Glendale Wrongful Death Attorney

All deaths feel terribly wrong to grieving loved ones, but when the death was preventable and caused by another party’s actions or negligence, it’s legally a wrongful death under California’s tort laws. No legal action can return a lost loved one, but a successful Glendale wrongful death claim relieves the financial hardship caused by the loss and brings a voice for justice through financial accountability. Contact our Glendale personal injury lawyer to speak to a compassionate wrongful death lawyer who is ready to become your family’s tireless ally at (844) 669-9529.

Glendale Wrongful Death Lawyer

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Why Selecting Onyx Law Firm May be the Right Choice for Your Glendale Wrongful Death case

No one should have to take on a challenging legal endeavor while they are still navigating shock and grief after a loved one’s wrongful death. By hiring Onyx Law Firm, you can expect the following:

• An empathetic Glendale attorney working on your case with the support of an entire legal team and staff
• Access to expert witnesses such as medical examiners, medical professionals, and accident reconstruction specialists to support your case
• An open-communication policy with respect to your family’s grieving process

Your Glendale wrongful death attorney from Onyx Law Firm charges no upfront fees. With contingency-based payment, we work at no cost to you unless and until you’ve received your family’s compensation.

California’s Wrongful Death Law

Per California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, a wrongful death claim can be filed when a person’s death is caused by the “wrongful act or neglect of another.” The law covers deaths resulting from negligence, recklessness, and intentional misconduct alike, meaning your family may have grounds to pursue a claim regardless of whether the responsible party acted carelessly or deliberately.

It is also important to note that wrongful death cases are handled in civil court, not criminal court. Even if the responsible party is facing criminal charges, your family’s civil claim is entirely separate. 

The burden of proof in a civil case is “by a preponderance of the evidence,” as well, which is a lower threshold than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required for a criminal conviction. That means your family can succeed in a wrongful death lawsuit even if criminal charges are never filed or result in an acquittal.

What Is Negligence and How Do I Prove It in a Wrongful Death Case?

Most wrongful death claims in California are built on negligence at the end of the day, which essentially means the same thing as carelessness. To prove negligence, our attorneys will need to establish four legal elements:

• Duty of care: The responsible party owed your loved one a legal obligation to act with reasonable care. For example, every driver on the road owes a duty of care to other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.
• Breach of duty: The responsible party failed to meet that standard. Running a red light, performing a medical procedure incorrectly, or failing to maintain a safe property are all examples of a breach.
• Causation: The breach must have been a substantial factor in causing your loved one’s death. We will use things like medical records, expert testimony, and accident reconstruction to connect the two.
• Damages: Your family must have suffered measurable losses as a result of the death, whether financial, personal, or both.

Building a successful negligence claim requires thorough documentation and, in many situations, expert testimony and analysis. Our wrongful death attorneys can handle this process from start to finish so that your family can focus on what’s most important: each other.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death In California

Many grieving family members aren’t certain if their loved one’s death qualifies for a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death is a category of personal injury law under California Code, CCP 377.60. If the circumstances of the death had allowed the injury victim to file a personal injury claim if they’d survived the accident or incident, then the family may file a wrongful death claim. Common causes of wrongful death in Glendale and elsewhere in California include the following:

• Car accidents
• Uber and Lyft accidents
• Drunk driving accidents
• Truck accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Premises liability cases, such as apartment fires and staircase accidents
• Defective products
• Medical malpractice
• Workplace fatalities

When someone else’s careless, reckless, or intentionally wrongful actions cause a death, it is legal negligence, leaving the at-fault party liable for damages. A wrongful death claim proceeds independently of any criminal charges that might be pending in the case. While the criminal justice system focuses on punishing wrongdoers, California’s civil court system serves to compensate victims, including in wrongful death cases.

Who Can File for Wrongful Death In California?

California limits those who may file a wrongful death claim to close family members who suffer the economic losses associated with the death. The court allows only a decedent’s spouse, domestic partner, parent, adult child, or—if none of those survive the decedent—the person who would inherit the decedent’s estate under the state’s intestacy laws may file a claim.

How Much Is My Glendale Wrongful Death Case Worth?

Placing a dollar figure on the loss of a loved one is virtually impossible. However, damages are the only remedy the civil court system can provide, and our job is to make sure your family recovers every dollar the law allows you to recover.

Some of the factors that influence the value of a wrongful death case include:

• Your loved one’s age, health, and life expectancy at the time of death
• The income and financial support they provided to the family
• The household services and caregiving they contributed
• The nature of your relationship and the companionship you have lost
• The strength of the evidence linking the responsible party’s conduct to the death

Note that California law does not allow surviving family members to recover damages for their own grief or emotional distress in a wrongful death claim. Nonetheless, the other categories of damages can often add up to substantial amounts in these cases. 

How Does Shared Fault Work in a California Wrongful Death Claim?

It is common for defendants and insurance companies to try to shift some or all of the blame onto the person who passed away, a tactic designed to reduce the amount they have to pay. California’s pure comparative negligence system governs how shared fault is handled in these cases.

Under this rule, your family can still recover compensation even if your loved one was partially at fault for the accident. The total damages will be reduced by their assigned percentage of responsibility, but the claim will not be thrown out entirely. For example, if your loved one is found 25 percent at fault and the total damages are $1,000,000, your family can still recover $750,000.

Our law firm knows how to counter these allegations with evidence and will work to ensure your loved one is not assigned more blame than the facts support.

Will My Glendale Wrongful Death Case Go to Trial?

The majority of wrongful death cases in California are resolved through settlement negotiations before they ever reach a courtroom. However, there are situations where going to trial is the right choice for your family.

A trial may become necessary if the defendant denies responsibility altogether, disputes the extent of your damages, or refuses to make a settlement offer that fairly reflects your losses. In those circumstances, having an attorney on your side who is experienced in the courtroom matters. Onyx Law Firm is fully prepared to take your case to trial if the other side will not negotiate in good faith.

It is also worth knowing that settlement discussions can continue at any point during the litigation process. Filing a lawsuit and preparing for trial often puts additional pressure on the defendant, which can lead to a better offer. Our legal team will advise you on whether a settlement makes sense or whether pushing forward to trial is in your family’s best interest.

What Damages Are Recoverable in Glendale Wrongful Death Cases?

A family member’s sudden, preventable death is not only emotionally tragic for loved ones left behind, but it’s often costly. A wrongful death case does not bring the loved one back, but it allows the family to focus on their mourning by recovering compensation, such as the following:

• Reimbursement for medical expenses if the decedent received care before their death
• Funeral and burial costs
• Compensation for a family member’s lost income
• Compensation for the lost income and benefits for the working years the decedent would have had remaining to them if they hadn’t perished
• Loss of household services
• Compensation for the family’s grief and anguish
• Compensation for a spouse’s loss of companionship and consortium and/or the loss of a parent or child’s love and support

Evidence in wrongful death cases, such as eyewitness testimony, medical examiner’s reports, invoices and receipts, and employment records, all help support a claim for the maximum compensation available.

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Cases

How Our Compassionate Wrongful Death Lawyers in Glendale Can Help You

Pursuing a wrongful death claim while mourning the loss of a family member is an enormous burden, and the insurance companies will not pause out of respect for your grief. Having an experienced wrongful death lawyer on your side can go a long way toward protecting your family’s interests at every stage.

If you hire Onyx Law Firm to handle your wrongful death case in Glendale, we can:

• Investigate the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death
• Identify all parties who may bear legal responsibility
• Calculate the full scope of your family’s losses
• Collect and preserve critical evidence before it disappears
• Manage every communication with insurers and opposing counsel
• Negotiate for a settlement that reflects the true value of your claim
• Take your case to trial if the other side will not offer a fair resolution

Our trial attorneys have years of experience and have already secured meaningful recoveries for families across the Los Angeles area. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you are fully compensated, too, if you hire us to represent you.

How Much Time Do I Have To File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in California?

California’s statute of limitations gives your family two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If that deadline passes, you will almost certainly lose the right to pursue compensation from the responsible party.

There are limited exceptions that may affect your timeline, such as:

• If the death resulted from medical malpractice, the deadline may be three years from the date of injury or one year from the date of discovery, whichever comes first
• If a government entity is involved, you may need to file an administrative claim within just six months

Evidence can deteriorate quickly and key deadlines can arrive sooner than expected, so contacting a wrongful death lawyer early on in the process is the safest way to protect your family’s claim.

Call Onyx Law Firm to Speak to a Glendale Wrongful Death Attorney

Your family deserves the time and focus they need to work through the grieving process. Reach out to Onyx Law Firm to navigate your family’s financial recovery so you can work through the grieving process and begin moving forward. Contact us the Glendale attorneys at Onyx Law Firm to learn more about your rights and options after a wrongful death in Glendale at (844) 669-9529.