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What Causes Wrongful Death Accidents in Washington State?
Accidents of all types happen every day. Accidents generally occur because someone was careless, reckless in their actions, and not paying attention. These accidents are typically considered to be negligent accidents. Accidents would not happen if individuals were paying attention to what they were doing.
When a negligent accident happens, and someone is killed due to another person’s negligence, the outcome is not good for the negligent person unless the attorney can prove that both parties were at fault for causing death.
If your loved one died at the hands of a negligent person, we understand your grief and loss due to this unexpected, sudden, and shocking event. Let us handle all the financial and legal burdens for you.
Generally, the family survivors are caught up in a web of the financial strain of mounting medical bills, other debts of the deceased, and end-of-life costs such as funeral and burial expenses. Working through this maze of expenses and dealing with grief, anger, and emotional pain is too much for most families to cope with and sort out.
Your loved one did not cause this situation, so why should the family pay on behalf of their deceased loved one? If your loved one was not at fault for this accident, the family needs to seek justice and compensation for their loss. We can do this through an insurance company or a wrongful death lawsuit.
We are aware that no amount of money will bring your loved one back. However, compensation does make the situation more bearable. Getting some justice for a wrongful death helps to close some doors for grieving family members. We seek the highest possible settlement by negotiating with insurance companies, at-fault persons, and their attorneys.
We may be able to recoup the deceased’s medical bills stemming from this accident. We could get a settlement for funeral and burial expenses. If there was personal property damaged as a result of this accident, we could claim this. We can claim financial support, wages, income that the deceased would have earned had this accident not occurred.
Non-economic damages do not carry a price tag, nor do these damages have a ceiling amount of award, meaning that the award is limitless according to Washington laws. We may claim on behalf of the deceased,
- Pain, suffering, emotional distress, anxiety that the deceased suffered before death
- We can claim loss of care, companionship, and more for the survivors.
- We can calculate future services that the deceased may have provided to the survivors.
- If more than one person was negligent and caused your loved one’s death, we find this out and make the guilty responsible.
What Incidents of Wrongful Death May Washington Consider?
- Vehicle accidents
- Product defects
- Medical malpractice
- Property accidents such as slip and fall or electrocution
Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in Washington State?
According to the laws of the State of Washington, the following people are the only individuals who can bring a wrongful death lawsuit against a negligent person or company. This information is found on RCW 4.20.020.
- The spouse of the deceased
- A state-registered domestic partner of the deceased
- A child or children of the deceased
- Stepchildren of the deceased
The exemption to this law is that if the deceased has none of the above relatives, the following family can bring a lawsuit against the negligent person or company are the parents or siblings of the deceased.
We want you to know that every wrongful death case is different. All cases present different circumstances and settlement amounts. Generally, a wrongful death claim includes economic and non-economic damages. However, we cannot tell you for sure until we start our investigation into the accident.
The Call to Action for a Wrongful Death Claim
Never attempt to represent yourself in a court of law due to the complexity of the state of Washington laws. If you are a resident of Yakima or surrounding areas, please give our seasoned and experienced wrongful death attorneys in Yakima, WA, a call as soon as possible.
We cannot help you with a wrongful death settlement until you call us as soon as possible after the accident happens. The first consultation call to us is free with no obligation. We tell you if we think you have a good compensation case and feel your loved one’s death was due to someone else’s wrongful actions.
We will meet with you to discuss your plan of action. We do not take cases that we know have no chance of winning, and we charge you no attorney fees unless we win your case. We can settle out of court or are always prepared to go to court if the guilty party’s insurance company and attorneys do not offer a fair settlement to you.
We follow the laws of Washington when dealing with insurance companies and their attorneys. We know how to navigate the Washington judicial system. Your responsibility is to concentrate on healing your family’s grief.
If you recently lost a loved one due to another person’s careless and reckless actions, we want you to give us a call as soon as possible. We want to get to work for you and recoup your loved one’s losses. Bringing justice to a negligent person helps you and your family heal and helps to close the door to a tragic situation.