Families who lose a precious loved one to a tragic drowning can file wrongful death claims against those found at fault. This claim seeks help for the family paying funeral costs and in replacing the income the loved one may have provided each month.
Maison Law stands beside Redding families to help them seek justice and financial support after a tragic drowning. We help victims hold pool owners and business owners responsible when victims are allowed access to unsafe pools, lakes, and rivers.
Should My Family Contact a Lawyer After a Tragic Drowning?
A lawyer can serve as an important legal protection for your family. Insurance companies for an at-fault individual or business can try to blame your loved one for the accident. If they are successful, the insurer can get away with leaving families with zero in support. A lawyer can also often earn families much more in support than they could by filing a wrongful death claim themselves.
A lawyer fully investigates the drowning accident and those at fault and then files a claim backed with strong evidence. A Maison Law attorney battles to force the most in support out of the insurer with as little disruption to the family as possible. This gives family members the additional time they’ll need to focus on grieving their loss.
Pool and Lake Drowning Dangers in Shasta County
If a hotel or an apartment complex invites guests or residents to use a pool, the owners and operators are also under a legal obligation to keep visitors safe.
California holds all property owners and pool owners liable for any harm that comes to guests under California’s Civil Code.
CCC 1714 “(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself…”
It means owners and operators must clear out the hazards they may create as part of their daily operation. They must also monitor for the dangers that other guests may create and remove those in a reasonable amount of time.
These are just a few of the dangerous acts of negligence that can cause tragic drownings and leave property and business owners liable:
- Failure to provide enough properly trained lifeguards
- Failure to provide proper safety devices and protections for swimmers
- Failure to keep up with maintenance of pools and ponds to prevent hazards with drains and pumps, and around dams
- Failure to remove slip-and-fall hazards around pools and on docks that might send someone unconscious into the water
- Providing fencing and security measures around closed pools, at river and lake parks, and around standing water on farms
- Failure to post warning signs about swimming dangers
- Keeping swimmers out of the path of careless boaters
These and other neglected responsibilities can leave a business or property owner fully liable for a family’s hardships after a drowning. The fault may be clear, but insurers and lawyers for companies and national chains can confuse the tragic events to see if they can limit what they must pay. A skilled Redding Premises Liability Lawyer could point out every mistake a business owner made and document all acts of negligence in a lawsuit.
Who Is Liable in a Drowning Wrongful Death Case?
Redding has many swimming options for young and old swimmers alike. The City of Redding runs the pools at the Redding Aquatic Center. There are pools at the Shasta Family YMCA. Local families and visitors may plan a fun day in the water at East Beach at Whiskeytown Lake.
Swimming is a beloved exercise and sport for some and just great fun for others. There are hazards that come along with any water activity, though. The tragic risk of drowning is always there. However, owners and operators must also do their best to eliminate potential risks. They can be sued if they don’t.
Another job for a skilled attorney is to identify the liable parties after a tragic drowning occurs. In some cases, it’s a national chain that’s responsible. For public pools and beaches, it may be a government department that’s held accountable.
These are just a few of the potential liable parties in a drowning in Shasta County:
- Property and Business Owners
- Waterpark Owners, such as the owners at WaterWorks Park
- Homeowners with pools
- Homeowners Association (HOA)
- Hotel Owners
- Landlords and Property management companies maintaining pools for residents
- Hotel Corporate Owners
- Paddleboard, kayak, innertube, and boat rental businesses, such as those that operate along the Sacramento River
- Farm and Orchard Owners responsible for safety around ponds and canals
- The City of Redding
- Shasta County or California Parks and Rec Departments
- The National Park Service in charge of places like Whiskeytown Lake
Anyone or any company that contributes to a drowning can face an insurance claim or lawsuit and have to support families in mourning.
Finding Support for Families After a Drowning in Shasta County
Nothing can bring back the life of a loved one, but families should take action to seek justice for a tragedy. They must also protect family members from financial harm that the loss of a close relative can cause.
A skilled Redding Wrongful Death Lawyer would file a wrongful death claim and demand support for these and other losses:
- Totals on leftover medical bills and ambulance fees.
- Support to pay for a funeral and burial.
- Reimbursement for the wages the victim can no longer contribute to the family in the years to come.
- The emotional hardships a family endures and will continue to endure. Children must receive support for the love and guidance they’ll miss out on in the years ahead. This can include the absence felt at graduations, birthdays, weddings, and during the birth of a child.
- Support for parents. The support needed for family members who must cope without the lifetime companionship a child would have provided.
- Cost of psychological counseling for family members to help them cope with the loss.
- Loss of consortium. (The lost intimacy a spouse or partner provided)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can file a wrongful death claim in California?
A spouse, the children, and stepchildren of the victim could file on behalf of the family. If the children have passed on, the grandchildren could file. In some cases, the parents and siblings of the victim could file a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death lawyer can also handle the filing of a wrongful death claim on behalf of the entire family and take care of the entire frustrating claims process.
Can parents seek support after losing a child to a tragic drowning?
Yes. Parents would file a wrongful death claim asking for help with burial costs and with leftover medical bills. Parents must also receive support for the loss of the lifetime companionship a child would have provided.
How long can my family wait to file a drowning wrongful death claim?
In California, families in mourning are generally allowed up to two years after a tragic drowning to file a wrongful death claim. But cases against governments (like the City of Redding) can have shorter statutes of limitations, and victims may have only a few months to file. Contact a Redding drowning accident lawyer to make sure you don’t miss deadlines.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Redding Drowning Accident Attorney
After a careless drowning accident claims the life of a loved one, take action to seek justice from a negligent property owner or a governmental department. Contact the skilled Drowning Accident Lawyers at Maison Law for a free consultation and case evaluation. We understand the pain a sudden death will cause. We want to make sure families get the support they need while being given the time to grieve without financial worries.
There’s no obligation for your case review, but if you need our help to earn more in support for your family, you don’t need any upfront money to hire a lawyer. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win support for your family. Then our fee comes out of the money that the at-fault party is forced to pay.
