Wrongful Death

Chico & Northern California Wrongful Death Attorney

When a person is killed in a car accident, fall, construction accident, by a dangerous product, or other act of negligence or wrongful conduct of another, the law refers to these cases as “wrongful death”. These are the most tragic cases.

Attorney Adam Sorrells understands your pain and grief having lost a close friend while in college to an unfortunate accident. Mr. Sorrells also has experience with these cases as an attorney, having successfully handled numerous wrongful death cases.

When someone dies as a result of the negligence of another, such as in a car accident, motorcycle accident, fall, construction accident, or other incident, caused by the careless act of another, the law provides that their next of kin and/or their estate may act as plaintiffs (plaintiffs are the people who bring a lawsuit) and bring a civil lawsuit to recover economic and non-economic damages (damages mean medical bills, funeral costs, and loss of care, comfort, society, and advice. It also refers to loss of future support for a child, parent, or spouse).

The people who are considered next of kin include family members such as a wife, husband, domestic partner, children, parents, or siblings, in order of priority to a claim. If a parent dies, his or her surviving spouse, domestic partner, and/or children may all be plaintiffs, as well as anybody else who can prove they were likely to receive support if the decedent (decedent means the person who passed on) had lived. For example, barely one year out of law school, Mr. Sorrells was asked by a senior partner of the firm he was working for to handle a wrongful death case for two children who lost their future step-father. He had not yet married the children's mother and the senior partner felt there was no hope of recovery since the law usually requires people to be the legal parent of a child in these cases. However, Mr. Sorrells was able to successfully recover for these children, as their future step-father had been supporting the minor children. This is a very complex and serious area of the law and persons affected need a competent and experienced lawyer familiar with handling these cases to help.

Some of the possible areas for monetary compensation may include:

• Medical expenses incurred in trying to save the life of the decedent;
• Loss of medical and retirement benefits;
• Funeral and burial expenses;
• Loss of monetary support;
• Loss of household support;
• Compensation for such things as mental anguish, and loss of care, comfort, and advice;
• Other economic damages caused by the accidental death of a loved one; and
• Loss of income from the decedent.

A surviving spouse or domestic partner also has the right to recover money damages for the loss of the relationship itself. This is called a loss of consortium. This loss of consortium claim is considered a separate claim on behalf of aggrieved spouse or partner. This is an example of one reason it is critical to retain a knowledgeable attorney to help you through a terrible situation like the death of a loved one.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

You Must Act Quickly

You must act quickly after someone dies if you believe they died because of someone else's negligence. There are time limits for you to act, called statute of limitations , which require you to bring a lawsuit within a certain period of time, or risk losing the right to recover money.

The Law Offices of Adam Sorrells can help you get back on track, and can help minimize the terrible affect that such a tragedy has on a family. We know that you likely cannot pay attorney's fees and costs at such a difficult time. Like all of our other cases, we do all of the work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we will never send you a bill, and you will never have to pay anything to us out of pocket. We only get paid if we recover for you. In that circumstance, we get paid out of the settlement or verdict. We also advance all of the case costs.

Mr. Sorrells handles cases all over the State, from San Diego to Redding. He has been to trial in San Diego County, including San Diego, Orange County, including Irvine, Sacramento County, including Sacramento, Glenn County, including Willows, Shasta County, including Redding, Tehama County, including Red Bluff, Sutter County, including Yuba City, and of course, Butte County, including Chico and Oroville. In addition to the trials listed above, Mr. Sorrells has litigated cases all across the State, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, and more.

Call Mr. Sorrells for personal representation to handle your legal needs in this most difficult of times.