There is no cap on awards in most wrongful death cases. California caps only the non-economic damages awarded in medical negligence wrongful death cases. The compensation for economic damages isn’t limited.
If you have lost a loved one, you and your family will deal with grief and loss. Unfortunately, families can also be hit with significant financial damage just days after a tragic accident. A wrongful death insurance claim can seek support for families as they deal with funeral costs, medical bills, and the loss of income a victim may have supported the family with.
Our Bakersfield Wrongful Death Lawyers offer a free and confidential case consultation to all family members. This case review and answer session comes with no obligation. It’s an easy way for families to understand their rights and learn how to hold those at fault fully accountable.
When to Seek a Lawyer for Your Wrongful Death Case
With a case as complex and as potentially valuable as a wrongful death claim, families can find themselves completely let down by insurance providers. Insurance companies for those at fault for an accident can refuse to help families and instead focus on avoiding liability, and even blaming the victim.
There is no price that can be put on the loss of a precious life, but the financial harm a tragic death causes to those left behind can’t be underestimated. A skilled attorney fights back to make sure insurers accept blame and provide what’s fair to families so they are provided for in the years ahead.
These are a few of the situations where your family could benefit from the help of a wrongful death lawyer:
- When you must seek support from an unhelpful insurance company
- When a company or government entity is at fault and involves its own lawyers in your family’s case
- What an at-fault party denies blame and points the finger of blame at a deceased loved one
- When an insurer’s settlement offer won’t cover all of your family’s financial damages after a fatal accident
- When an insurer doesn’t offer support for the emotional trauma that your family must find a way to cope with
Families can always file a wrongful death claim on their own, but they could fail to secure everything possible. Our lawyers can fully investigate what happened to keep the responsibility fully with the insurers. Then we negotiate for the maximum in settlement money possible, keeping in mind that there is no limit on the support available. We handle the entire frustrating process while allowing families the time to grieve in peace and support each other.
A Free Wrongful Death Case Consultation for Families
Families will understandably be dealing with powerful emotions and may not have the bandwidth to figure out what to do next. That’s okay. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield can help answer all questions. We want to help you determine if your family has a case, what an insurer should provide to your family, and the best way to secure every benefit possible.
Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield for a free case consultation.
Keep in mind that if your family decides that a lawyer can help earn them more, they will never have to worry about how they’ll pay our law firm. We only get paid if we win the case for the family. Then, our attorney’s fee is paid out of the settlement check that an insurance company is forced to write.
What Families Should Expect Out of a Wrongful Death Claim
A spouse or children of the victim would have the first right to file a wrongful death claim and represent the entire family. A Bakersfield wrongful death attorney can also represent the entire family.
An experienced lawyer would create a complete list of every economic damage the family had faced and will face. This can include things that come with receipts, like burial costs and medical bills. But non-economic damages should also be considered when deciding how much the family should take home.
Non-economic damages can be harder to put a price tag on, such as the emotional trauma close relatives are put through. But these hardships are very real, and families should earn support.
A lawyer would demand support for these and other damages for clients:
- The full cost of a funeral
- Support for the loss of the victim’s paychecks that may have been used to support a spouse, children, and others each month
- Support to pay hospital bills and emergency response fees left behind by a victim
- Support to help families cope with the emotional trauma caused by the loss of a beloved family member
- Support for the care and a sense of safety and protection that families have lost
- Support for the special moments in life that must now occur without a precious loved one, such as wedding days, holidays, and the birth of children
The Limit on What California Families Can Earn in a Wrongful Death Claim
California places no limit on what families can be awarded in a wrongful death claim. In a fatal car accident on Truxtun Avenue, or a deadly fall on the crumbling stairwell at an apartment complex or rental property, careless drivers and negligent landlords can face liability.
Their car insurance companies or commercial liability insurance providers must provide whatever families need to cope and be able to avoid financial turmoil in the years ahead. And there is generally no cap on what families can earn in a settlement check for a wrongful death.
- The one exception is in a medical negligence wrongful death case. The economic damages wouldn’t be limited. However, the compensation for emotional damages involved in the case can be limited. In California, the current limit is around $600,000. The limit automatically rises each year.
There may not be a limit on normal wrongful death cases, but when families try to take on giant insurance companies and corporate lawyers themselves, they often receive far less than they should.
A skilled attorney knows how to put pressure on insurers, keep them from escaping blame. An experienced lawyer also knows when a settlement offer isn’t enough, and is ready to reject that offer and demand more. Grieving families are usually limited in what they can secure for their future, and they shouldn’t accept less.
Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Bakersfield
If you have lost a family member and an individual or business was to blame, contact us to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real, local attorney.
We never want to see California families forced to agonize over financial issues simply because an insurer for an at-fault party wants to save money. Let us make sure you receive everything needed for your family to rebuild their lives.
Remember, families in mourning don’t need to have any money to pay a lawyer to secure powerful legal representation. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield works on a contingency basis for families dealing with a tragedy. You don’t pay anything unless we win your case for your family. Then, our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurer must write for you.