over everything the family needs to rebuild their lives and protect themselves in the future.
Damages Available for Families in a Wrongful Death Claim
Family members must take care of each other after a tragic loss. They must check on each other and help share the intense grief that will follow. Unfortunately, close relatives may also have to bear the financial burden of a tragedy.
Families can be hit with enormous funeral bills and be left to face medical debt. But these and other damages must be the responsibility of the at-fault parties in a fatal accident.
Your wrongful death attorney would be demanding these and other supportive care on behalf of your family:
Medical Bills: The deceased may have incurred various medical bills before their passing, which you can be reimbursed for in a wrongful death claim.
Loss of Financial Support: When a loved one is no longer bringing in any income or job benefits, a family can be put in financial jeopardy and struggle for years afterward.
Funeral and Burial Expenses: The costs of funerals and burials can easily range in the thousands, leaving a family to wonder how they can reasonably bury a loved one.
Loss of Emotional Support: When a loved one is no longer able to provide emotional support to spouses, children, or other loved ones, you can receive non-economic damages for these losses. This can include the loss of companionship in the years ahead. The special life moments that a loved one can’t be a part of now, such as holidays and weddings, must receive full consideration.
Support for Parents: Help granted after the heartbreaking wrongful death of a child. Parents should receive full support for the companionship that is now lost in the years ahead.
Contact a Lemoore Wrongful Death Lawyer
California grants families up to two years after a tragic death to file a wrongful death claim. But families shouldn’t wait months or years to pursue justice. Evidence can disappear, and witnesses can become harder to find when victims delay.
Contact Maison Law for a free and confidential case evaluation for any family in the Lemoore area. Our lawyers offer compassionate care to those in mourning to ensure they don’t suffer the financial consequences of someone else’s mistake.
And families who need help securing support don’t need to have any money to hire a wrongful death lawyer. Maison Law doesn’t charge anything unless we win your case for your family. Then our fee is paid out of the settlement money that an insurance company is forced to provide.
