If your loved one died and it was the fault of someone else, then you might have a valid wrongful death claim on your hands. If you file such a claim and it is successful, then you stand to gain significant compensation for everything from pain and suffering to medical costs and loss of future income.
Those already involved in a pending lawsuit can obtain a loan on a settlement that provides cash in advance pending a settlement award or lawsuit judgment. You can find further lawsuit loan info here. However, there are some facts that you need to know before proceeding and contacting a wrongful death attorney. Here are the basics to help you get started.
What is a wrongful death lawsuit?
Fundamentally, a wrongful death lawsuit is a legal argument that your loved one died as the result of someone else’s actions (or inaction). On the obvious end of the spectrum, this can cover another driver being inattentive in the case of a car accident or even an intentional death.
It’s critical to note that the wrongful death lawsuit is entirely separate from any criminal charges that might be pressed at the same time. Just because the perpetrator is being charged and tried for a crime doesn’t mean you will get any compensation out of it. You need to actively go out and file a wrongful death lawsuit as well.
Less obvious is that you can also file a wrongful death lawsuit against a person, group, or company for different degrees of negligence. If a doctor makes an error during a surgical procedure, then you may be able to sue for medical malpractice. If there was a car crash, then it’s entirely possible that no drivers were to blame, but rather that it was a mechanical error and that you can sue the car manufacturer for the wrongful death.
Who is allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit?
To start with, who is allowed to file wrongful death lawsuits varies from state to state. In California, you can file if you’re the spouse of the deceased, the domestic partner of the deceased, or the child of the deceased. However, if you don’t fall into one of those categories, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t file. If there is nobody in any of those three categories, then other surviving relatives like siblings and parents can file.
Furthermore, other types of financial dependents can file as well, including stepchildren, putative spouses, and the children of putative spouses.
Who can you sue in a wrongful death lawsuit?
Depending on the nature of the death, there could be a large number of individuals, groups, and companies to blame in your wrongful death lawsuit. While a car accident may seem straightforward, the other drivers are really only the first option available to you. If that other driver was inebriated, then you may also be able to sue the establishment that sold them alcohol. If they were drinking at a bar, then you may be able to sue the bar for letting the driver get into their car and leave.
On top of that, some of the blame might lie with someone else entirely. As was mentioned before, the car manufacturer might be to blame for any sort of malfunction that contributed to the accident. If there was a distraction on the road that led to the accident, then whoever caused that distraction could be culpable as well.
It’s difficult to accurately judge just how many different people you might need to name in your claim if you don’t have expertise and experience. A good wrongful death attorney can help you sort through the details and figure out the best way to proceed.
What do you have to prove in a wrongful death lawsuit?
Since wrongful death lawsuits are civil matters and thus very different from criminal charges, what you have to prove can be a little unintuitive. It’s not enough to simply prove that someone else was responsible for the death of your loved one. You also need to prove that the death directly affected members of their family and their financial dependents (including you) and that the death caused financial hardship for you. This can range from the decedent’s lost income to medical and funeral bills or even pain and suffering.
Quantifying these values can be pretty difficult and the last thing you want is to underestimate your compensation claim only to win your lawsuit and find that it’s insufficient to cover your financial needs. Consider contacting a wrongful death lawyer located in Los Angeles to get a more accurate picture of how much money you deserve.
How much can you get from a wrongful death settlement?
In terms of specific damage categories, there are quite a few to keep in mind.
First off, you have damages for the pain and suffering of the decedent. If your loved one didn’t die immediately, then they may have been in serious pain for quite a while before they passed. If that’s the case, then you may be entitled to a separate type of damages for that in particular.
Second, there may be large medical bills from when your loved one received care prior to dying. If they were in an accident, they may have been transported to a hospital and received expensive care prior to passing away. On top of that, you also need to consider the cost of transportation via ambulance or medical helicopter. In cases of medical malpractice, the costs of the operation that resulted in your loved one’s death would be part of the claim.
Third, you can also get compensated for lost income. If you or others relied on them as financial dependents, then the money they would have earned had they survived can add up to quite a bit. This can also cover other sorts of services that the decedent may have provided if they survived.
Fourth, you have some types of damages that are harder to quantify. You can claim financial compensation for the loss of care and guidance from your loved one or even simply their companionship. These are often collectively called loss of consortium.
Finally, you can also claim the money that you need for funeral and burial expenses.
What should you do?
If you believe that you have a valid wrongful death claim on your hands, then it’s time to get in contact with an experienced wrongful death lawyer at West Coast Trial Lawyers. You’ll want to determine if your claim is strong enough to proceed, then you’ll need to plan out your strategy. A lawyer can be particularly helpful when it comes to identifying different sorts of damages that you might not have even considered. For laymen, it’s easy to get confused about which types and what terminology applies to your specific circumstances, so an expert can be invaluable.
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Wrongful Death Lawsuits