In case your loved one or close one died due to the actions of another person, you will probably want to proceed legally and demand justice for the deceased. California law gives the surviving family of the deceased to get financial compensation for the losses caused by the wrongful death. However, note that this is not as easy as simply believing that you deserve compensation. Instead, there are strict laws and procedures to be followed to make sure that the other party is held liable for the wrongful death. This is better resolved if assisted by wrongful death lawyers. Below is a discussion on the ways to prove the negligence of the defendant.
Sufficient Proof of Negligence
If the death of your loved one is caused by negligence, you should be able to fulfill all the legal elements involved in negligence. These are included below.
- The liable party has a responsibility or a duty of care towards the victims;
- The liable party refused to follow the duty of care in some way;
- The break in the duty of care caused the accident and injuries which eventually led to the death; and
- The death caused you major losses and for the other claimants.
Duty of care might be of varying nature based on the accident that took place. Below are a few types of duties of care and the ways in which they could be breached.
- A driver should fulfill a duty of care during driving that they must drive safely depending upon the weather and the conditions on the road. Breaking this duty involves several actions like drunk driving, distracted driving, breaking traffic laws, careless acts, and aggressive driving.
- A company has a responsibility to sell safe products for the mentioned use. They should warn customers if there are risks involved. In case they sell or promote dangerous or defective products without issuing an appropriate warning, this would be a clear case of duty breach.
- A medical professional is supposed to give a level of care to patients that would be similar to the service provided by similar professionals. In case, they do not act reasonably well, if they make a mistake, or of their actions fall below standards, this constitutes a duty breach.
If you can establish the duty breach, you have to produce evidence of this action which contributed to the mishap and the death of your loved one.