Fatal Accident Costs
When fatal accidents happen, the families, friends, and dependents of the decedent are often completely overwhelmed. The emotions involved in losing someone you care about are often intense and learning to cope with these feelings usually takes people years. However, grief isn’t the only thing that families need to worry about. Often, the death of a loved one also means severe financial trouble. People facing these issues after a fatal accident can be left in a dire situation and need to make sure that their family can continue living without the decedent. There are a variety of costs associated with suffering a fatal accident, and many of these expenses come unexpectedly. The following article contains helpful information about the issues that families of fatally injured individuals face and how they can recover for financial damages.
Economic Costs
The easiest losses to quantify are financial. For these types of damages, there is a set dollar amount that a family or individual loses because of an accident. These types of damages include:
- Medical Bills: Many times, people who receive fatal injuries are taken to a hospital and given medical treatment before they pass away. When this happens, their families are the ones who bear the cost of surgeries, ambulance rides, hospital rooms, and other expenses. While insurance companies are typically expected to help cover these costs, insurers frequently offer less money than families need.
- Loss of Income: If the decedent was one of the income earners in your household, you probably relied on their wages to live your life. When this source of income suddenly vanishes, families are often left unsure of how they will be able to pay for housing, food, utilities, and other necessary expenses.
- Household Services: The people we love often contribute to our lives in ways that seem obvious but are essential. Family members commonly perform services such as cleaning, cooking, home maintenance, childcare, and more. Paying a contractor or company to take care of these tasks is usually extremely expensive.
- Inheritance: When people die in accidents, they sometimes do not leave behind a completed will.
- End-of-Life Costs: Burials and funerals may seem like simple events, but they can be very expensive. Families are often shocked by how much it costs to give their loved one a proper memorial service.
Non-Economic Costs
While there are certainly concrete damages that people suffer after losing a loved one, there are also many losses associated with fatal accidents that are difficult to define monetarily. However, these losses are still very important as the emotional impact of a fatal accident can seriously affect the lives of families. These types of costs are even more various than economic losses and include things like losing the companionship of a spouse or the guidance of a parent. These damages can also include emotional and psychological trauma related to the accident. Because these damages can affect people’s lives so dramatically, they should not be overlooked during a wrongful death case.
Recovering Damages
Many fatal accidents are caused by negligence such as reckless driving, workplace hazards, medical malpractice, dangerous product manufacturing, and more. When a person or group is careless, and their carelessness leads to the death of another person, they should be held responsible for the damage that their negligence has caused. The families and dependents of people who have lost their lives in preventable accidents are often able to recover money for their damages by bringing a wrongful death claim against negligent parties.
It is essential to understand, however, that these claims are complicated and the details can vary widely between cases. Many people don’t even know that they are able to file a claim in the first place. To ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve from the people responsible for your loved one’s death, it’s important to speak to a trusted Dixon wrongful death lawyer about the specifics of your case.
More by Ed Smith, Wrongful Death Attorney in Dixon
- Fatal Highway Accident in Dixon
- How can a Dixon Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?
- Local Crash Fatally Injures Dixon Woman
Dixon Wrongful Death Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Dixon wrongful death lawyer. The loss of a loved one is a tragedy. If you have been affected by a fatal crash, please contact me to get a bit of free, friendly advice about what options you may have. You can reach me by dialing (800) 404-5400 or (530) 392-9400.
I’ve assisted Dixon residents with wrongful death and personal injury claims for 37 years. You can view the verdicts and case settlements I’ve won for my clients on this page. I also encourage you to check out what my clients have written about my firm and me at:
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I founded Northern CA’s number one information site for car accident data and news, AutoAccident.com
What Causes Woodland Bicycle Accidents?: Ed Smith
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