What is a Wrongful Death Lawyer?

When a loved one dies, it takes an immense emotional toll on their close relatives. If the death was caused due to the negligence of a person, company, or government entity, the surviving relatives could file a wrongful death claim, usually with the help of a wrongful death lawyer.  Some people search on the internet for an accidental death lawyer.  The proper term is “wrongful death” lawyer.

What is wrongful death

Generally and as defined in California, a wrongful death is a death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.  The wrongdoer could be another person, company, or a government like a city, county, or state.  When a person, company, or government has caused a person’s wrongful death, they can be very often be sued by certain relatives and people who were dependent on the decedent.

Wrongful deaths can be caused by the negligence, willful misconduct, civil rights violations, unlawful act, fault or omission of a person, company, or government entity. A wrongful death could be the result of murder, civil rights violation, police shooting, jail neglect, a negligent or careless act, recklessness, medical malpractice, driving, or many other types of wrongful acts or neglect.

Families and relatives can be affected in different ways, mainly financially and emotionally, so a wrongful death lawsuit will make a case to recover damages (usually monetary compensation) for these losses caused by the death of the person.

How a lawyer can help

When dealing with a wrongful death lawsuit, finding an experienced and reliable lawyer who knows how to win, and how not to lose, a wrongful death case is very important. Wrongful death claims have different rules in every state, so how wrongful death claims are handled in California is not necessarily the same as how they are handled in other states..

As with any other type of complex lawsuit, the lawyers will represent their clients (in this case, the surviving family members or close relatives) in discovery, dispositive motions, and trial, presenting evidence and legal arguments for the claims, to win compensation for the claimants’ losses from their loved one’s wrongful death.

Lawyers can also advise their clients on their obligations, legal rights, and what is the best way to proceed depending on the legal circumstances of the case.

To successfully file a wrongful death suit, the lawyer must understand and sometimes research the legal issues and laws, regulations, and rulings of the state and jurisdiction where the case is being brought.

Lawyers write legal documents like complaints, discovery documents, briefs, and trial documents to reach a wrongful death verdict or settlement.

Why you should get a wrongful death lawyer

Like most lawsuits, the parties in most wrongful death cases settle before trial.  Trial can be risky for both sides, involving uncertainty and delay.  However, to obtain the best possible settlement for surviving family members in a wrongful death case, their lawyer has to work up the case for trial.  Thorougly working up a wrongful death case to be able to present the claims in a strong and compelling way at trial requires a professional – an experienced wrongful death lawyer who knows what it takes, and who invests the resources and effort necessary to win. 

Lawyers can specialize in many different areas like criminal law, civil rights law, personal injury, criminal prosecution, criminal defense, tax, probate, etc.

Finding a lawyer who knows the wrongful death laws of your state is tremendously important since the laws change from state to state.

If your wrongful death case arising from a civil rights violation, then you will need a lawyer who specializes in both wrongful death and civil rights.  Civil rights cases against police or correctional officers are especially unique, and most personal injury lawyers are not qualified to handle a civil rights wrongful death case.

If your loved one has passed due to an accident or injury caused by the misconduct or the negligence of another person, entity, or company your best available avenue for justice and compensation starts by reaching out to an experienced and qualified wrongful death attorney.

The civil rights attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP have a long track record of winning excessive force cases with results that include large settlements and verdicts for their clients, groundbreaking legal rulings, and important reforms to prevent future harms.  Haddad & Sherwin LLP handle only a unique subset of civil rights cases: cases where a person was killed or permanently, catastrophically injured in California by law enforcement or county jail misconduct.  If you would like to consult with experienced civil rights lawyers because your loved one was killed by police or died in a California county jail, then contact the attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP.  If your civil rights were seriously violated, but without death and without permanent, catastrophic injury, you could try the list of civil rights attorneys here.