WRONGFUL DEATH ATTORNEYS

Has negligence or intentional harm caused the death of your loved one?

Losing a loved one is a painful experience that can cause extreme grief as well as financial difficulty. On top of dealing with the sadness of losing a loved one, surviving family members confront an unsure financial future if the late family member was a breadwinner. Therefore, it is critical for those surviving to determine if they qualify to file wrongful death claims or lawsuits, to compensate them for their loss. A wrongful death claim can be complex, which is why it is essential to have a skilled wrongful death lawyer advocate on your behalf.

WHO IS ENTITLED TO SEEK WRONGFUL DEATH DAMAGES IN CALIFORNIA?

When a loved one passes, only certain people can file a wrongful death lawsuit. In the state of California, these include surviving spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, domestic partners, children or – in certain situations – individuals who would inherit the deceased person’s property, according to California’s Code of Civil Procedure §377.60.

Additionally, California law permits a “putative spouse” to bring a wrongful death action. A putative spouse is a person who enters into a marriage in good faith, but invalid due to a legal flaw, such as the existence of a prior marriage. Others can qualify to bring a wrongful death action – if they were a dependent of the deceased person including parents, stepchildren and the putative spouse’s children. For example, any minor who lived with the deceased individual at the time of the person’s death can be eligible to receive damages in a wrongful death action, even if the minor was not the decedent’s child or stepchild. In these cases, the minor must reside in the household of the decedent for at least 180 days leading up to the death, and the decedent must have provided at least one-half of the minor’s support, according to the law.

RECOVERY AVAILABLE

After filing a wrongful death lawsuit, the surviving loved ones may obtain compensation for the loss of benefits they would have otherwise received had the deceased individual lived. These include financial support, emotional support, and loss of companionship, love, comfort, affection and parental guidance. An action brought by a surviving spouse can recover damages for loss of consortium. Medical expenses, lost income and funeral and burial expenses are also recoverable. However, specific sorts of damages cannot be recovered, including damages for the departed person’s pain and suffering, or the loved ones’ emotional distress from the death.

Our wrongful death attorneys in Los Angeles work hard to ensure you get the meaningful compensation from all responsible parties. In some cases, our clients can be reimbursed for interest on the damages from the time of the event, as well as attorney fees and costs of bringing the lawsuit.

WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

The first thing to do is determine your options so that costly mistakes are not made. Important deadlines can be missed which could jeopardize your right to full compensation for your loss.

There are time limits for filing a wrongful death claim and these time limits vary from state to state. Usually a lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of the incident that caused the death but this can vary.

The best way to deal with the complexities of a wrongful death lawsuit is to retain an assertive and experienced wrongful death lawyer. Los Angeles is the home of Yedidsion Law Group, one of the leading law firms in the city. Their attorneys are respected by the court and their peers due to their exacting attention to detail in case preparation. In this way they obtain meaningful compensation from all responsible parties helping their emotionally fragile clients plan a future free of financial stress.

Yedidsion Law Group fully understands the emotional turmoil that their clients are experiencing over the death of a loved one. They shield their clients from the further heartbreak of losing compensation due to missed deadlines or from accepting an inadequate settlement from the defendant. While it can be very tempting to take a settlement offer when money is likely needed the most, their attorneys help their clients determine if the settlement truly meets their needs going ahead.

Time limits are one example of the many phases of wrongful death lawsuits. There are exceptions that can shorten the time limit for filing a lawsuit to one year following the death as well as circumstances that extend the time limit for several years.

In the case of minors, the law allows a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed two years after the age of majority is reached. For example, if a child loses a parent in a car accident at the age of ten, a wrongful death lawsuit could be filed up to ten years after the event assuming the age of majority is eighteen.

Due to the intricacy of these claims however, it is critical that an investigation be performed very early on. All income records, bank statements, tax returns, business records, etc. should be preserved in order to prove, what oftentimes is the most significant share of the damages, the value of the loss of support.

Dealing with the loss of a much-loved family member is already demanding enough without the additional financial stress to go along with it. When a loved ones’ death is caused by another person’s reckless or wrongful actions, it is important to hold them accountable. Proving that a death was “wrongful” and that the other party was at fault can be a daunting and difficult task without the help of a capable wrongful death attorney. At Yedidsion Law Group, you will have a knowledgeable wrongful death lawyer who can fight aggressively on your behalf to receive the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to.