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Wrongful Death

If you need an exceptional wrongful death attorney in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County or San Bernardino County you will find that Los Angeles Serious Personal injury lawyer Scott Marks has achieved superior results in personal serious injury cases.

Mr. Marks understands that surviving family members are suffering the loss of love, care, comfort, financial support, supervision, guidance, household assistance and general society previously provided by the deceased.

Whether you and your family are struggling with a wrongful death issue which was the result of a motor vehicle accident, motorcycle accident, construction accident, dangerous property conditions or medical treatment which may have been someone's negligence in Los Angeles county or Orange county Scott Marks uses his more than 20 years of experience as a personal injury attorney to review your issue, explain your options and compassionately help you through this very difficult time.

Additionally, Scott A. Marks is a notably successful attorney in resolving insurance company coverage disputes in both personal injury and property damage.

The wrongful death area of law seeks to provide compensation to the heirs of a person whose death was caused by the negligent, willful, or wrongful act, neglect, omission, or default of another.

A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another individual, company or organization. A legal action for wrongful death belongs to the decedent's immediate family members, usually a surviving spouse and children, and sometimes parents. Under certain circumstances, unrelated minor children living with and supported by the decedent may also bring a claim for wrongful death. In order to bring a successful wrongful death cause of action in California, the following elements must be present: The death of a human being caused by another's negligent or intentional conduct.

The surviving family members are suffering the loss of financial support, love, care, comfort, supervision, guidance, household assistance and general society previously provided by the deceased.

The general rule in California wrongful death cases is that one is entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages which are suffered as a result of the loss of a loved one. Economic damages in a wrongful death case include an award for the financial contributions, which the decedent would have made to his wife, children and/or parents, had he or she survived. It also includes the recovery for funeral services in memory of the decedent and for burial costs. Non-economic damages include loss of love, society, companionship, comfort, affection, solace or moral support.

This type of claim is different from a normal negligence lawsuit, which is filed by the person injured for the resulting damages. Originally under "common law" (the general legal principles passed from England to the United States over hundreds of years), a wrongful death claim did not exist based upon the reasoning that the claim died with the victim where there was no way to compensate him for damages. The surviving family members then could not claim damages from the person who caused the victim's death. Over the years, states have passed wrongful death laws that provide compensation for persons who may have been damaged from the death of the victim as well as an incentive to act carefully and safely. Today, all states have some form of a wrongful death claim action in force.

While state "wrongful death statutes" were drafted independently of each other and are often unique, they all follow the same general principles. A wrongful death claim generally consists of four elements:

1. the death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant;
2. the defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim's death;
3. there is a surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependents; and
4. monetary damages have resulted from the victim's death.

If you need a wrongful death attorney with exceptional results, you will find that Los Angeles Serious Personal injury lawyer Scott Marks has achieved superior results in personal serious injury cases.