Santa Ana Wrongful Death Attorney
We focus 100% of our time representing injured Santa Ana residents.
Legal Representation for Families Who Have Lost a Loved One Due to Negligence
Few things in life are more shocking than losing a loved one unexpectedly. Few things in life are more infuriating than losing a loved one due to preventable causes. If you have recently lost a loved one due to another’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous choices, you may be understandably feeling overwhelmed in every possible way. As a result, you may be hesitant to explore your legal options at this time. However, it is important to spend an hour or two clarifying your legal rights and options as soon as you possibly can.
Chances are that you will not be compelled to make any major decisions until you are feeling a bit less disoriented, as California law gives surviving loved ones up to two years to pursue personal injury cases related to their losses. However, other opportunities for compensation may be more time sensitive. Additionally, speaking with an attorney now may help you to preserve critically important evidence that may impact the outcome of your case overall, in the event that you choose to file a wrongful death and/or a survival action down the road. There is nothing easy about navigating the practical side of life while you are grieving. Know that our firm will do our utmost to take as much stress off your plate as possible so that you can focus your attention wherever it needs to be right now.
If the thought of preserving your right to seek compensation seems absurd right now, you are not alone in feeling that way. Many surviving loved ones couldn’t care less about money during the immediate aftermath of a tragic loss. However, the financial consequences of your loss may start to affect your family’s well being sooner than you might anticipate. Attending a confidential, free, no-risk consultation with our firm will help to ensure that your options remain protected if and until you choose to exercise any options available to you.
Respected and Respectful Legal Guidance for Families of Injury Victims
When you choose to make the time investment necessary to explore your legal options, you deserve to work with a law firm that has extensive experience handling wrongful death cases, has developed a reputation for trustworthiness and quality legal services, and has a compassionate, client-focused approach to representation. You will find all of this and more at our firm. Our team has handled enough wrongful death cases to understand just how challenging it can be for families to make a consultation appointment, let alone to pursue legal action in the wake of a tragic loss. Know that we will do everything we can to make the process of exploring your legal options and the process of exercising your legal options as stress-free as possible for you and your family. We will treat the memory of your lost loved one with nothing but respect and consideration. Please allow us to answer any questions that you may have about your legal situation and about our approach to representation in a free, no-risk, confidential case evaluation setting.
Wrongful Death Claims – The Basics
When another’s negligent, reckless, or intentional dangerous actions or inactions directly cause someone injury, that injury victim is entitled to seek legal recourse against those responsible for the harm they’ve suffered. Non-fatal injury cases filed in civil court are generally referred to as personal injury cases. When the injury victim in question passes away as a result of their injuries, they obviously are no longer in a position to file a personal injury case on their own behalf. Instead, a personal representative of the deceased’s estate or an eligible loved one can file a wrongful death case.
Wrongful death claims progress in many of the same ways that non-fatal personal injury cases do. For a claim to be successful in either scenario, the plaintiff must prove that the named defendant owed the injury victim a duty of care and breached that duty by engaging in negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous conduct. The plaintiff must also prove that the victim’s injuries resulted directly from the defendant’s actions or inactions. In a wrongful death suit, the plaintiff must additionally prove that the injury victim died as a result of their injuries.
The primary difference between a non-fatal personal injury case and a wrongful death case is that, in non-fatal personal injury cases, damages are awarded based on the financial losses that the injury victim incurred as a result of the defendant’s conduct. By contrast, in a wrongful death case, damages are awarded based on the pain, suffering, and financial losses incurred by the surviving loved ones of the injury victim. The injury victim’s pain and suffering must be addressed in a survival action. Otherwise, a wrongful death lawsuit progresses in much the same way as if the injury victim had been able to file a personal injury suit, had they survived their injuries.
Survival Actions – The Basics
If your loved one was conscious and suffered pain before they passed away as a result of their injuries, you may be able to file a so-called survival action in order to pursue damages related to that pain and suffering. Unlike wrongful death claims, in which surviving loved ones are compensated for their financial losses related to their loved one’s death, survival actions hold responsible parties accountable for causing the injury victim pain and suffering before they passed away.
When determining damages related to a survival action, California juries are instructed to consider the degree to which the victim was conscious, the severity of the victim’s pain, the duration of the victim’s suffering, and whether the victim experienced apprehension related to impending death. Pursuing this kind of legal claim can be understandably distressing to surviving loved ones. However, many of those affected by their loved ones’ pain and suffering have found some peace of mind in seeking justice on their behalf.
Who Is Eligible to File These Claims in California?
Each state creates and enforces its own eligibility criteria regarding wrongful death cases and – where applicable, as not every state allows for these cases to be filed – survival actions. In California, the same parties are eligible to file wrongful death cases and survival actions. These eligible parties include:
- A surviving spouse or domestic partner
- A representative of the deceased’s estate
- Surviving children of the deceased, as well as issue of any children who predeceased the injury victim
- Other eligible dependents of the deceased, including some minors who were not related to the deceased but relied on the injury victim for financial support – under certain circumstances
- The parents or legal guardians of the deceased, including deceased minors - under certain circumstances
Common Reasons Why Wrongful Death Claims Are Filed
Any number of personal injury scenarios may support grounds to file a wrongful death claim upon the injury victim’s death. It is important for surviving loved ones to explore their legal options, regardless of the circumstances that led to their loved one’s death. With that said, some of the most common reasons why Californians file wrongful death lawsuits include:
- Abuse and Neglect of Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Facility Residents
- Bicycle Accidents – Both manual and motorized
- Boating Accidents – Both recreational and work-related
- Birth Trauma
- Car Accidents
- Fatal Injuries Caused by Defective Products
- Homicide
- Medical Negligence and Medical Mistakes
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Occupational Illness
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Prescription Drug Errors and Dangerous Medication Reactions
- Premises Liability Accidents
- Recreational Vehicle Accidents
- Toxic Exposure – Including work-related toxic exposure
- Truck Accidents
- Work-Related Accidents
What if the Injury Victim Was Partly to Blame for Their Injuries?
Don’t avoid the opportunity to explore your legal options simply because your loved one may have been partially to blame for the circumstances that led to their injuries. California is a comparative negligence state. In contributory negligence states, those affected by otherwise actionable negligence, recklessness, or intentionally dangerous conduct are often barred from seeking compensation if they have contributed to the cause of their injuries in any way. However, in California, which is much more liberal and protective of injury victims’ rights, those who have been harmed remain entitled to seek compensation from others who may be held legally liable, even if the injury victims themselves partially contributed to the cause of their harm.
If your loved one is ultimately assigned a percentage of the blame for the cause of their injuries, the compensation you’ll be entitled to pursue will be reduced by that percentage of blame accordingly. For example, if your harm is valued at $500,000 and your loved one is assigned 10 percent of the blame for their injuries, you’ll remain entitled to pursue up to $450,000 from the others responsible for that harm. The comparative negligence model means that you should never shy away from pursuing legal action against those who are partially responsible for harm simply because an injury victim may have also been partially to blame for their circumstances.
Insurance Issues and Settlement Offers
If you have been approached by insurance representatives or have been offered a settlement by anyone else involved in your loved one’s injurious circumstances, please do not sign anything - and ideally refrain from communicating with these representatives again - until after you have spoken with our experienced legal team. Anything that you say and anything that you sign at this time could impact your ability to receive the full amount of compensation to which you are owed. It may or may not be advantageous to accept a settlement or insurance payout as offered. However, you will not be sure of whether the offer in question is fairly valued until an independent legal advocate has assessed the offer with your interests in mind. Do not sign away your rights as a surviving loved one or accept a potentially undervalued offer until you’ve had the opportunity to speak with someone who is solely concerned with protecting your rights and ensuring that justice is done on behalf of your loved one.
If Your Loved One Died as a Result of Criminal Wrongdoing
Sometimes, surviving loved ones refrain from speaking with a personal injury attorney because they are led to believe that the criminal case against those responsible for the harm that their loved one has experienced is the only issue at hand. In reality, criminal and civil actions are independent. Meaning, you can hold someone civilly liable for criminal wrongdoing. If another’s criminal actions led to your loved one’s death, you may be entitled to significant compensation regardless of whether there is a criminal matter pending or whether a criminal action has run its course. The standard of proof in civil court is lower than it is in criminal court. As a result, you may hold those responsible for your loved one’s death accountable more easily via a personal injury lawsuit than prosecutors might via a criminal case.
Contact Us Today for a Free Wrongful Death Case Evaluation
If you have not yet scheduled a free, confidential, no-obligation case evaluation with our experienced legal team, please do so now. Taking this step can be undeniably challenging. However, it may serve both the memory of your loved one and your family’s financial future well. We look forward to assisting you.