Anaheim Wrongful Death Attorney

Anaheim Wrongful Death Lawyer

Losing a loved one unexpectedly is always a difficult experience, but when you know another party caused their death through negligence, recklessness, or illegal misconduct, it is an especially difficult and frustrating experience that you may not be able to navigate on your own. An experienced and compassionate Anaheim wrongful death attorney is the ideal asset to have on your side in the aftermath of a family member’s unexpected wrongful death.

Representing Wrongful Death Claims in Anaheim, CA

Duque & Price provides compassionate and responsive legal counsel for a wide range of personal injury cases in Anaheim, including wrongful death cases. Losing a family member is never easy, especially when a death occurs due to another party’s negligence, recklessness, or illegal actions. It is natural to want to ensure accountability for the party responsible for your loved one’s death, and you are likely to have many questions about how you can recover from the economic impact.

An experienced Anaheim wrongful death attorney can help you make clearer sense of your legal options in this difficult situation. The team at Duque & Price can work closely with you to help you understand the process of filing your wrongful death case, gather the evidence needed to establish fault for the death, and explain the various forms of compensation you are able to seek with the claim.

Money cannot replace a lost family member, but a successful wrongful death suit in Anaheim can provide a sense of closure and reassurance by holding the defendant accountable. The compensation you and your family receive can help you adjust to your new circumstances and can account for the financial impact of your loved one’s death. Our firm’s goal is to help you navigate your wrongful death proceedings with confidence and efficiency.

Proving Liability for a Wrongful Death in Anaheim

A wrongful death suit is a type of personal injury case, and in every personal injury case, the victim must identify the party responsible for injuring them, prove how they caused the injury, and establish a clear causal link between the defendant’s actions and their claimed damages. The same procedural foundation applies in wrongful death suits. The plaintiff filing the case must prove the defendant directly caused their loved one’s death through negligence or illegal action.

Some of the most commonly cited causes of wrongful deaths in Anaheim and surrounding areas include various types of motor vehicle crashes, work accidents in high-risk fields, and serious injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents. The main determining factor as to whether you have grounds for legal recourse in response to a loved one’s death is if the death resulted from another party’s actions. If so, you must prove fault to win your case.

Your Anaheim wrongful death attorney can help you gather crucial evidence for establishing liability. For example, if your loved one died in a car accident, your attorney could secure traffic camera footage from around the accident scene, the police report from the accident, and testimony from eyewitnesses to help you prove fault. In some cases, expert witness testimony can be invaluable for establishing liability.

The standard of proof in a civil claim for damages is a preponderance of the evidence. This means that the evidence must show that the death, more likely than not, occurred directly because of the defendant’s actions. Once fault is established, the plaintiff will need to show proof of the full extent of the surviving family’s damages.

Claiming Compensation for a Wrongful Death in Anaheim

If you are able to prove a defendant is directly responsible for causing your loved one’s death, you have the right to hold them accountable for all economic losses related to the death. These losses can include:

• Funeral and burial expenses. Because the funeral and burial will likely occur prior to the completion of the wrongful death case, whoever covered these costs can expect reimbursement from the defendant if the case is successful.
• Lost financial support. If the deceased earned income for their family, the family has the right to seek compensation for this economic loss. Your Anaheim wrongful death attorney can assess how much the deceased would have likely earned in the future had they survived and hold the defendant accountable for these projected losses.
• Lost value of household services. When the deceased took care of the family home, provided childcare, and managed other domestic services for their family, the plaintiff filing the wrongful death suit has the right to seek compensation for the loss of these services. Your attorney can help you determine an appropriate amount to seek with the claim.
• Damages to the deceased’s estate. It is possible for the family to file a survival action seeking compensation for damages the victim could have sought with a personal injury claim if they had survived. These may include the cost of their final medical expenses and other losses incurred by their estate.

In addition to these economic damages, it is also possible for the plaintiff filing the wrongful death suit to seek compensation for pain and suffering. Losing a loved one due to another party’s negligence or illegal misconduct is a traumatic experience. If the deceased left behind a surviving spouse, children, and other beneficiaries, they have the right to seek financial compensation for the pain they have suffered.

Your Anaheim wrongful death attorney can help you and your family determine a suitable level of compensation to seek from the defendant for your non-economic damages. Ultimately, many different factors can influence the final value of any wrongful death suit, and having the right attorney handle your case is the optimal way to ensure the greatest chance of not only winning your case but also maximizing your compensation.

Duque & Price has the professional experience, skills, and resources necessary to handle the most challenging wrongful death cases in Anaheim and surrounding areas. We know you are likely to have lots of difficult legal questions in the aftermath of a wrongful death, and we want to provide support and reassurance in this challenging situation.

FAQs

How Do You Prove Fault for a Wrongful Death in Anaheim?

Proving fault for a wrongful death in Anaheim requires identifying the defendant responsible for causing the death, proving how their actions directly caused the death, and showing the full extent of the financial impact of the death on the surviving family of the deceased. Your Anaheim wrongful death lawyer can help you determine what forms of evidence will be supportive of your case.

Who Is Eligible to File a Wrongful Death Suit?

Only certain parties are eligible to file a wrongful death suit. Generally, the surviving spouse is first with the right to file a wrongful death suit, followed by the surviving children or parents of the victim. If the deceased did not have close family, siblings, and other extended relatives may file the suit. If no kin files the wrongful death claim, any party with a legal claim to the contents of the estate or who was financially dependent on the deceased may file the suit.

How Much Is a Wrongful Death Suit Worth in Anaheim?

It is very difficult to assess the economic value of a wrongful death suit in Anaheim. While most personal injury cases seek to compensate injured victims so they can be as whole as possible again, money cannot replace the life of a lost family member. The objective of a wrongful death suit is to hold the defendant accountable for the financial losses resulting from the death and to compensate the surviving family for their pain and suffering.

Why Do I Need to Hire an Anaheim Wrongful Death Lawyer?

You need to hire an Anaheim wrongful death lawyer because these cases are more difficult to resolve than you may realize, and the emotional strain of the situation makes the situation even more challenging. The right attorney can manage your legal affairs for you, address your concerns, and help you make informed decisions about your case. You are more likely to win your case and more likely to maximize your case award with an attorney’s help.

What Does It Cost to Hire an Anaheim Wrongful Death Lawyer?

The cost to hire an Anaheim wrongful death lawyer will be a percentage of your case award when you choose Duque & Price to represent you. With our contingency fee policy, we are able to provide comprehensive legal counsel regardless of the client’s financial situation. There are no upfront fees, and we only take a contingency fee if we are able to recover compensation for the client. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

Duque & Price has a strong professional record of successful personal injury cases in Anaheim and surrounding areas, including wrongful death suits. We know the emotional strain these cases carry and the many questions you are likely to have about your legal options after losing a loved one to negligence or illegal misconduct. Contact us today and schedule a free consultation with an Anaheim wrongful death attorney to learn how we can assist you.