Ventura Wrongful Death Attorney

Wrongful Death

At the Quirk Law Firm, LLP, we know that losing a loved one is devastating.  When you have lost a spouse or a child in a preventable accident, you deserve to be compensated.  California law entitles a wrongful death victim’s heirs to loss of love, society, companionship, financial support, household services and funeral and burial expenses.

When you lose a loved one because of another person’s negligence, you should speak with an experienced Ventura personal injury lawyer.

What is a Ventura Wrongful Death Accident?

Wrongful death law is similar to personal injury law. Wrongful death accidents happen when a person sustains a fatal injury as a result of another person or entity’s negligence or wrongful act. Within this type of law, the heirs of the deceased person may be eligible to file a claim for compensation based on their loved one’s fatal personal injury.

Wrongful death claims occur when an accident victim suffers a fatal injury and no longer can file a personal injury lawsuit on her own behalf. In other words, under the California Code of Civil Procedure, the survivors step in for the deceased by filing a lawsuit that is similar to a personal injury claim.

However, wrongful death claims have their own statute of limitations, and the survivors of the deceased may be entitled to different kinds of compensation than what is normally available in a personal injury lawsuit.

Filing A Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Who can file a wrongful death claim? Under California Code of Civil Procedure 377.60, the following people may be able to bring a lawsuit:

  • A spouse or domestic partner of the deceased
  • Children of the deceased
  • Parents or siblings of the deceased; and/or
  • Grandparents of the deceased’
  • Minors who resided in the decedent’s house for 180 days before his/her death and who was financially dependent on the decedent

Depending on the particular case, other parties may be able to file a claim. To learn more, you should contact an attorney with experience handling wrongful death accidents in Ventura.

Punitive Damages In A Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Punitive damages are available in a wrongful death lawsuit if the decedent survived the accident, however briefly, or if the property of the decedent was damaged or lost before death.  A showing that the decedent died minutes after he or she sustained an injury for which punitive damages are sought is sufficient to meet this requirement.  However, if the action is based on a death that resulted from a homicide for which the defendant has been convicted of a felony, punitive damages may be recovered by the personal representative regardless of whether the decedent died instantly or survived the accident for a period of time.

Types of Ventura Wrongful Death Accidents in Ventura

Accidents can occur anytime and can happen anywhere. In most cases, the types of accidents that lead to personal injury claims can also result in wrongful death lawsuits. The Quirk Law Firm, LLP regularly handles wrongful death cases related to some of the following fatal accidents:

Is Pursuing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit an Effort Worth Your Time?

If you’re unsure of whether you want to sit down with a Ventura, CA wrongful death lawyer to discuss your case, understand that your hesitation is normal. Although some surviving loved ones process their grief, in part, by seeking legal justice and financial compensation from those who are responsible for their loss, others find the process of seeking justice to be anxiety-inducing. However you are feeling about the process of exploring your legal options is truly understandable.
It may help you to understand why the dedicated legal team at Quirk Law Firm, LLP encourages surviving loved ones to speak with us as soon as they possibly can after sustaining such a loss. Certainly, it is very helpful to be able to begin gathering and preserving evidence that may eventually prove to be critical to the outcome of a case. And certainly, it is very helpful to begin fielding communications on a client’s behalf so that we can begin protecting their rights.
But the primary reasons why we encourage surviving loved ones to act quickly – even though they are struggling with the initial waves of their grieving process – is that we want to take the stress and financial burdens that will begin to bear down on them off of their shoulders before they get out of hand. When a loved one dies, the financial consequences associated with that loss can be truly significant. Some families even go bankrupt due to this situation. If you are owed compensation as a result of your loss, we don’t want you to have to bear the legal and financial burdens of that reality for a moment longer than you have to. By speaking with our team, you can better ensure that you and your family don’t have to suffer any more than you already are as a result of the tragedy that has befallen you and your loved ones.

Considerations: Work-Related Fatal Harm

It is especially important for you to consult with our Ventura wrongful death lawyer team immediately if your loved one’s fatal harm was work-related. If your loved one benefitted from workers’ compensation coverage at the time that they sustained their fatal harm, you and other surviving loved ones may be entitled to significant workers’ compensation death benefits. Applying for these benefits is a far more time-sensitive process than filing a wrongful death lawsuit is. As a result, you’ll need to act quickly or you could be barred from receiving benefits that would otherwise be rightfully yours.

A Word About Social Media

If possible, you and your loved ones should refrain from discussing details of your loved one’s death and any other information that could potentially influence the outcome of your case on social media. Although the compassionate legal team at Quirk Law Firm, LLP treats surviving loved ones with the greatest possible respect, not all Ventura wrongful death lawyer teams and insurance companies can say the same. Don’t give them any excuse to pay you and your family less than you are owed.

Contact An Experienced Ventura Accident Attorney

When you file a wrongful death claim, you may be eligible for significant damages. In addition to compensatory damages designed to help you pay for hospital bills, funeral expenses, and lost wages connected to the deceased’s accident, you also may be eligible for compensation related to your psychological and emotional losses. Contact us immediately to learn more about how we can help.  We are available 24/7 and our strategy sessions are always free.  We look forwarding to helping you.