Maison Law of Madera represents families who have been devastated by the tragic loss of a loved one.
When someone’s negligence is to blame for the death of a family member, those left behind must receive full support so they are protected financially through such a difficult time.
Please contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a real lawyer and find out about every benefit available to your family.
Should My Family Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer?
If a loved one is killed in an accident caused by someone else’s mistake, families have the legal right to seek justice and financial restitution. California law empowers families to file a wrongful death claim and collect support from those at fault.
Unfortunately, not every family receives the same level of support, if any at all. Insurance adjusters are trained to try to limit what families receive. They can even attempt to blame an innocent victim for an accident.
A Madera Wrongful Death Attorney safeguards the family’s rights and fights back against these unfair tactics. A skilled lawyer makes sure families are awarded all benefits available. A personal injury lawyer can help in filing a wrongful death claim and protecting the family’s interests. A lawyer also handles the frustrating negotiations with insurance companies, often securing much more than a family could win on their own.
The Most Common Wrongful Death Cases In Madera
There are many hazards that arise within Madera City limits each day. But the biggest risk we expose our families to is along our local roads. The speed and weight of SUVs and large trucks put everyone at risk. People running down to Fresno or up to Modesto can hit sudden traffic slowdowns on Highway 99 and be at risk of an impact.
Add to that the distracted and reckless drivers on local roads like Olive Avenue, who can put our families at risk as we go to work or to school. California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reports that Madera was the location of 180 accidents involving injury in 2024. Those accidents resulted in at least 6 deaths.
Unfortunately, car crashes aren’t the only scary and life-threatening types of accidents that families are exposed to. Victims can lose their lives in scary falls, work accidents on farms, or even from a dog attack.
These are just some of the tragic accidents that could result in a wrongful death case:
- Traffic Accidents. The most vulnerable people using local streets, like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, are at the most risk of a devastating collision. Large trucks and heavy delivery vans also put other motorists in grave danger each day. Drunk drivers may never hit the brakes as they cause a collision, leading to even more devastating consequences.
- Workplace Accidents. Many local residents work in local orchards, farms, and packing houses. Some work in other dangerous occupations like construction and factory work. Others can get hurt in office jobs. Employers can allow unsafe conditions and then turn away from families when a worker is killed. A Madera Workers’ Comp Lawyer can help families seek justice. Close relatives may also have to file wrongful death lawsuits against owners and companies. These benefits are available to all workers and their families in California, regardless of their immigration status.
- Falls from Heights. A property management company can fail in its duty to build sturdy stairwells and decks and keep them maintained. A collapse or a tumble down the stairs can cause deadly injuries. A visit to a stadium or a parking garage could also lead to a deadly fall, leaving owners or even the City of Madera responsible.
- Dog Bites. Victims, especially young children, can have their lives put at risk by a dog attack. In California, dog owners are held responsible for most attacks and can be responsible for supporting a victim’s family after a terrible accident.
- Defective Products. The electronics, tools, and appliances our families bring home from the store and have installed can malfunction and endanger everyone nearby. The manufacturers and the retailers who sold the product may have to provide financial support to close relatives.
- Drowning Accidents. Deadly hazards around a pool and negligence on the part of pool managers can lead to a wrongful death lawsuit. A hotel company or a water park owner may be fully responsible for the loss of a precious life. Madera’s Parks and Community Services Department may be responsible for a death at the Centennial Pool Complex.
An attorney working on behalf of a victimized family will fully investigate a deadly accident. A skilled attorney also determines who exactly should be held accountable for a deadly accident. Sometimes that means more than one party is liable for a family’s hardships and financial future.
Who Can Sue After a Family Member’s Wrongful Death in Madera?
Families experiencing a tragedy will struggle emotionally and financially. California lawmakers wanted to protect families during such a difficult time. Through personal injury laws, some members of the family are empowered to file wrongful death claims, and others are allowed to collect support.
A spouse or domestic partner, adult children of the victim, or the grandchildren of the victim are empowered to file this civil claim on behalf of the rest of the family.
In some cases, the parents and siblings of the deceased may also be allowed to file a wrongful death claim to seek a settlement check.
A wrongful death lawyer is also able to help victims navigate these complex cases by representing the entire family or certain members of the family. Maison Law can answer questions about who is eligible to receive support. A lawyer also handles the frustrating and difficult negotiations with unhelpful insurance companies with as little disruption to a grieving family as possible.
What Types of Things Earn Settlement Money After a Fatal Accident?
A wrongful death lawyer not only investigates the accident that claimed your loved one’s life, but also examines and documents the hardships caused to the close relatives left behind.
That can include the financial hit that families can take in the wake of a terrible accident. It should also include the emotional trauma caused to every member of the family. All of these damages must be included in a wrongful death claim. It’s a way of alerting an insurance company to what you expect them to be responsible for in a wrongful death settlement check.
These are a few of the factors that would determine how much support family members could receive:
- Funeral and Burial Costs.
- Lost income. The financial support a loved one can no longer provide to the family through employment. This includes the financial hardships the family will face in the future.
- Lost care and guidance. The emotional support and counsel those left behind, especially a spouse and children, won’t be able to draw upon in the years to come. This can include the loss of protection and affection. It should consider the lost moments in the future, especially during major life events such as a wedding or the birth of children.
- Emergency Response Fees. The costs of ambulance care and other fees associated with an accident.
- Medical costs. Any hospital bills acquired before the deceased passed on.
Requesting Important Documents for a Wrongful Death Case
After a devastating accident, families may need to round up powerful evidence before asking an unhelpful insurance company for help. Families can also find they need to retrieve important documents so they can begin settling the deceased’s estate.
If a wrongful death lawyer is handling the case, the lawyer will collect evidence and secure these documents.
However, if you need to secure these documents on your own, here is some information that will help:
- Visit our page on how to get an Accident Report from Madera Police or the CHP.
- Instructions for obtaining a coroner report from the Madera County Coroner
- You may obtain a death certificate through the funeral home or through the Madera County Department of Public Health
Seeking Help Through the Grieving Process After a Wrongful Death
Victims left to cope with a sudden death can struggle to find peace and closure. Any wrongful death settlement should include the money to pay for any professional counseling a family member needs.
But there are local and national resources available to all mourning families. These organizations connect people with trained staff and others who have experienced a loss.
These are just a few of the options available for those in mourning:
- GriefShare groups meet at several churches in nearby Fresno. The meetings include locations like Northwest Church, The Bridge, and Campus Bible Church near Fresno State.
- The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) offers incredibly helpful, practical advice for mourning families. There’s also help for people looking for online groups to take part in.
- Adventist Health, the organization that operates Madera Community Hospital, offers a Zoom grief support meeting twice a month.
Family members can always contact local churches and discuss options with local funeral homes, which can guide people to bereavement support groups.
Contact a Madera Wrongful Death Lawyer
Families should be allowed the time they need to grieve after a tragic accident, but bills and hardships stemming from a tragedy can make a wrongful death lawsuit necessary. A wrongful death attorney can handle your case privately with as little disruption to close family members as possible.
Contact Maison Law for a free and confidential case evaluation for any family in the Madera and Madera County area. Our lawyers offer compassionate care to those in mourning to ensure they don’t suffer the financial consequences of someone else’s mistake. We also don’t worry families over the cost of hiring a lawyer. If families need legal representation, we don’t charge anything unless we win the case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement that the at-fault party must provide to the family.
