Thousands of innocent people lose their lives in wrongful death accidents each year. Wrongful death extinguishes a life caused by another party’s negligent actions or inaction. Wrongful deaths occur in various circumstances. For example, over 90,000 people die as a result of medical malpractice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 45,000 people die in car wrecks yearly. Of these deaths, over 5,000 occurred in collisions with commercial trucks and big rigs. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that nearly 6,000 fatalities resulted from workplace accidents.

Wrongful death can occur in any situation. If you lost a loved one in a preventable accident caused by the negligence of an individual or company, speak to a Citrus Heights wrongful death lawyer at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 to discuss your legal options. An injury lawyer can advise you on whether taking legal action against the negligent party makes sense.

The types of damages that can be recovered through a wrongful death claim include the following:

• Funeral costs
• Burial costs
• Loss of your loved one’s earnings, including future earnings
• Your loss of a partner and companion in life
• The loss of guidance and mentorship provided to your children
• Any medical bills incurred as a result of the accident 
• Emotional stress and anxiety are associated with the sudden loss of someone you care about 

It makes sense to retain a wrongful death attorney for multiple reasons. First and foremost, you just lost someone you cared about deeply. You should focus on the grieving process and picking up the pieces of your life. You should not worry about negotiations with an insurance adjuster and filing pleadings in court. They will investigate the incident that resulted in your loved one’s death and assess all available forms of insurance coverage. Once the insurance company, or companies, are contacted, your lawyer will negotiate on your behalf to reach a satisfactory settlement or file a lawsuit.

Another reason to hire an attorney is that it is a low-risk, high-reward proposition. Most wrongful death lawyers in and around Citrus Heights offer free initial consultations, so there is no monetary cost to you to meet with an attorney. Furthermore, most wrongful death lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis. This means you are not required to pay a hefty retainer fee or an outrageous hourly fee for legal representation. Instead, your lawyer gets paid when a settlement or jury verdict obtains a financial recovery.

The following video explains more about a wrongful death claim.

Choosing the right wrongful death attorney can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. If you hire a competent and qualified lawyer with extensive experience in wrongful death litigation, there is a greater chance of achieving a satisfactory settlement or verdict. If you hire an attorney with little-to-no trial experience, there is a greater chance the insurance company will make low-ball settlement offers, and a jury may not find them persuasive enough to decide in your favor. Below are some essential traits you should look for in your hiring decision:

• The lawyer you meet with is sensitive to your situation and asks how you and your family are doing.
• The lawyer takes the time to explain all the available legal options to you in a no-pressure manner.
• The lawyer has a reputation as a top-notch personal injury and wrongful death litigator.
• The lawyer took a wrongful death case to trial and succeeded.

If you are hesitant about taking legal action out of concern that you will lose your case and tarnish the memory of your lost loved one, take a moment to consider other families who stood up and pursued some semblance of justice on behalf of their deceased loved one who died in wrongful death accidents.

A jury awarded a 13-year-old girl $150 million in damages due to a tragic accident in Southern California that killed her three family members. The accident involved an SUV carrying family members that crashed into an illegally parked commercial truck. This awful accident left only two surviving children. According to Fox News, their parents and a sibling died in the collision.

According to The Mercury News, in San Mateo County, a jury entered a verdict of $8 million against Evenflo Co. Inc. for the wrongful death of a 7-month-old girl. The jury determined that Evenflo’s mattress pad suffocated the child after being placed face-down for a nap. The parents argued that their child died because she couldn’t breathe through the material. A jury agreed and held the manufacturer liable for this awful incident.

In a medical malpractice case, a jury reached a verdict in favor of a family that lost a mother in a surgical error case. The jury entered a verdict of $1.75 million in damages, according to mynewsla.com. The mother went in for treatment at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The doctors who treated her were deemed negligent in their care. The doctors reportedly failed to diagnose a cut in the patient’s stomach, which caused internal bleeding and the mother’s death.