With around 300 days of sunshine a year, a top-notch public school system, and a relatively low crime rate, Irvine is an enjoyable place to live. Unfortunately, there are many ways that accidents can happen here, including accidents that result in someone's death. When someone dies unexpectedly as a result of another's negligence, they often leave behind a family to endure the financial and emotional hardships of the loss.
Family members who have lost a loved one in an Irvine accident due to the negligence of another party can use the wrongful death claims process in order to seek compensation for these financial and emotional impacts. This includes individuals who lost a family member to a traffic-related accident, a property defect, or even a dangerous or defective product. An experienced Irvine wrongful death lawyer has an important part to play in helping you obtain the maximum amount of compensation that is available for your claim.
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When a death occurs as the result of someone’s negligence in Irvine, certain family members can benefit from a wrongful death claim. Those who are eligible to file a wrongful death claim include the deceased’s spouse or domestic partner, their surviving children, or their grandchildren if their children are deceased. If none of these family members exist for the deceased, the claim can be filed by other family members, including parents, siblings, step-children, and others entitled to the deceased’s property by intestate succession laws.
The claim is initially filed against a relevant liability insurance policy held by the at-fault party. The cause can be a culmination of many different types of personal injury. If the death was the result of a car accident, this would usually be an auto liability policy. If the death resulted from a property owner’s negligence, the claim would likely be filed against a property or homeowner’s policy. Wrongful death claims involving defective products are filed against the business policy of the at-fault manufacturer.
The insurance provider will review the claim and can choose to either accept it as submitted, deny it and provide an explanation of the denial to the claimant, or offer to settle the claim out of court for a different amount than its established value. If the insurance provider fails to pay the claim, it can be filed as a wrongful death claim in civil court in Irvine. This is a legal request for a judge or jury to hear the case and determine if the claimant is owed compensation by the defendant.
While a family is coping with profound grief related to the loss, their experienced wrongful death attorney can perform services aimed at helping them obtain the compensation they need through the Irvine wrongful death process. These services include:
For those worried about how to afford the services of an Irvine wrongful death lawyer, rest assured: the contingent fee billing method that wrongful death lawyers use ensures the ability of anyone who needs their services to have access. If no compensation is received for the claim, the claimant doesn’t have to pay for the work the wrongful death attorney and their legal team did on the case. If compensation is received, the wrongful death attorney will be paid a percentage of the total award.
The expenses and impacts of an unexpected death can be devastating for a family. California’s wrongful death laws allow family members to seek compensation for expenses such as the loss of support and services provided by the deceased, the cost of a funeral service, and burial or cremation. The claimant can also seek compensation for impacts such as the pain and suffering of the deceased before death, as well as the loss of the deceased’s companionship and support.
Wrongful death claims are often accompanied by a survival action, which is a legal action taken by the family members of the deceased on behalf of the deceased’s estate. The type of compensation available through a survival action includes medical bills incurred in the treatment of the deceased’s injuries before their death, property damage related to the accident that resulted in the death, such as damage to a vehicle that the deceased was driving when a fatal car accident occurred, and lost wages from the time of the deceased’s injury and their death.
The team at Kash Legal understands that the trauma facing a family after the loss of a loved one is difficult to get past. Our wrongful death attorneys work with families to determine their goal for the claim and we fight aggressively to help them receive the full value of their claim.
For more information about the wrongful death claims process and answers to the questions you have about your ability to obtain compensation for your loss, call us at (888) 527-4128 or contact us online.
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