It’s a day like any other, and then you receive the news – somebody you love has suddenly passed away due to an unpredictable accident. People in this situation often feel overwhelmed or may even be in a state of shock.

Furthermore, many who’ve lost loved ones in accidents are suddenly financially insecure and don’t know how they’ll be able to keep living their lives after suffering such a traumatic loss.

Thankfully, it’s possible to reach out for help. As St. Helena wrongful death lawyers, it’s our job to ensure that grieving families can recover fair compensation after fatal accidents so they can move forward with their lives. Call our legal team today at (707) 564-1900 for a free consultation.

Under the California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, wrongful death is defined as the death of a person proximately caused by the action or lack of reasonable action of another person or entity. If someone dies due to another party’s negligence, it can be considered wrongful.

There are a wide variety of different accident types that can result in wrongful death cases. Some of the accident types that our firm handles include:

• Auto accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Boat accidents
• Plane accidents
• Train accidents
• Medical malpractice cases
• Products liability cases
• Workplace accidents
• Farm equipment accidents
• Wildfire death cases
• Pedestrian accidents

The impact that sudden death has on your family can be immense. Many families are left with major hospital bills for life-saving efforts performed before their loved one passes away. Also, losing a household member may leave you without your primary source of income or access to vital, expensive services like cleaning, childcare, home repairs, and more. Altogether, these economic damages can leave families worried about how they’ll be able to afford funeral and burial costs or even pay their bills.

All of the damages described above can be recovered through wrongful death claims. Because things like lost income, medical bills, and funeral expenses come with an easily defined price, they are considered economic damages, one of the two main types of compensation available through wrongful death claims.

The other primary type of compensation that dependents and/or families can claim is non-economic damages. While it isn’t possible to truly replace the presence of a person in your life, non-economic damages attempt to provide families with payments for their personal suffering. Often, non-economic damages in wrongful death cases include payments for loss of spousal companionship, loss of parental guidance, and other losses related to your quality of life.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but losing them without warning can be even more challenging. While coping with grief after a fatal accident can be very painful, many people have done it before, and there are numerous resources for those grieving families. For a simple overview of the stages of grief, take a minute to watch the following YouTube video:

Often, those who lost loved ones are under massive stress, and many people think of reaching out to an attorney as another stressful task and delay getting help. However, at-fault parties like negligent drivers or product manufacturers usually take quick and aggressive steps to defend themselves from financial responsibility. Unfortunately, this can make it hard for families to obtain the payments they deserve.

For this reason, it’s essential to contact a trusted St. Helena wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible. Not only does having an attorney early on help your lawyer to be more effective, but knowing that a legal expert is handling your case can help you focus on spending time with your loved ones.

One of the primary reasons people delay calling an attorney is that they aren’t sure how to find a lawyer they know they can trust. Researching the right one can feel overwhelming with so many attorneys advertising on billboards, social media, television, and more.

However, finding a qualified, experienced wrongful death lawyer is easy if you know what to look for. As you search for a lawyer, keep these things in mind:

• Reputation – ensure your lawyer is well-respected by their peers and clients by reviewing their profiles online. Their ratings and reviews should give you a good idea of their reputation.
• Experience – your lawyer must have ample experience successfully handling cases like yours. Look for the settlements and verdicts page on an attorney’s website, or ask them personally about their past successes.
• Resources – taking on a significant wrongful death case requires a lot of help. For this reason, smaller law firms are often unable to do everything possible to defend your right to compensation. For an idea of whether or not your attorney has the necessary resources to handle your case, ask them if they would be comfortable going to trial.

If you have lost a loved one in a preventable accident, please contact our experienced St. Helena wrongful death attorneys at (800) 404-5400 or (707) 564-1900. Our expert legal team will gladly give you free, friendly advice.

We have been helping people in St. Helena with wrongful death cases since 1982 and have obtained many high-value case settlements and verdicts for our clients.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 10.16.23] Photo by Lars Mulder from Pexels ms llo [cs 922]}