Orange County Worker Death Attorney
Losing a loved one to an accident is one of the most difficult things that any family can experience. As overwhelming as the tragedy may already be, when the person who passed away was the primary income earner for the family, the matter can become even more difficult to handle. If your loved one was killed in a workplace accident, your family should not be left in dire financial straits. Nothing can replace the loss of your loved one, but your workers’ compensation benefits can and should, at the least, ease some of the financial burdens that come with their loss.
Unfortunately, even when you are entitled to compensation, getting that compensation is not always an easy process. Employers and insurance companies may drag their feet in paying what they owe or try to pay only a limited amount of the total policy coverage. A seasoned Orange County workers’ compensation lawyer at Invictus Law can help you get the full coverage you are owed so that you can focus on getting your lives back on track.
Proving a Death Was Work-Related
Worker death can happen in any profession. Some fields are more dangerous than others and are more likely to lead to a workplace fatality. Construction, for example, is one of the most dangerous professions, with the highest rate of worker fatalities. Workers can be injured or killed in any place of business, however, whether it is a construction worksite, a factory, a traffic accident, or an office building.
While some deaths are clearly work-related, such as being hurt in an accident while at the workplace, others may be harder to connect to work. If an employee was killed while driving a company car to get to a meeting or make a delivery, they are entitled to coverage. If an employee develops an illness connected to asbestos exposure in the office building or proximity to dangerous chemicals in a factory, then that death should be covered as well. These cases can be more difficult to prove and require a knowledgeable and zealous workers’ compensation attorney to help investigate the circumstances of the death and the possible causes and contributing factors. Proving a death was work-related can be a complicated, complex, and drawn-out process. Our California fatal workplace injury team is here to shoulder the burden of proof for you and fight for the recovery your family is owed after a workplace death.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Wrongful Death
Workers’ compensation exists for a very specific reason: Employees who are injured or killed while on the job or as a result of work-related illnesses are entitled to a fixed amount of compensation. Employers are required under California law to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and workers who are killed on the job are, by default, covered under the workers’ compensation policy.
Wrongful death claims are intended to force an at-fault party to pay the decedent’s survivors for the damages they caused due to a negligence-based death. Unlike a wrongful death claim, workers’ compensation kicks in automatically, so long as the death was related to work. The family of the deceased worker does not have to prove any negligence or wrongdoing to secure workers’ compensation benefits. In contrast, in a wrongful death claim, fault must be proven.
The family or estate of a deceased worker may separately bring a wrongful death claim in civil court. Wrongful death claims carry the potential for greater monetary recovery, incorporating damages for things like pain and suffering and emotional distress which are not awarded as part of a workers’ compensation claim. Insurance may also not cover many future needs of the survivors.
If your loved one was killed in a workplace accident that was the result of someone else’s negligence, you might benefit from filing both kinds of claims. Nothing precludes you from seeking workers’ compensation as well as additional damages through a wrongful death claim. A workplace injury attorney at Invictus Law can help you recover the maximum available damages through both types of claim.
Get Seasoned Legal Help With Your Claim For Benefits After A California Workplace Death
For aggressive and effective legal help with a California workplace fatality claim, contact a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer at Invictus Law, PC, for a no-cost consultation at 949-287-5711, with offices in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
