The sudden death of a loved one is a devastating experience for the whole family. It does not only affect the emotional state of each family member. It also has a great impact on the mental and financial state because the person who earns a living for the family already passed away. It’s more painful when your loved one died due to the negligence or intention of other people. What you can do is file a claim to at least alleviate the pain and suffering the family endures. You need to choose a good but tough wrongful death attorney LA to help you get a fair settlement. It’s true that life is priceless and you cannot buy it with money. However, with your current situation, you can use the payment to cover all the damages. This will help minimize any worries regarding financial concerns.
Wrongful death occurs due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct. Several situations can initiate a wrongful death lawsuit. It includes manufacturing defects, motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, toxic torts, or criminal activity.
Basically, the wrongful death attorney in Los Angeles of the deceased’s surviving family should prove that the death is due to the negligence of another party. Likewise, he needs to show that the family of the one who died suffers emotionally and financially. Also, he needs to present the eligible parties to recover damages.
Another important thing is, the wrongful death attorney in LA you will choose must be able to recover economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover out-of-pocket expenses, loss of support and income, lost household or other services, lost prospect of inheritance, and medical and funeral expenses.
Noneconomic damages, on the other hand, include pain and suffering which is possibly recoverable. Included in the damages award is the interest that begins from the date the victim of wrongful death died. In some states such as California award punitive damages when the victim died.
Punitive damages have the intention to punish and prevent wrongful acts from happening again. If the defendant is rich, the bigger is the amount that he needs to pay the surviving members of the family. The purpose is not to financially destroy the guilty party but to prevent the same thing from happening again.
There’s no exact standard set of computing and awarding punitive damages. It’s at the court’s discretion to award it and varies based on the specific status of the case.
The departed’s survivors may also keep a “survival action” in situations where the victim didn’t die immediately from an accident and filed a personal injury case. The claim enables the decedent’s estate to recover the deceased’s conscious pain and suffering before his or her demise. The jury may probe into the extent to which the deceased victim was conscious, the seriousness of the pain, and the knowingness of imminent death.
Based on California wrongful death law, only the individuals specified in CCP Section 377.60 have the authorization to file a claim. All likely claimants need to collaborate in one wrongful death action. The goal of this rule is to prevent the liable party from dealing with more than one lawsuit.
Another objective is to shun variable outcomes from occurring due to several actions. It’s possible to bar a claimant who isn’t part of the group that filed the claim. He or she cannot file a separate lawsuit against the defendant. The wrongful death attorney in LA can better explain it to you because he knows the procedure well.
To keep a prejudiced result from happening, the heirs need to include all known heirs. It’s important to inform your wrongful death attorney in LA of all possible beneficiaries. This includes the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased victim.
The state has 3 statutes of limitations time deadlines in terms of wrongful death claims. Fundamentally, claimants need to file within two years of injury or death. However, there are situations that go beyond the given time. These are:
Medical malpractice such as health care provider negligence requires you to file three years from the date of the injury. Or, it can be a year after you discover or through the utilization of reasonable application should have upon learning the injury, whichever ensues first.
In your situation, you need a good but tough attorney in LA. We have a team of skilled and experienced attorneys to help maximize your recovery. Losing a loved one is very difficult to bear, let alone the financial issues you need to deal with.
We understand how you feel and we’re here to help you all the way until you get a fair settlement. Call us today at (877) 678-4689 for a free case evaluation. Let us help you win your case.