You were never prepared for this. No one ever is. The unexpected loss of your family member is one of the most brutal and devastating challenges one can go through in life.
And while it may seem as if your overwhelming grief and anger at the at-fault party whose negligence, recklessness, wrongful act, omission to act, or breach of contract caused the death of your loved one will be enough to charge your wrongful death case and successfully sue the at-fault party, it is not always how it works.
As a matter of fact, all that grief, emotional distress, and hatred can actually negatively affect your family’s chances of recovering damages and compensation for your loss.
This is where a Los Angeles wrongful death attorney Howard Craig Kornberg comes in handy. Whenever someone asks the question: “Why you need a lawyer in a wrongful death case?” you usually hear the basic stuff: an attorney has a law degree, a strong legal background, experience, and a clear head.
But let’s really delve into exploring why hiring a wrongful death lawyer in California can maximize the value of your compensation and help you recover damages in a timely manner.
- Preservation of evidence: Unless the Los Angeles Police Department investigates the scene of your family member’s fatal accident as a criminal case, there is always a risk of some evidence getting lost in the process or someone tampering with evidence. A lawyer, meanwhile, can ensure evidence preservation at the scene of the accident to be able to prove the at-fault party’s liability.
- Analysis and investigation: Only an experienced wrongful death attorney can determine three vital elements of your claim before filing a lawsuit:
- How many liable parties are there?
- What insurance coverage and other sources are available to recover damages for the surviving family members?
- What amount of money would be considered adequate and fair compensation for the economic and non-economic damages and losses sustained by the family?
- Interviewing witnesses and convincing them to testify: As you may or may not know, witnesses play a crucial role when it comes to suing someone for wrongful death in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California. Your attorney will not only locate and interview witnesses to prove the responsible party’s liability but also convince them to testify in court in order to build a strong case.
- Negotiating with insurance companies: If you choose to represent yourself in a wrongful death case, beware of insurance companies and insurers who will do whatever it takes to minimize the value of your claim, dispute the number of damages you want to recover, and employ unfair insurance claim practices to deny coverage. Only a skilled attorney knows how to talk to and negotiate with insurance companies in order to obtain the compensation that would be in your best interests (the settlement or verdict must truly reflect the magnitude of the losses suffered, and only a lawyer can put legal pressure to prompt an insurance company to disclose available insurance policy coverage and limits in your particular case).
- Filing a wrongful death lawsuit in a timely manner: It is understandable that surviving family members require a certain amount of time to come to terms with their sudden loss and deal with the unbearable amount of emotional distress in the aftermath of the tragic death before they actually begin preparing for a wrongful death lawsuit. In such cases, you have no time for waste, which is why hiring a Los Angeles wrongful death attorney is so important to start legal action and handle all legal aspects of your case as soon as possible while allowing yourself to grieve your loss and spend time with your family members.
- Objectivity: If you choose to represent yourself in a wrongful death case, you can most certainly expect your emotions to get in the way and cloud your judgment, two major red flags that will not be tolerated by judges and juries. That is why California courts tend to treat wrongful death cases more seriously if the deceased’s estate or surviving family members are being represented by a lawyer.
Contact the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg for a free case evaluation. Let our best attorneys build strong legal cases in order to maximize the value of recoverable damages and recover compensation as soon as possible. Call our Los Angeles offices at 310-997-0904 or fill out this contact form to get a free consultation today.
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