Fair Oaks Wrongful Death Lawyer

When a loved one unexpectedly passes, no amount of money can truly replace what you lost. Yet the loss of a loved one can result in significant financial strain, especially if the decedent was the primary breadwinner and took care of household expenses. This is why you should consider speaking to a Fair Oaks wrongful death attorney to discuss your legal options and whether it makes sense to file a wrongful death claim against the reckless individual or corporation that caused your loved one’s death.

Defining Wrongful Death

Under California law, when an individual or company is negligent or otherwise engages in unlawful conduct and those actions, or inaction, causes the death of an individual, it is considered a “wrongful death.” Causes of wrongful death that form the basis of wrongful death claims include the following:

• Car accidents caused by a careless driver
• Car accidents caused by a defective part
• Motorcycle accident caused by a reckless driver
• Pedestrian accident at a crosswalk
• Medical malpractice and surgical errors
• Accidents while at the workplace
• Defective products and prescription medications

Damages That Can Be Pursued Through a Wrongful Death Claim

When you file a wrongful death claim, you are seeking financial restitution for the emotional trauma and financial strain associated with the loss of your loved one. This means the economic and non-economic damages that are potentially recoverable through a wrongful death claim include:

• Medical bills incurred by your loved one from an accident prior to their death (e.g., someone is hit by a car, undergoes surgery, is in a coma for weeks, and ultimately passes away);
• Burial expenses;
• Funeral costs;
• Loss of future earnings (i.e. the reasonably expected income that the decedent would have earned over the course of their lifetime if not for the tragic accident);
• Your pain and suffering including the loss of companionship, the loss of emotional support, the loss of guidance and mentorship (if the decedent had a child)
• Punitive damages (if the case involves a defendant whose actions, or inaction, was grossly negligent).

Will My Case Settle or Will I Have to Testify in Court?

When someone is struggling with the loss of a loved one, the prospect of going to court and testifying in front of a jury can feel overwhelming. To be clear, if you decide to file a wrongful death claim against the individual or company responsible for your loved one’s death, there is a good chance that the claim will ultimately be settled without going to trial. In fact, well over 90 percent of all personal injury and wrongful death cases get resolved through settlement rather than jury trial. Nevertheless, no lawyer can, or should, guarantee an outcome. That means when you file a claim, you need to be ready to go to trial, if necessary.

What Needs to Be Proven in Court

If settlement negotiations fall apart and a jury trial is scheduled, the plaintiff (i.e. you) is responsible for presenting sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant was liable for your loved one’s death. An exception to this standard is in product liability cases where strict liability can be shown. Strict liability means that you are not required to demonstrate that the defendant was negligent. Basically, under strict liability, if you can prove that your loved one’s death was caused by the defendant’s conduct, whether the conduct was negligent or not, the defendant remains liable for your harms and losses.

However, the vast majority of wrongful death cases will not involve strict liability. Instead, your injury lawyer will need to present evidence that meets the four key elements of establishing that a defendant was liable in a wrongful death case. Those four elements include:

1. Duty of care – This is a lеgаl оbligаtiоn arising in numerous situations. For example, a driver has a duty to abide by the basic rules of the road and applicable state laws.
2. Brеасh of the duty of care – There needs to be evidence that the dеfеndаnt breached the duty of care. For example, if a driver was texting and driving and wound up hitting your loved one at a designated crosswalk, that is a breach of their duty to operate their vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner.
3. Causation – Once your lawyer establishes that a breach of duty occurred, thеrе must be sufficient evidence showing a causal link bеtwееn thе dеfеndаnt’ѕ brеасh and your loved one’s death. In the context of a fatal automobile accident, causation is not difficult to prove since the collision can, in many instances, speak for itself.
4. Economic and non-economic dаmаgеѕ - Once causation is properly shown, уоur Fair Oaks wrongful death lawyer must present persuasive evidence to the jury that you suffered harms and losses. In the wrongful death context, this can be proven by producing bills and invoices related to medical care, funeral and burial expenses, past tax returns for lost wages, and so forth.