There are times when the criminal system can not provide you with justice after a death. The cause of death may not meet any of the requirements to be a legal case, or the authorities may simply not be able to put together enough evidence to make a case that they feel will succeed. Either way, you should speak to a wrongful death attorney in San Diego and find out whether this could be a way to get some measure of satisfaction.
It is sometimes impossible to bring a criminal case because the death wasn’t caused by a clear criminal act. When someone is behind the wheel of a car and causes an accident that kills someone, it isn’t automatically going to be true that they will be held responsible on a criminal level. Likewise, a doctor whose negligence causes a patient to die might end up not facing charges. The standards on wrongful death are different, though. Because this is a civil claim instead of a criminal one, it requires only a preponderance of the evidence instead of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This basically means that the jury only has to feel that it’s more likely than not that a person was responsible for the death.
Hiring a Wrongful death attorney San Diego and pursuing a claim can be a way to get justice and also to gain some financial support for those the deceased left behind. When there are children who are no longer able to count on the money from a lost parent, for example, this kind of claim can be a way of replacing the lost income so that they will still have the material things they need in life. It can also be a critical way for a surviving spouse to get enough money to pay for child care to make up for the fact that the other parent is no longer around to help.
You have the option of talking to a wrongful death attorney when someone has died due to someone else’s conduct. This is true regardless of whether the authorities successfully pursue a criminal claim. It can be particularly attractive, though, when someone has escaped criminal responsibility, if only as a way to get the courts to affirm the fact that this individual was at fault.
