Losing a loved one is difficult for numerous reasons. First, grief can make it challenging for survivors to function as they normally would. Another reason is the financial burden they will have to take on. Apart from the funeral expenses, the survivors will have to deal with the loss of income from their deceased family member.
While the death of a loved one is hard to bear in and of its own, it can be more difficult when it’s caused by someone’s carelessness and negligence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unintentional injury is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. This number shows that wrongful death is a common occurrence. Typically, it occurs as a result of:
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Medical Malpractice
Health care providers must be well-trained and have various qualifications before practicing professionally. What’s more, hospitals have several safety protocols in place to protect their patients. In spite of these measures, doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners sometimes commit mistakes in the form of:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed or incorrect treatment
- Surgical or pharmaceutical errors
- Defective medical devices or medications
- Birth injury
- Hospital negligence
- Lack of informed consent
These errors occur when health care professionals don’t follow correct procedures or completely miss something. Unfortunately, these mistakes can be fatal.
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Vehicular Accidents
The most common cause of wrongful death, vehicular accidents resulted in 3,563 fatalities in California in 2018. While not all incidents of vehicular mishaps happen because of negligence, most are the result of someone’s carelessness. One or both drivers could be speeding, not paying attention to the road, or driving under the influence. When this carelessness results in the death of other drivers, passengers, or pedestrians, the negligent driver is liable.
Semi-truck accidents have their own sub-category, though they are still considered vehicular accidents. However, the circumstances that lead to accidents involving these types of vehicles slightly differ from accidents involving regular-sized, smaller vehicles. Semi-truck accidents, for example, typically occur because of driving with an oversized load, driving while fatigued, or mechanical issues that lead to losing control of the truck
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Unsafe Workplace
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA), there were 5,250 workplace fatalities in the U.S. in 2018. Unsurprisingly, the highest occurrence of workplace fatality happened in construction workplaces. One in five workplace fatalities occurred in the high-risk construction industry.
However, wrongful death can occur even in corporate offices and outside of work. For example, an office employee fatally slipping and falling on a wet patch on the floor without proper caution signs can be considered a wrongful death.
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Defective Products
Every manufacturer has a duty to ensure that their products undergo quality control and are therefore safe for consumers to use. If a defective product makes it into the market, it can be dangerous to users – even when used correctly. Some products that can lead to fatalities when defective include children’s toys, drugs, and vehicles. In case the use of these products caused someone’s death, the manufacturer will be held liable for the fatality.
Take Action Against a Loved One’s Wrongful Death
It’s difficult to lose a loved one because of somebody else’s negligence. But, you can get compensation to ease some of your burdens. Haffner Law is a trusted firm in California that offers wrongful death assistance. Our wrongful death lawyers in Long Beach are highly-experienced to help you file for various claims.
Get in touch with one of our attorneys today. Contact 1-844-HAFFNER (423-3637) for a free consultation.
(This is an attorney advertisement by Joshua Haffner)
