Maison Law can help you and your family through one of the toughest situations you can face in Manhattan Beach: a fatal accident. It’s hard enough when someone you care about is injured in an accident, let alone when it ends up being fatal. A wrongful death claim is one way we can help your family move forward. Set up a free consultation to talk over your options.
Does it Make Sense For My Family to Get a Lawyer?
A lot of families don’t know where to turn after they lose a loved one in a fatal accident. And even if they know about a potential wrongful death claim, it feels cold to think about money at a time like this.
At the same time, that side of the situation doesn’t wait. Insurance companies are already looking for ways to get around what happened. So while a wrongful death claim might be an option, it makes sense to get clear answers and support from the very start. That’s where our team a Maison Law can step in to:
- Take a close look at what happened and how the accident happened
- Track down the reports, records, photos, videos, and other evidence that can help tell the story
- Figure out who might actually be responsible for your loved one’s death
- Deal with the insurance company so you don’t have to handle those conversations yourself
- Work through the financial losses your family is dealing with
- Take care of the paperwork and keep the claim moving forward
The goal isn’t to turn an already difficult situation into a drawn-out legal ordeal. It’s the opposite. We’re here to make sure that you and your family have what you need to process the loss and get the help you all need to move forward.
How Wrongful Death Claims Come Up in Manhattan Beach
A wrongful death claim is something no family wants to have to go through, and when you consider the fact that they come out of everyday situations, it only adds to the tragedy. But practically speaking a wrongful death claim happens when there’s a fatal accident, which can include:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Accidents at workplaces
- Accidents from unsafe conditions at a property
There’s other details that factor into such a claim, but this gives your family a better idea of how they come up. But there’s more important questions to answer: namely who’s responsible.
Who Pays For Damages in a Wrongful Death Claim?
This is where the legal side of things really come into focus. A wrongful death claim is another type of injury claim, which means responsibility boils down to negligence. In other words, it’s about showing that:
- Someone did something they shouldn’t have done, failed to do something they should have done, and that caused the accident and your loved one’s death.
That’s not any different than any other accident, so that could fall on a:
- Driver that was being reckless and caused a fatal accident
- Property owner or business that didn’t take care of something dangerous
- Company that employed a truck driver or some other person that was responsible for the fatal accident
- Company that made a defective vehicle, machine, or product
Figuring this out isn’t always easy, especially in something as high-stakes as a fatal accident. Insurance companies have specialized teams that handle these types of claims. That doesn’t change you and your family’s options, though.
How a Wrongful Death Claim Usually Works
Practically speaking, a wrongful death claim can help your family recover some of the financial losses that come with losing someone you love. It can also give your family a way to hold the person or company responsible accountable for what happened. But it’s still an incredibly hard decision to make and an incredibly hard situation to be in.
But again, it’s about helping everyone move forward. So once the decision to go ahead is made, you have to consider how the actual claims process works.
First, California law only lets certain people file the claim on behalf of the family:
- Spouses
- Children
- The personal representatives of the estate
There’s exceptions in certain cases, but once that’s sorted out, things move ahead in a couple different ways:
- An insurance claim and settlement negotiations outside of court
- A wrongful death lawsuit filed in court
The damages are also different from those in a typical personal injury case. A wrongful death claim can involve losses such as:
- Medical expenses related to your loved one’s final injury
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of financial support
- Loss of benefits or other financial contributions
- Loss of household services
- Loss of companionship, love, guidance, and support
Something that can catch you off guard is that there’s still a two-year deadline in place to file the claim. That sounds like a lot of time, but it can go by quickly, especially when your family is trying to get information.
Information That Helps a Wrongful Death Claim
This can be one of the more difficult parts of a wrongful death claim. You’re still trying to process the loss, and now you’re being asked for things that remind you of what happened. And sometimes, you might not even know where to look. But the truth is, this information helps tell the full story of what happened to your loved one and why the accident happened in the first place. Here’s what can help you do that:
- The death certificate and coroner’s report can confirm when your loved one died and provide important information about the cause of death.
- Police reports, workplace reports, and other incident reports can give us an early look at what happened and what investigators found.
- Hospital records, emergency room records, and other medical information can show the injuries your loved one had and how they led to their death.
- People who witnessed the accident may have information that wasn’t included in the initial report but could become important later.
- Security footage, traffic cameras, dashcams, cellphone videos, and photos from the accident scene can help show what happened and what conditions were like at the time.
- Employment and financial records can help show what your loved one earned, what benefits they had, and the financial support they provided to your family.
Most families aren’t going to have all of this sitting neatly in a folder. And they shouldn’t be expected to. Part of our job is gathering this information, preserving important evidence, and putting it together to build a claim that accurately shows what happened and what your family has lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the deadline for filing a wrongful death claim in California?
Usually, your family only has two years from the date of the death to file.
Do we need criminal charges to file a wrongful death claim?
No. A wrongful death claim is a civil claim, which is separate from a criminal case. Your family does not need criminal charges to pursue a wrongful death claim if the facts support one.
Will our family have to go to court?
Not necessarily. Many wrongful death claims settle before going to trial. Either way, though, our team will be ready to help your family
Let Our Manhattan Beach Wrongful Death Lawyers Help
There’s no easy way through losing someone you love after a fatal accident. What there can be, though, is someone to help you figure out what comes next.
Our Manhattan Beach wrongful death lawyers at Maison Law can help your family understand what happened, explain your options and handle the legal side of the case while you focus on moving forward. If you’re ready to talk, set up a free consultation with us and we’ll talk you through your options.
