Catastrophic family loss occurred in a San Diego car crash this weekend.

California – February 15, 2021

A San Diego community is mourning the deaths of a father and son who were killed in a car crash Friday night when leaving the Poway High School parking in a Toyota sedan. A 19-year-old driver in a Mercedes hit the car on the driver’s side as it was exiting the lot, resulting in fatal injury to the father at the scene, and the son later dying at the Rady Children’s Hospital. The driver of the Mercedes was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Surviving family members and loved ones should seek legal counsel to assist with insurance document filings, and legal action to secure compensation for this catastrophic loss to their family. An experienced attorney’s guidance can make the difference between continued financial strain compounding the emotional losses, or securing future financial stability as the family struggles through their catastrophic loss.

Motor vehicle accidents.

An investigation will have to be undertaken to seek out any negligent behaviors that may have caused the accident. If reckless driving was involved, an experienced attorney can help with the criminal components, and assist with insurance responsibilities under the deceased driver’s policy to pay for immediate expenses related to the funeral and burial costs. California is a “fault” state and a victim can bring a claim against the responsible party, before filing a claim against their own no-fault insurance. In this case the no-fault component may be best to utilize to address the immediate costs and losses to the family.

Wrongful death and survival actions.

California personal injury attorneys research case specifics to determine if negligence was the cause of an accident that caused a wrongful death. A wrongful death legal action can be brought by loved ones after a person dies because of the negligent, reckless, or deliberate act of another. Damages in these lawsuits can include:

Medical bills and burial expenses
Compensation for lost wages
Compensation for pain and suffering
Punitive damages.

A survivor’s action may also compensate the estate for losses suffered by the “decedent” prior to death, which would include hospital treatment for the son.

Car Insurance and liability.

California is considered a fault, or tort state with regard to motor vehicle accidents and the law requires that drivers have a way to cover costs related to damages, or injuries caused by a motor vehicle accident. Experienced car accident attorneys can assist in the process of determining negligence of drivers and work with insurance companies to make sure that damage expenses are covered, and by building court case actions when insurance limits do not fully address the losses suffered by an accident victim.

Hire an attorney.

Seek counsel at Jeffrey E. Estes & Associates soon after a car accident, where driver negligence contributed to multiple family fatalities. Depending upon the case circumstances, legal counsel can file a wrongful death action and a survivor’s action. These legal remedies must be initiated within California’s two-year statute of limitations period from the date a person died in an accident.

Jeffrey E. Estes & Associates, a Professional Law Corporation
501 West Broadway, Suite 1650
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-233-8021
Fax: 619-233-3730

Sources.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2021-02-15/poway-car-accident-father-son

https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/insurance-requirements/

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1785