Description
Cochran Douglas' wrongful death attorneys take a special interest in helping bereaved families seek justice after losing a loved one to negligence. If you're navigating a wrongful death claim, we are prepared to help you move forward. Please contact us at any time for a free consultation.
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A wrongful death case
is when someone is killed
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by someone else's carelessness
or negligence.
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We brought cases of wrongful death against
the state of Washington, against counties,
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we brought them against
police departments,
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we brought them against corporations.
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It's any time someone has had a part
in the death of a person,
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a premature death of someone
through the fault of someone else.
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Wrongful death cases
are extremely hard fought,
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and that's mostly because the defendants
don't want to accept responsibility
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for what they've done.
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That's why we're here.
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We're here to represent the estate
of the deceased person.
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And we're there to get answers.
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Why did this happen?
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What are they going to do about it?
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Is the entity going to take
responsibility for it?
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Ultimately for the survivors that are
left behind,
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is there some sort of compensation
that can keep them going
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if they've been relying
on that individual for income?
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In a wrongful death case, only the person
who is the personal representative
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of the estate can bring a lawsuit.
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That usually means it's a spouse,
or it can be a child
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or someone else who's close to the family
that acts in a representative capacity.
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With the wrongful death case,
we're here to try and get those answers.
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Why did this happen?
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How can we prevent it
from ever happening again?
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That's why we're there.
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In a wrongful death lawsuit,
there are different kinds of damages
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that we'll ask a jury for.
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First and foremost, it's often lost wages.
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If the person was working a job
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and that income
is no longer available to the estate,
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those are monies that we're
going to try and ask
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a jury to compensate for.
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Then in the future, what would
that person's income capacity look like?
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We'll be asking for those damages as well.
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Finally, what we're asking for are pain
and suffering benefits
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for the death of that individual.
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In a wrongful death case,
it's important to reach out to an attorney
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because oftentimes families
are at a real low point.
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They're confused, they're angry, they're
upset, and they don't know what to do.
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What we're there to do is to help bring
those resources together,
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contact the individuals
that need to be contacted,
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start the process of investigating
the wrongful death,
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collecting evidence and making sure
that there's some trail
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that can give answers at the end
of the day.