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If you lose a family member due to someone else’s negligent, reckless, or criminal actions, you may have a right to pursue financial compensation. Surviving family members can sue to recover medical expenses, burial costs, and other losses. Our lawyers handle wrongful death cases in Riverside County regularly.
If someone else is responsible for your loved one’s death, we are here for you. Contact our Temecula wrongful death team today for a free consultation and case assessment. A Temecula personal injury attorney from Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers will fight for justice for you and your loved one. Call us at (844) SARGENT for a free consultation.
Our Temecula Wrongful Death Lawyers Seek Compensation For Families
Some accident victims suffer catastrophic injuries, some of the injuries are not survivable. If your loved one suffered burn injuries, crush injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or died from the complications related to their injuries, this could support a wrongful death case.
Our Temecula personal injury attorneys seek compensation for families whose loved ones suffered fatal injuries because of someone else’s negligence or intentional act. When we can document who caused a fatal incident and what occurred, we can often recover a financial payout for surviving family members.
Damages Our Temecula Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Recover For Families
When successful, our Temecula wrongful death attorneys generally recover money from either the at-fault party’s insurance company or by taking the case to trial. If we win at trial, the court will order the responsible party to pay the victim’s family. In either of these situations, the recoverable damages could include:
Economic Damages
- Medical bills and related expenses for your loved one’s injury treatment before their passing
- Funeral expenses and burial costs
- Lost income and future earnings
- The loss of gifts and benefits due to the surviving family members
- Reasonable losses related to the household services the victim previously provided
Non-Economic Damages
- The loss of companionship, love, care, and other emotional support previously provided by the victim
- The loss of the victim’s training and guidance, usually for their children
- Other damages available depending on the survivor’s relationship to the victim
When our wrongful death attorneys in Temecula handle these cases, we identify and value the recoverable damages for our clients. We consider your expenses and damages related to the loss of their loved one as well as how this loss affects their future. We know how to document your current and future damages, including applying the state’s complex instructions related to life expectancy and income losses.
Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers: Your Local Wrongful Death Law Firm
At Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers, we know how difficult it can be to think about legal action based on your loved one’s final moments. It can be challenging to discuss what happened, and you may worry that you will have to relive the pain again and again. Our team works to make this process as comfortable and easy as possible, helping you get justice for yourself and your surviving loved ones.
Our lawyers work together as a team on every case. Over the years, we have secured more than $40 million in settlements, judgments, and verdicts for our clients, and they have left our firm more than 400 5-star reviews in return. We give each case the attention it deserves, putting our heart into our work. We know our handling of your case could make a difference in your life.
When we handle a case, we use a seven-step process:
- Free Case Review: We generally first meet clients during a free initial consultation.
- Hire Us: We make it easy to understand our contract and how our fees work. We do not want you to sign until we answer all your questions and you feel comfortable with the agreement.
- Case Plan: We investigate what happened and develop an approach to your claim that includes presenting a compelling case to the insurer or a judge and jury.
- Medical Treatment: When we handle personal injury cases, we ensure the victims receive the necessary medical care.
- Negotiations: We demand fair compensation and negotiate with the insurer using the evidence we gathered as leverage.
- Settlement: We often settle the case through negotiations. Our clients receive a fair payout in exchange for an agreement not to continue the case.
- Litigation: When necessary, we sue the liable party or parties and take the case to trial. There, we present evidence and ask the jury to award fair compensation.
We provide free initial case reviews for families who have recently lost a loved one. We also represent families with no upfront fees. You pay us nothing for our legal services until we win money in your case. Contact Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers today for help.
If you’ve been injured or a loved one has been killed through an act of negligence, you need the highest level of legal representation.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Our Seven-Step Wrongful Death Claim Process
When we handle a case, we use a seven-step process:
- Free Case Review: We generally first meet clients during a free initial consultation.
- Hire Us: We make it easy to understand our contract and how our fees work. We do not want you to sign until we answer all your questions and you feel comfortable with the agreement.
- Case Plan: We investigate what happened and develop an approach to your claim that includes presenting a compelling case to the insurer or a judge and jury.
- Medical Treatment: When we handle personal injury cases, we ensure the victims receive the necessary medical care.
- Negotiations: We demand fair compensation and negotiate with the insurer using the evidence we gathered as leverage.
- Settlement: We often settle the case through negotiations. Our clients receive a fair payout in exchange for an agreement not to continue the case.
- Litigation: When necessary, we sue the liable party or parties and take the case to trial. There, we present evidence and ask the jury to award fair compensation.
We provide free initial case reviews for families who have recently lost a loved one. We also represent families with no upfront fees. You pay us nothing for our legal services until we win money in your case. Contact Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers today for help.
Our Lawyers Handle Many Types of Wrongful Death Cases in Temecula, California
Unfortunately, wrongful deaths are far too common. These deaths often occur as the result of carelessness, recklessness, or criminal misconduct. Our personal injury lawyers know how to build compelling cases and hold at-fault parties liable in most negligence cases. This includes:
- Auto accidents
- Drunk driver accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Dog attacks
- Assault, homicide, and other criminal acts
- Slip and falls
- Construction accidents
- Swimming pool fatalities
- Pedestrian accidents
- Workplace accidents
Finding out the precise cause of a wrongful death is complex. Not every accidental death is considered wrongful under state law. A successful wrongful death suit proves who was responsible for the death and how their behavior contributed to the tragedy. While some of these cases depend on showing intentional acts occurred, most depend on documenting negligence.
How Negligence Applies To Temecula Wrongful Death Claims
Negligence is the legal term we use to describe the careless and reckless behavior that causes most fatal injuries that lead to wrongful death claims in Temecula. There are four elements to negligence:
- They owed the victim a duty of care
- They failed to uphold their duty
- Their failure caused the accident or incident
- The victim suffered harm, including fatal injuries in wrongful death cases
For example, in a collision, the at-fault driver owes the victim a duty of care based on the applicable traffic laws. When they violate a law, this is a failure to uphold their duty. Violating a traffic law, such as running a red light, is often the proximate cause of a collision. The victim’s fatal injuries and the family’s losses are the damages suffered.
We Collect Evidence to Show What Happened
A wrongful death lawyer serving Temecula relies on medical and scientific evidence and experts to prove what occurred and hold the at-fault party accountable. The evidence in a case depends greatly on the circumstances. Each case is different. In general, some types of evidence we often use to build a compelling case in a wrongful death lawsuit include:
- Official reports filed by law enforcement or other first responders
- Video of the incident
- Eyewitness statements
- Photographs from the scene
- An accident scene survey
- Accident reconstruction for auto collisions
- Relevant medical records
- Expert testimony from doctors, economists, and others
- Documentation of damages, including medical bills and receipts
If you’ve been injured or a loved one has been killed through an act of negligence, you need the highest level of legal representation.
Call Us Now
New Laws Allow Pain and Suffering Compensation In A Temecula Wrongful Death Claim
In October 2021, California made significant changes to its laws regarding survival actions, which are legal claims that allow the estate or successors of a deceased person to pursue damages that the person could have sought had they survived. The amendment to California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Section 377.34 specifically addresses the types of damages that can be recovered in these survival actions.
Prior to this amendment, CCP Section 377.34 did not permit the recovery of damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement in survival actions. This meant that if a person died as a result of someone else’s wrongful actions, their estate or successors could only recover economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, but not non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
This means that when a person dies due to another party’s wrongful conduct, their estate or successors can now seek compensation for the pain and suffering or disfigurement the deceased experienced prior to their death. The significance of this change is that it allows the estates and families of deceased individuals to pursue a more comprehensive range of damages.
Our Temecula Wrongful Death Attorneys Collect Evidence To Show What Happened
A wrongful death lawyer serving Temecula relies on medical and scientific evidence and experts to prove what occurred and hold the at-fault party accountable. The evidence in a case depends greatly on the circumstances. Each case is different. In general, some types of evidence we often use to build a compelling case in a wrongful death lawsuit include:
- Official reports filed by law enforcement or other first responders
- Video of the incident
- Eyewitness statements
- Photographs from the scene
- An accident scene survey
- Accident reconstruction for auto collisions
- Relevant medical records
- Expert testimony from doctors, economists, and others
- Documentation of damages, including medical bills and receipts
If you’ve been injured or a loved one has been killed through an act of negligence, you need the highest level of legal representation.
- Learn more about misconceptions in wrongful death claims.
How Our Lawyers Manage Wrongful Death Claims in Temecula
The Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers team frequently handles wrongful death cases in Temecula and nearby areas. We understand how the applicable laws work and how to navigate these cases for our clients.
Under Code of Civil Procedure 377.60, California law defines a wrongful death as “the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.” This means that when someone’s negligent or criminal misconduct causes the death of another, they can be held liable for the death in a civil case. Civil wrongful death cases seek to hold the person or entity financially responsible for the damages they caused.
Sometimes, particularly when there are allegations of intentional harm, the accused party could face criminal charges in addition to a civil case. However, any criminal charges are separate from the civil lawsuit. The two cases do not affect one another. In fact, we often secure wrongful death settlements for clients in cases where there are no criminal charges, the criminal charges get dropped, or the party is found not guilty.
Our Wrongful Death Lawyers In Temecula Can Determine Who Can Sue In Your Case
In California, state law protects surviving family members’ right to sue based on their loved one’s wrongful death. However, the law only allows certain family members to file the suit in court. We can help you determine who should represent your family as the plaintiff in your case and how to distribute any money recovered.
Generally, the law divides surviving family members into categories based on priority. If there are no surviving family members in the first category, then relatives in the second category can file the claim instead.
Household Family Members
The first category is household family members, such as the surviving spouse or minor children. Because household family members likely depended on the deceased for direct financial and emotional support, they are given the highest priority. When there are immediate family members living in the household with the deceased, they can file and recover the compensation in a case.
Other Immediate Relatives
The second category of those who could file a claim are other blood relatives, such as an adult victim’s parents, siblings, grandparents, and adult children. These family members can sue and recover compensation if the deceased party is an adult and has no surviving spouse or minor children.
Next of Kin
If there are no surviving relatives who fall into either of these categories, the victim’s closest kin can file the lawsuit. This could include other family members, their named estate executor, or others with a claim to the money, such as a close friend who paid their funeral costs. This is a more difficult process, but we may be able to help.
Anyone considering filing a wrongful death claim in Temecula, CA, should contact an experienced Temecula wrongful death attorney right away. We can help you identify the correct party to represent your family in the case. Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers are ready to serve your family today.
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Our Temecula Wrongful Death Lawyers Will Identify The Correct Statute Of Limitations
Temecula wrongful death lawsuits are subject to California’s statutes of limitations. Families must file their claim in court within a certain time frame; otherwise, they lose the opportunity to pursue the case at all. We ensure our clients do not miss this deadline and protect their right to sue when possible.
In most wrongful death cases, surviving family members have only two years to file their lawsuit per CCP § 335.1. Other factors could affect this timeline. For example, there are special laws that apply when the liable party is a municipal or state agency. You might have less time to act.
In addition, it could take time to develop a strong case to support your claim. Evidence disappears as time passes. We encourage you to contact our Temecula team about your loved one’s death as soon as possible after it occurs. This could allow us to build a stronger case against the liable party or parties.
Given the time sensitivity of these cases, families should call a wrongful death attorney in Temecula as soon as they can to discuss their claim. We do not want you to miss out on money because the evidence we needed disappeared before we could identify and preserve it.
- Learn what questions you should ask a wrongful death lawyer.
Get in Touch With a Temecula Wrongful Death Attorney Today
Do you believe your loved one’s death was due to negligence or someone else’s criminal behavior? Our team from Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers can help you pursue compensation for your loved one’s preventable death. Our Temecula wrongful death lawyers provide free initial case consultations. You could be entitled to financial compensation. Our attorneys can help.
Contact our team today by calling (844) SARGENT. We have someone available to take your call 24/7.
