If you lost a loved one in an accident that was another person or business’s fault, you need to reach out to a Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Wrongful death claims can potentially be filed after an auto accident, slip and fall accident, products liability death or any number of other accidents in which the conduct of another person or product caused the death. An experienced attorney can go over your options with you and help evaluate whether you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim on your deceased loved one’s behalf. For more information on how to file a wrongful death claim in California, click here.
In this article, we will also discuss ways to understand how insurance companies evaluate wrongful death claims.
Liability Issues
As we have discussed over and over again, insurance companies (often even your own!) are generally not on your side. When evaluating a wrongful death claim in Los Angeles, an insurance adjuster will look at whether their client, the person responsible for your loved one’s death, bears legal responsibility for the accident that caused your loved one’s death and will use any possible reason, even if it is not plausible, to shirk that responsibility. Of course, adjusters look at whether the victim may have contributed to the accident in any way, decreasing your financial recovery, and whether the person who caused the accident acted unreasonably or recklessly. This is where a savvy wrongful death lawyer in Los Angeles who knows the games that insurance companies play can stand up for you and fight on your behalf.
Economic Issues Considered in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Though it may seem impossible for you to think of the loss of your loved one’s life in terms of dollars, insurance companies and the adjusters they put on your case are tasked with doing just that. Loss of life may be calculated by considering factors such as:
- Potential lost earnings;
- Medical bills incurred as a result of the accident;
- Funeral and burial expenses; and
- Loss of services and companionship sustained by loved ones.
This list is not exhaustive. A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer can go over other unique factors that may impact the valuation of a wrongful death claim for your situation. Discuss compensatory damages and your likelihood for recovering them in a wrongful death lawsuit with your lawyer today.
For more information on wrongful death lawsuits, contact the trial lawyers at BIKLAW today.