Wrongful Death

 

Helping People With Their Wrongful Death Claims

Read how Russell & Lazarus has successfully resolved many clients’ accident claims. While these results are not guaranteed in other cases, they show the importance of hiring an experienced law firm that handles only personal injury claims.

When an accident results in a fatality, surviving family members may be entitled to damages. A wrongful death action can be emotionally taxing and extremely difficult to prove. For this reason, you will want to work with an Orange County wrongful death attorney.

Generally, a personal representative of the victim must bring a wrongful death lawsuit. Similarly, any monetary award is typically distributed to the deceased’s estate. An experienced Orange County wrongful death attorney can help walk you through the steps of bringing a wrongful death action.

If you would like an idea of how your specific wrongful death claim could result in a positive outcome, contact the attorneys at Russell & Lazarus today for a complimentary case evaluation.

Wrongful Death Case Results

Awarded: $2,500,000 to his family

Awarded: $1,100,000 to her family

Proving a Wrongful Death Lawsuit with an Orange County Accident Lawyer

Even if an accident results in a fatality, this does not automatically mean that damages will be awarded. Instead, you will need to work with an Orange wrongful death attorney to help prove the necessary elements of a wrongful death:

  • Death. A wrongful death action is separated from other negligence actions due to the death of the victim.
  • Caused by Negligence. The accident needs to be caused by the other party’s negligence. An Orange County accident attorney can help you review the accident circumstances to determine whether negligence or carelessness is present.
  • Survival of Family Members. The plaintiff needs to have the requisite relationship to the deceased.

It should be kept in mind that, unlike other personal injury claims, wrongful death actions are not brought on behalf of the deceased, but for losses suffered by immediate survivors, which is usually the spouse and dependent children.

Damages You Can Collect with the Help of an Orange County Wrongful Death Attorney

An Orange County accident attorney can help you collect many types of monetary awards in a wrongful death action. Some of these include:

  • Loss of support. The amount you can recover may depend on the deceased’s age, earning capacity, and other factors.
  • Medical expenses. These can include hospital bills, therapy, medicine and drugs, and other expenses.
  • Punitive damages. You may be entitled to punitive damages in egregious cases where the court wants to punish or make an example of the defendant. Talk to an Orange County accident attorney to learn whether punitive damages are available.

Contact an Orange County Wrongful Death Attorney

If you have a question about a wrongful death claim, contact an Orange County wrongful death attorney at Russell & Lazarus for a complimentary case evaluation.

DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case.