Garden Grove Wrongful Death Lawyer

Anyone who loses a loved one may experience emotional turmoil, to say the absolute least. Even worse, though, this experience may be more traumatic if a family member passes due to someone else’s negligence. If your loved one’s death was the result of someone else’s carelessness or intentional act, you may be entitled to monetary compensation.

Filing a claim or negotiating a settlement without a personal injury attorney’s help is rarely an easy thing to do, especially while grieving for a loved one. A Garden Grove wrongful death lawyer could assist you and your family during this time and help you pursue fair compensation for your loss.

Causes of Wrongful Death

A wrongful death can be caused by a car wreck, an incident at work, nursing home abuse, medical errors, or effectively any other scenario that, had the victim survived, would have served as grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. It may be necessary to investigate the facts surrounding a case to determine if anyone can be held legally responsible for someone’s death.

Wrongful death lawsuits usually involve someone who was killed in a situation where normal safety standards were not met. A Garden Grove wrongful death attorney who is familiar with the various definitions and circumstances of wrongful death could be prepared to fight for families in this situation.

Who May Be Compensated in Wrongful Death?

According to California Code of Civil Procedure §377.60, only certain individuals may be compensated in a wrongful death lawsuit. Specifically, the decedent’s children, surviving spouse, or domestic partner can acquire monetary compensation.

The law also considers a putative spouse, or someone who believed in good faith they were legally married, to be an eligible party for wrongful death damages. This expands the right to compensation to the putative spouse’s children. Depending on the circumstances, the law may also allow children who are unrelated to yet dependent on the decedent and/or who lived in the decedent’s home to file for compensation.

Compensation for Damages

Oftentimes, a wrongful death suit involves the loss of the primary income earner in a household. The law determines that heirs and other dependents of the deceased may be compensated based on the following losses:

  • Income of the deceased
  • Degree to which they were dependent on the deceased
  • Medical costs
  • Funeral costs
  • Punitive damages

Additionally, punitive damages are a factor that many people may not consider when seeking to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This type of compensation is designed to punish the negligent party for their actions. Punitive damages may be awarded against organizations and people who acted with ill intentions or displayed gross negligence or disregard for the safety of others.

Contact a Garden Grove Wrongful Death Attorney Today

It is often important to begin a wrongful death suit as soon as possible. Witness accounts, available evidence, and the specific environment of the injury location could all change over time. A Garden Grove wrongful death lawyer may need to investigate the facts while the evidence is still clear.

No amount of money could ever replace the life of a loved one, but being compensated for short-term and long-term financial losses may nonetheless make the recovery process a little easier. Call today to speak with a compassionate attorney who could advocate for you while you and your family recover from your loss.