Did you recently lose a family member in a fatal accident in San Marcos, CA? You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, loss of financial support, and your family’s pain and suffering. An experienced San Marcos wrongful death lawyer at Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to recover the full compensation you deserve.
Our lawyers have over 20 years of experience fighting to protect grieving families in Southern California. In that time, we’ve recovered over $40 million in settlements and verdicts.
Our lawyers will do everything we can to help you through this difficult time. Just call our law offices in San Marcos, California at (619) 344-0360 to schedule your free consultation today.
Why Should I Hire Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers To Help With My Wrongful Death Claim in San Marcos?
Nothing is more painful than losing a loved one. Money may be the last thing on your mind right now. Unfortunately, many grieving families experience financial stress and uncertainty after the death of a family member. That’s especially true if you relied on your loved one’s income.
If someone else was responsible for your loved one’s death, they should be held accountable. That said, you shouldn’t count on the insurance company to be compassionate. An experienced San Marcos personal injury lawyer can help you fight for justice.
At Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers, our lawyers have over two decades of experience in personal injury law. While you grieve, our lawyers will:
- Conduct an investigation into your loved one’s death
- Identify the parties who are liable for your losses
- Defend your family member against any allegations that they caused the accident
- Work with leading experts while we build the strongest case possible
- Aggressively negotiate with the insurance companies for the fair compensation you deserve
Our lawyers understand the pain you’re experiencing. We’ll do everything in our power to get you the money you need and deserve. All you have to do is call to schedule a free consultation with our San Marcos personal injury attorneys today.
How Common Are Fatal Accidents in San Marcos?
Fatal accidents are all too common in California.
297 fatal motor vehicle accidents were reported across San Diego County in 2021. 315 people were killed in those fatal crashes. In 2020, 463 people were killed in fatal workplace accidents across the state of California. Hundreds more die in fatal fall accidents each year.
Overview of California’s Wrongful Death Laws
A wrongful death is a death caused by someone else’s careless, reckless, or wrongful acts. If your loved one would have been entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit had they survived, you may have a valid wrongful death case.
Wrongful death claims are civil matters. You can file a wrongful death lawsuit even if the responsible party did not commit a crime. In fact, most wrongful death lawsuits involve accidents.
If your case is successful, you can recover financial compensation for your losses. There are no criminal penalties involved in wrongful death cases.
What is My San Marcos Wrongful Death Case Worth?
Putting a dollar value on any injury can be difficult. When injuries are fatal, assessing the value of a life can be even more challenging. Like any personal injury claim, it’s critical to understand your case value before agreeing to accept an insurance settlement.
Several different factors are relevant in determining how much your case is worth, including:
- The nature of the accident
- The cost of your loved one’s medical care and other financial expenses
- Your loved one’s age and life expectancy at the time of the accident
- Loss of future earnings, considering your loved one’s education, work history, and prior earnings
- The age and identities of dependent children and family members
- How the loss impacted your family
Many different types of evidence can be useful in establishing your case value. Our lawyers will work closely with your family to fully understand the extent of your loss. We may also bring in experts and specialists who can help with the valuation process.
What Types of Damages Are Available in an Action for Wrongful Death?
Compensatory damages provide victims with money to cover their losses after an injury. Surviving family members can recover compensation for economic and non-economic damages in a successful wrongful death case. If the defendant’s actions were intentional, punitive damages may be available as punishment.
Examples of the types of compensation that may be available include:
- The victim’s medical expenses from the date of the accident to the date of death
- Loss of financial support
- The value of lost household services
- Funeral expenses and burial costs
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of your loved one’s company and support
- Loss of parental guidance and instruction
- Loss of consortium
This type of compensation can’t actually bring your loved one back. However, it can alleviate the financial stress of losing a loved one.
What Happens If My Loved One is Blamed for Causing Their Own Death in California?
People who cause fatal accidents often try to blame the victim for causing the accident. Your loved one isn’t around to defend themselves. If the responsible party succeeds in shifting some of the blame, they can reduce their own financial liability.
Under California’s pure comparative negligence law, each responsible party is assigned a percentage of fault. If your loved one is assigned any blame, your settlement or verdict will be reduced by that percentage. For example, if the defendant can prove that your loved one was 20% to blame, you can only recover 80% of your compensation award.
What Causes Most Fatal Accidents in San Marcos, California?
Fatal accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. Any type of accident can prove to be deadly if it’s serious enough.
At Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers, we handle all types of wrongful death cases, including those involving:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Accidents involving commercial vehicles
- Uber or Lyft accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Boating accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Cruise ship accidents
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Dog bites
- Defective products
- Negligent security
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Violent crimes
Our lawyers in San Marcos are here to help you determine who was responsible for the accident. You can count on us to pursue the full compensation you deserve while you focus on your family’s emotional well-being.
Who is Entitled To Seek Compensation After a Fatal Accident in California?
Under California wrongful death laws, certain surviving family members are entitled to seek compensation for their losses.
An action for wrongful death can be filed by:
- A surviving spouse
- Children
- Grandchildren, if the victim’s children were also deceased
- Domestic partners
It’s also possible that other family members may have the right to seek compensation. Stepchildren, parents, and the decedent’s putative spouse can seek compensation if they can prove they depended on the deceased person for financial support. A putative spouse is a person who believed their marriage to the decedent was valid when it was not.
If no surviving family exists, the person who is entitled to inherit the victim’s estate under California intestate laws is allowed to sue for damages.
Why is Proving Negligence Important in a Wrongful Death Case?
To recover compensation for wrongful death, you must prove that someone else was responsible for your loved one’s death. Most fatal accidents happen because someone was careless. So, you’ll probably have to prove negligence before you can recover any compensation for your losses.
Negligence means:
- The at-fault party owed your loved one a legal duty of care
- They breached the duty of care
- The breach of duty caused your loved one’s death
- You suffered damages
You may not know precisely how your loved one’s death occurred. Our San Marcos wrongful death attorneys will conduct a detailed investigation to find out what happened.
In that investigation, we will:
- Interview witnesses
- Locate video surveillance footage
- Examine police and accident reports
- Assess the accident site
- Evaluate the defendant’s record of past safety violations
- Hire specialists who can offer expert testimony about what happened
No two cases are exactly the same. However, our lawyers have decades of experience handling similar cases. We’ll use that experience to your benefit. To learn more about your legal options, call for a free case review today.
How Long Do I Have To File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit After a Fatal Accident in California?
Every state limits the amount of time you have to take legal action. In California, a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits applies. You have two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a lawsuit. After two years pass, you can no longer sue for damages.
Contact a San Marcos Wrongful Death Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Grieving the loss of a loved one can be unbearable. An experienced San Marcos wrongful death lawyer can help you fight to recover the compensation you need to protect your family’s future. Call Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn more about how our legal team can help your family.
