Ventura County Fatal Car Accident Attorney

Losing a loved one in a vehicle accident is an unexpected and tragic event. Families in these situations need answers, particularly if the negligence of another driver caused the crash. At The Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman, we are here to help if you need a Ventura County fatal car accident attorney. Our compassionate team has the resources necessary to handle every aspect of these cases, including investigating exactly what happened and negotiating with aggressive insurance carriers. We want to help families secure the closure and compensation they need.

Who can file for wrongful death after a Ventura County fatal car accident?

California allows various individuals to file for wrongful death in the state’s civil court. This includes:

• The spouse or domestic partner of the deceased
• The children of the deceased
• The grandchildren of the deceased

In the event there is no surviving person in the deceased’s line of descent, the wrongful death lawsuit may be brought by any person who would have been entitled to the property of the deceased through the typical intestate succession process. This can include the parents or siblings of the deceased. State law also allows any person who can show they were financially dependent on the deceased to bring these claims in the event there are no survivors in the line of descent.

It is crucial to point out that all wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of the deceased’s death. If a wrongful death lawsuit is not filed by the family members within this two-year timeframe, they will most likely lose their right to file a lawsuit at all. There will be no way to recover compensation.

How a Ventura County fatal car accident attorney can help

Naturally, the experience of losing a loved one in an automobile accident that could have been avoided will result in significant emotional pain for you and your family. However, the long-term consequences of a loved one’s wrongful passing can also include substantial financial losses. In the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death, a family may be required to pay for their funeral when they had not expected to. Additionally, it’s possible your loved one was your family’s main financial provider. Their death can deprive you of income upon which you had grown to rely.

You may now be forced to take on more work to compensate for the loss of said income. If you have children, this will prevent you from spending as much time raising them as you otherwise might have spent. You might thus need to hire childcare professionals or enlist the help of relatives or friends to fill in the gaps.

Those are just a few examples of the ways in which losing a loved one in a fatal car accident can impact your life. You deserve to be compensated for such losses if your loved one’s death resulted from the carelessness of another.

Technically, you can pursue the compensation which you deserve by filing a claim to collect from the insurance of the negligent party. If this is not an option or if their insurance provider will not offer a fair settlement, you can file a lawsuit to pursue damages in court.

It is simply important to understand that recovering the compensation for which you may be eligible is not necessarily as easy as filing some paperwork. It is very wise to enlist the help of a Ventura County fatal car accident attorney in the circumstances. We can help in the following specific ways:

Investigating the accident

You can only recover compensation if you prove that your loved ones’ accident resulted from someone else’s negligence. This may require conducting an investigation. We can do so on your behalf.

Accounting for all your compensable losses

You likely do not have experience pursuing compensation in a wrongful death case. It is therefore understandable that you probably do not know which types of losses and damages you may be compensated for.

For example, along with financial and economic losses resulting from your loved one’s passing, you might also be able to recover compensation for the loss of their companionship. A qualified Ventura county fatal car accident lawyer will account for all your compensable losses when filing a claim.

Negotiating

Insurance companies are businesses. Their goal is to make money, not lose it. When you file a claim to recover compensation after a loved one’s fatal car accident, it is highly likely the insurance company will attempt to convince you to settle for less than your claim is worth. The insurer may even try to justify denying your claim if they can find ways to do so.

This does not need to happen. Instead of allowing an insurance company to take advantage of you, hire a lawyer prepared to negotiate aggressively for a fair settlement.

Fatal accidents do occur with regularity

When we look at data available from the California Office of Traffic Safety, we can see that there were 3,606 total traffic fatalities across the state during the latest reporting year.

Unfortunately, these incidents are often caused by the careless or negligent actions of other drivers on the roadway. In fact, one of the most common causes of fatal car accidents in California during the latest reporting year was alcohol-impaired driving, which led to 949 total deaths. There were 1,066 total speed-related fatalities that same year.

Additionally, we do want to point out that it is not just passenger vehicle drivers who sustain fatalities as a result of traffic crashes. There were also 474 motorcyclist fatalities, 972 pedestrian fatalities, and 133 bicyclist fatalities during the same year mentioned above.

Call a Ventura County fatal car accident lawyer today

If you have lost someone you love in a car accident caused by the careless or negligent actions of another driver in Ventura County, contact the team at The Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman for help today. We have the resources necessary to fully investigate these claims so we can secure any compensation grieving families are entitled to. When you need a Ventura County fatal car accident attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 805-983-2344.