Wrongful Death Claims: What to Know
A wrongful death claim allows the victim’s family to sue for damages when a person dies due to someone else’s wrongful act regardless of whether it was intentional or unintentional.
Different states may have varying laws involving wrongful death claims. In California, California Law Section 377.60 states that wrongful death is “the death of a person from the wrongful act or neglect of another.”
If your loved one died because of someone else’s negligence, you must immediately file a wrongful death claim. Each state follows a “statute of limitations,” indicating how long you have to file a wrongful death claim. In California, the statute of limitations states that you generally have two years from the date of the loved one’s death to file for a wrongful death claim. However, there are certain scenarios where this time frame may be different.
- If the wrongful death occurs as part of medical error or medical malpractice, then the statute of limitations is extended to three years.
- If a government entity, such as a Los Angeles city vehicle, caused the wrongful death, then the claim must be filed within six months of the injury.
What can be considered a wrongful death?
A wrongful death happens when another party is responsible for the victim’s death, regardless of whether it was intentional or unintentional. Wrongful deaths can be any of the following:
- Intentional acts – This includes murder, manslaughter, and other reckless conduct. However, there is an exception to this rule. If it were proven that the case was a justifiable homicide, which means the victim was killed due to self-defense, it would not be considered a wrongful act.
- Negligent driving – This can include car accidents and reckless driving such as running a red light, driving at an unsafe speed, texting, and driving, drunk driving, or others.
- Failure to maintain safe premises – People who invite others into their homes and business owners who open their stores or offices to the public have a responsibility to keep the premises safe. If a deadly fall could have been prevented by replacing a missing handrail or if electrocution results from faulty wiring, the property owner or manager can be held responsible.
- Medical malpractice – This happens when a physician fails to properly diagnose a patient with the condition that could have been treated, such as cancer. This may also include surgeon errors during an operation.
- Unsafe products – Unsafe products can include drugs that haven’t been tested properly by pharmaceutical companies or food that was not adequately inspected or properly prepared.
- Work-related deaths – This includes victims that died while working on the job. Worker’s compensation laws usually regulate the majority of workplaces in California. Still, if a fatality occurs at work due to a third party, wrongful death laws may apply.
Who can file a wrongful death claim?
Only the deceased person’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children may file the claim.
If these people do not exist, anyone “entitled to the property of the decedent” may file the claim. This could include the person’s parents or siblings. If the decedent’s parents, stepchildren, or putative spouse can prove that they are financially dependent on the person, the courts may allow these parties to file the claim.
What damages can you recover from a wrongful death claim?
A wrongful death claim will allow the victim’s survivors to recover compensatory damages. There are generally two types of damages you can get, economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages
Economic damages are tangible losses. They can be any of the following:
- The financial support the deceased would have contributed to the family during their lifetimes;
- The loss of gifts or benefits the heirs could have expected to receive from the deceased;
- Funeral and burial expenses; and
- The reasonable value of household services the deceased would have provided.
Non-Economic damages
On the other hand, non-economic damages are damages that don’t have any physical manifestations. There is no definitive standard for deciding the amount of non-economic damages in California. Non-economic damages may include the following:
- Society and companionship,
- Protection,
- Affection,
- Moral support,
- Training and guidance, and
- Sexual relations
According to the California state jury instructions (CACI No. 3921), there is no single, fully objective formula for calculating non-economic damages in a wrongful death claim. Instead, the legal system instructs each jury member to “decide a reasonable amount based on the evidence and your common sense.”
The courts may award compensation for all of these intangible losses, as well as for tangible damages like funeral and burial expenses or the decedent’s accident-related medical care up until the time of death. A wrongful death claim can provide an important source of financial relief for loved ones the decedent left behind.
Wrongful death claims can be complicated to deal with. This is why it is important to seek the assistance of experienced California wrongful death lawyers.
Top Reasons for Hiring a Lemon Law Attorney San Diego
You buy a car and take it home to show it off to your family and all of a sudden, your car breaks down. No matter what the problem is, it will surely worsen your mood. Even after consulting the manufacturer, if the retailer doesn’t compensate you for the repairs, then you are in need of a lemon law attorney San Diego.
How an Attorney Can Help
At your first meeting, your attorney will gather facts and information from you, evaluate all aspects of your vehicle purchase, identify your options, and explain what you can expect. If you and your attorney decide to pursue a lawsuit based on a lemon law violation or auto dealer fraud, at every stage of your case your attorney will represent you zealously — by gathering evidence related to your vehicle purchase, researching all legal issues, interviewing witnesses, and negotiating with car dealerships and opposing counsel — all with the goal of protecting your legal rights and ensuring the most favorable outcome for your situation…read more on findlaw.
Knowledge of the Lemon law
Clearly, the obvious reason to hire a lemon lawyer is their knowledge of lemon law. Since these are state laws, the lawyers are well-versed and knowledgeable when it comes to what makes a strong lemon law claim. Also, they are aware of the changing nature of laws. It is not practical for car owners to know the intricate aspects of the law, so this is another reason to take the help of knowledgeable lawyers.
Don’t Get Scammed By The Manufacturer…Again
Sure, you’re 100% able to negotiate with the manufacturer yourself, and you might even come away with an offer that sounds reasonable. However, there’s a strong chance that offer the manufacturer is giving you is less than what you’re actually entitled to. Beware of all the deductions manufacturers are adding to your “buyback” offer, especially the mileage offset or usage deduction. Without getting a free second opinion (yes, you read that right- free second opinion) from an experienced lemon law firm like West Coast Lemons, you could sign away valuable rights and end up agreeing to a deal that’s thousands of dollars less than you could have gotten.
Free Legal Advice That Doesn’t Involve A Lawsuit
The best California lemon law attorney will help you get what you want, and in lemon law cases that usually means getting the manufacturer to buy your car, truck, motor home, or trailer back as soon as possible and without you ever stepping foot in a courtroom.
Independent Expert Inspection
The lemon law attorney can have expert mechanics examine your car. This allows the attorney to get to the heart of the problem fast, more so in cases where the dealership has told you their problem cannot be duplicated.
Fast Results
You need a lawyer who is ready to go to court. This will give you the best leverage towards a favourable settlement. Manufacturers know what it means when attorneys are willing to go to court, so they put the time into a case. Choosing an attorney who will work hard on the case will yield the best results to get the case resolved on time. Also, the fact that the manufacturer pays the attorney, they try to make the process quick, and they may sometimes give up easily.
Conclusion
You can get your lemon law claim in San Diego by an expert lemon law attorney San Diego and have the best results. If you hire the services of the best lemon law attorney San Diego, then you will be pushed towards the right direction. Legal help is of utmost importance if you are new in legal matters.
How To Probate A Will In NY State For Dummies
This term might sound a bit odd to some people. Also, there is this inherent fear executors have as regards to probating a will. However, this isn’t meant to be so. Probating a will serves a very specific purpose; one which we will be explaining in details below.
Firstly, probating a will at a local NY surrogate court is a legal process in which the estate settlement of a deceased person is taken care of by the presiding judge of a state. This settlement will have to be in line with the laws of the state. The probate process can be a bit lengthy and complicated, but no need to worry. With the help of this article, you will understand the step-by-step procedures of will probation.
1. Ascertain If A Probate Is Necessary
This survey kick starts the entire process. Probate is only necessary if the estates in question were individually owned by the deceased, or if there was joint ownership with another party. The only time probate will not be necessary is if the property in question is designated to a beneficiary, or belongs in a trust account.
2. File a Petition with A Probate Court
A probate petition will be filed with the clerk of courts of the area of residence. The executor of the property will then be mandated to get a probate bond. This bond will assure that the federal and state laws will be complied with by the executor. The court will then verify the will, thereby making it accessible for probation.
3. Oath Taking By the Executor
A formal swearing ceremony of the executor will be held. After the oath-taking, a testamentary letter will be given to the executor. This letter will alert other parties that you have full custody of the estate, and can therefore act under the estate guidelines.
4. Alert the Public
The executor will be expected to send out a broadcast as regards the death of the estate owner. This broadcast will alert potential heirs and beneficiaries of the estate about the death of the property owner. This alert will also give outsiders an equal chance to contest their share in the property.
5. Property Valuation
The executor will take a statistical record of the deceased’s estate. These records will give the executor an idea of how much the estate costs, and how much tax expenses are made as well as the cost of the mortgages, among other things.
6. Settle pending Taxes and Bills
The executioner must also take care of outstanding bills and taxes of the estate, to ensure that the properties are not in debt during the probate procedure. Expenses may vary as regards to the property valuation.
7. Asset Distribution
With the help and judgment of the court, the assets of the estate will be evenly shared to the beneficiaries and heirs to the estate. The court will also ensure the executioner is fair in the estate distribution.
Probate Conclusion
The court will then close the case. This closure will complete your job as an executor.
The Dangers of Traffic Accidents: Legal Consequences of Causing a Car Crash
Accidents involving car collisions are widespread despite improvements in road safety. An average of 6 million car accidents per year are recorded in the U.S. alone. Moreover, the World Health Organization announced in 2018 that car crashes have risen to be the 8th leading cause of death for people globally.
Reasons Why Car Crashes Take Place
Human error causes the majority of car crashes. These include speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, driving under the influence of illegal drugs, reckless driving, and even fatigue. However, unforeseen circumstances such as an animal crossing, heavy rain, and tire blowouts can also be contributors.
What Should You Do Right After the Accident If You’re at Fault?
Stop at the scene. It would help if you stay and keep calm. If possible, park your car in a safe place and turn on your hazard lights. Don’t ever think of leaving. You wouldn’t want to make things even worse by turning it into a hit and run incident.
Call the proper authorities for help. If there were injuries sustained during the crash, it is advisable to call 911 to tend the injured and get police assistance. Do not attempt to move an injured person because this can cause additional damages. However, do your best to assist when authorities have not arrived yet.
Collect Evidence. Take pictures of your car, the area of the accident, and the others involved during the collision, if you are able. If there are witnesses, you can take their names and contact information. Gathering evidence will help you even if you are the one at fault.
Avoid Admitting Fault. This does not mean you have to lie. Report the facts of the incident to the police and let them handle it. You want to refrain from telling them that it was your fault.
Inform Your Car Insurance Provider. It is advisable to inform your car insurance provider because they can help you with compensation. They will also have their evidence gathering and investigation.
Call a Lawyer. If amicable settlement is not possible, call your lawyer. You’ll never know who or what to expect when it comes to a car crash. Not having a lawyer would be a significant disadvantage.
What happens when you are at fault?
The individual responsible for the accident may face civil or criminal charges. Here’s what to expect when the injured party decides to sue:
Civil Liability
The victim of a car crash is entitled to damages, which may vary from case to case. In an at-fault state, the at-fault driver will be asked to compensate for the damages and/or injuries that resulted from the accident. However, in no-fault states, victims don’t need to file a claim against the person responsible for the accident. Their insurance company will reimburse all the damages.
Only twelve states follow the no-fault insurance claim. These states are New York, Utah, Minnesota, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, the 38 remaining states, such as California, Texas, and Georgia, adhere to an at-fault insurance claim. Hence, if you get into trouble, for example, in Duluth, Georgia, you have to contact Duluth car accident attorneys immediately.
When paying for compensation in an at-fault state, all the damages caused must be covered. Generally speaking, the damages can be categorized as property damages, injury damages, and exemplary damages.
Property damages are damages caused by an individual to another person’s real or personal property, either through negligence or a willful act. For example, if Sarah’s car suffered damages due to the impact of the car crash caused by John, then John is required to compensate Sarah for property damages. Sarah may be entitled to recover the cost of repairs if the car is repairable, loss of use, or value of the car.
Injury damages are awarded to the victim who suffered injury or losses. This may include medical expenses, pain and suffering, disability, loss of earning capacity, emotional distress, etc. The damages available depends on the severity and nature of the injuries and losses suffered.
No monetary losses or provable injuries mean that the victim will not be entitled to the two types of damages stated above.
Exemplary damages, also known as punitive damages, are damages awarded to the injured party in excess of the other compensatory damages to punish the wrongdoer for the acts committed. This type of damages seeks to make an example to deter the wrongdoer from doing the same act for the second time around.
Criminal Liability
An incident involving a car crash can escalate and become a criminal offense. A perfect example of this would be a hit and run incident. When involved in a car crash, it is required that one should stop at the scene and call the authorities for help even when the incident is minor.
A driver who accidentally hits another vehicle or pedestrian and leaves the scene may face criminal charges. The specific charge will solely depend upon the circumstances. Penalties of hit and run may include prison sentences, revocation of driving privileges, fines, and suspensions.
Defenses Available
There are several defenses available for an at-fault driver when the accident was caused by negligence. Negligence is carelessness resulting in damage or injury to another.
Comparative Negligence
This system is a partial defense. It allocates fault between the parties involved in the car crash. This means that there is a good chance that legal claims against you may be lowered.
For example, John was about to make a turn and hit Sarah, who was speeding. Under this system, both John and Sarah will be considered at fault- John for not making a safe turn and Sarah for speeding.
Contributory Negligence
This system prohibits the victim from recovering compensation if proven that the victim has contributed to the crash in any way possible. Take note that these defenses are available depending on which state or country you belong to. There are states in the U.S. that do not use contributory negligence as a defense anymore. Always ask a lawyer for legal opinions regarding the matter.
Takeaway
Always be prepared for the worse when it comes to facing legal consequences caused by your actions, especially when it involves an accident on the streets. Knowing your rights is a great advantage when a case is filed against you. While on the road, safety should always be a priority.
Mugshot Removal Tips and Tricks
In case you’re battling with how to delete a mugshot from the web, don’t lose trust. You have choices, and the law might be your ally. Try the following steps to erase your arrest photo from websites:
- Check the site’s strategy. A few sites have a “courtesy removal service.” If you can demonstrate your honesty, they may eliminate your photograph. You can send an email, asking the webmaster to remove your photo and information since your case has been dismissed and you were not guilty in the first place.
- See whether you’re protected by law. Your state may have a law that requires mugshot sites to eliminate your photo upon demand. For example, in Oregon and Georgia a mugshot should be removed from the site within 30 days of the date of request, without charging a fee, if the individual fulfils specific requirements.
- Push for a bigger crackdown on mugshot sites. On the off chance that your state doesn’t have a mugshot removal law, request one. Contact your state lawmaker and urge them to make a law that will make it simpler for you to manage your online reputation.
It’s not always possible to delete search results from the Google. Sometimes, after your best efforts, odious website owners simply refuse to help. If that’s the case, you’ll need to push down negative search results using some basic reputation management strategies. And you can also contact a Criminal Defense attorney in your area who can assist with this matter.
Additionally, please be careful of any website that attempts to charge you a removal fee, as many US states now ban this practice altogether. Please find a list of US States that prohibit websites from charging a fee for the removal of the mugshot.
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Wyoming
Best Law Quotes
Lawyers are the only persons in whom ignorance of the law is not punished. —Jeremy Bentham
The safety of the people shall be the highest law. – Marcus Tullius Cicero
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. – Aristotle
In times of war, the law falls silent. – Marcus Tullius Cicero
The Law is hard, but it is the – Law. – Cassandra Clare
When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken. – Benjamin Disraeli
In law, nothing is certain but the expense. – Author Unknown
I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis on the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement. – Calvin Coolidge
Law too gentle are seldom obeyed; to severe, seldom executed. – Benjamin Franklin
The law is the public conscience. – Thomas Hobbes
A Lawyer will do anything to win a case, sometimes he will even tell the truth. —Patrick Murray
I don’t like lawyers, nannie. No one likes lawyers, little boy. —J. P. Donleavy
He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. —Proverb
Only lawyers and painters can turn white to black. —Japanese Proverb
If there were no bad people there would be no good lawyers. —Charles Dickens
When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff. —Cicero
In England, justice is open to all—like the Ritz Hotel. —Sir James Mathew
You are remembered for the rules you break.—Douglas MacArthur
“Don’t misinform your Doctor nor your Lawyer. —Benjamin Franklin
Ranking Your Legal Firm’s Website on Page One on All Popular Search Engines
The main aim of constructing a website of just about each and every law firm in the USA is to acquire highly quality leads from the more popular search engines. If your SEO (search engine optimization) has been conducted correctly, the odds are that your firm will be bombarded with calls from potential clients.
High ranking on Google and other search engines is very important because is has been estimated that search engines handle well over 10 billion searches per month, all over the world. Let us see some of the key methods that law firms can utilize to increase their visibility online and by extension increase their market share.
The importance of differentiation
In simple words, you have to stand out from the crowd. Granted it may not be the easiest task to accomplish on any given day, but the efforts are worth it. Your portfolio should stand out so that once the prospective client is on your site, not only should he stay there, but actually start considering the retainers he would need to ensure that your law firm is working for him.
SEO is the key
All the hard work you put on your portfolio and your site will be wasted if the clients are not able to find you amongst all that clutter. As a matter of fact, more and more people are turning to the internet to find what they want and legal firms are no exception. This is where a sound law firm marketing strategy comes to the rescue. If you sprinkle your webpages and blogs with the right key words they will be picked up by the mainstream search engines and your local clients will be able to find you in a whole lot easier way.
The ‘case’ for local citations (why they matter, what they are)
A local ‘citation’ may be defined as a “mention of your business name and address on other webpages”. Here it is not really all that necessary for the citation to have a discernable link to your business at all.
Some examples can include referrals on the pages of the local chamber of commerce website or for that matter any other business development organizations in a specific area, without any direct links to the business’s own website itself.
Local citations and the ranking factor
Citations also play a crucial role in the ranking algorithms of the most frequently used and by extension really powerful search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, and Google. In fact, such citations also help in making sure that your firm’s website climbs steadily up the rankings of most of these search engines. This is why you should aim for as many local citations as you possibly can.
Different kinds of citations
A typical citation from a well-known portal that is already well indexed actually does help with collecting all the relevant information of your firm from all over the net.
Why you should aim to use local citations
Here, information directories are also major factors in generating leads. This is due to the fact that they tend to be a clear and present validation of the fact that the business is part of that particular community which is covered by the creators of the directory. This would mean that the prospective client would not only be able to utilize the information present on these directories such as telephone numbers and email addresses but he can also get his queries addressed.
In fact, local citations are all the more important because it is very difficult to fake credentials when a firm’s antecedents are available on the local chamber of commerce site or if it has been mentioned in the local press of the area’s business index. A good example would be https://www.brightlocal.com/local-citation-sites-for-attorneys/.
The importance of blogs and local news feeds
Apart from the above, being featured in a prominent local blog or newspaper or also an excellent source of local citations since journalists and bloggers people would not write about a business that does not even exist. This is why even a cursory search for a particular service can easily generate links towards your firm’s site as well so as to increase your overall ratings on the search engine.
