Losing a loved one brings an immense amount of pain for a family. Knowing that your loved one’s death could have been avoided only makes that pain worse. Although nothing can undo the loss your family has been through, you may be able to demand a sense of justice in the form of financial compensation.
For over 50 years, the wrongful death lawyers in Los Angeles of Custodio & Dubey LLP have advocated for families who have lost loved ones in tragic but preventable accidents. We know that the emotional and financial burden of a loved one’s passing can put a serious strain on a family. We do everything we can to help relieve this stress and guide families through this difficult time.
Our attorneys have a proven track record of obtaining millions of dollars in compensation for our clients in wrongful death claims. Our team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your questions and explain your legal options. Contact our firm now for a free consultation.
Not every accidental death will be deemed a wrongful one. For instance, if a person is in a vehicle crash caused by inclement weather, no one is really to blame for that unless there were other factors involved.
So how do you know if your loved one’s death qualifies as a wrongful death? To recover compensation in a wrongful death case, you will need to prove that your loved one’s death was caused by someone else’s negligent, reckless, or willful acts or omissions.
In a wrongful death claim based on negligence, you will need to prove four elements:
- The at-fault party owed your family member a duty of care.
- The at-fault party committed an act or omission that breached the duty of care.
- This breach of the duty of care constituted the direct and proximate cause of your loved one’s death. In other words, there were no other intervening causes of your loved one’s death.
- You and your family suffered damages that you can be compensated for.
If arguing that the other party recklessly caused your loved one’s death, you must prove the party consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his/her/its acts and/or omissions would result in serious bodily injury or death. For example, if someone caused your loved one’s death in a car accident while street racing, that could be considered reckless.
If arguing that someone willfully caused your family member’s death, you must show that party intended, through actions or omissions, for your loved one to suffer serious bodily injury or death, such as if your loved one was assaulted with a deadly weapon.
