Determining Negligence in Palm Springs Wrongful Death Claims

Losing a loved one is always a traumatic experience. Furthermore, losing a loved one because of someone else’s negligence can feel utterly devastating. When someone else’s careless or reckless actions caused your loved one’s death, surviving family members may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. To do so, you may need to work with a lawyer for help establishing clear liability. Determining negligence in Palm Springs wrongful death claims is an essential part of the legal process.

The Importance of Determining Negligence in Wrongful Death Cases

Establishing negligence in Palm Springs wrongful death claims is essential for several important reasons. The at-fault party will often bear liability for the death of an individual resulting directly from their negligence. As a result, the deceased’s surviving family has the right to file a wrongful death claim that could provide them with compensation for both financial and non-financial losses resulting from their loved one’s death. Identifying all parties that share liability can increase the compensation families can recover.

How to Determine Negligence

Negligence occurs when one party does not follow the necessary, reasonable precautions that would prevent someone from suffering injury. This can occur in a variety of circumstances, such as drivers failing to follow the rules of the road, or property owners ignoring needed maintenance on their property and failing to warn visitors about potential dangers. In wrongful death cases, both lawyers and insurance companies will investigate several key elements to determine whether negligence applies.

Duty of Care

First, the liable party must have owed a duty of care, or a responsibility to avoid causing harm, to the deceased at the time of the incident. Duty of care can be either direct or implied, depending on the circumstances.

Breach

The liable party failed to exercise that duty of care in some way, whether through carelessness or recklessness.

Causation

The breach of the duty of care directly caused the deceased’s accident and resulting injuries and death.

To determine negligence in a wrongful death case, lawyers may review witness testimony from the accident, view video footage of the incident if available, and even bring in expert witnesses to closely inspect all conditions that contributed to the incident. An attorney may also examine whether the liable party has a history of negligence, including knowledge about the damage that led to the accident.

Working with a Palm Springs lawyer could prove essential when determining negligence in wrongful death claims, as they could more easily access all the details of the accident and identify all parties that may have contributed to it.

Reach Out to a Palm Springs Lawyer for Assistance in Determining Negligence in Wrongful Death Claims

Determining negligence in Palm Springs wrongful death claims is an essential part of identifying the liable party and recovering compensation for the damages associated with an accident. Working with a lawyer could make it easier to identify all parties that share fault for the death of your loved one and pursue the compensation your family deserves.

Reach out to Walter Clark Legal Group to discuss what negligent parties may be held responsible for the loss of your loved one.