Upon being confronted with the grief, pain and financial losses associate4 with the loss of a family member in or around Santa Maria or Santa Barbara County, retaining an attorney probably wouldn’t be very high on your list of priorities. The truth is, doing so is probably one of the first things that you should do. Identifying who might have been responsible for your loved one’s death and documenting the financial losses that you and your family have suffered are pivotal considerations in building any wrongful death case.
At Maison Law, our Santa Maria wrongful death lawyer won’t charge you anything at all for a consultation and case review. If you retain us to bring a wrongful death case, you have no out-of-pocket cost. Everything is handled on a contingency fee basis.
Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases
Section 377.60 of the California Code of Civil Procedure controls wrongful death cases in the state. Wrongful death cases aren’t criminal prosecutions, although they might be filed at the same time that a criminal case is pending for the same occurrence. They’re civil cases that seek compensation for damages that criminal courts can’t award. They’re heard in different courtrooms with different judges and juries than an underlying criminal charge. Nearly all wrongful death cases involve accidents. Here are a few common types of accidents that might be the basis of wrongful death lawsuits:
- Airplane, train, or bus accidents.
- Motor vehicle, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents.
- Construction and industrial accidents.
- Agricultural accidents.
- Dangerous conditions on real estate.
- Fatalities caused by dangerously defective products.
- Nursing home or daycare fatalities.
- Medical malpractice.
Damages in a Wrongful Death Case
A wide variety of damages are available in California wrongful death cases. Those include loss of financial support, guidance, and comfort, love and companionship, gifts, inheritance, and funeral and burial expenses. If your loved one lived only for a few moments before passing away, other damages are available under California’s survivor laws.
Wrongful Death and Insurance Policies
An insurance company will know that it’s looking at significant financial exposure in a wrongful death case. As soon as it learns of the accident and fatality, it’s going to begin setting up its defense. You must begin building your family’s wrongful death case right away too. Evidence can be altered or disposed of, recollections of events can get fuzzy and witnesses might disappear. The longer that you wait to retain a wrongful death lawyer to represent your family, the less chance you have in prevailing on any case that you might have. Protect against a second loss for you and the decedent’s survivors.
Contact a Santa Maria Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
As soon as possible after losing a family member in an accident, contact our Santa Maria wrongful death lawyer at Maison Law for that free consultation and case review. We can talk about how you lost your loved one and how that loss has impacted you and your family. We will also take the time to answer your questions. After that, you’ll be given our recommendations on how you might exercise the appropriate legal option. With a wrongful death, the financial future of your family will suddenly be put in jeopardy. When you retain us to represent you, our goal will be to obtain the maximum settlement or award that your family deserves.
