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51 East Campbell Avenue Suite 120 Campbell, CA 95008
Caputo & Van Der Walde llp
Local Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys
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At Caputo & Van Der Walde, we understand that losing a loved one in a workplace accident is a heartbreaking, life-altering experience. While nothing can replace your loss, our experienced lawyers are here to help you hold negligent third parties accountable and pursue the justice and compensation your family deserves. Contact us for a free consultation with a San Jose workplace wrongful death lawyer today.
Losing a loved one unexpectedly is a frightening and chaotic experience, and especially so when it is discovered that the underlying accident could and should have been prevented.
If you have lost a loved one in a preventable workplace accident, you may have the right to seek justice and compensation through the civil justice system, rather than workers’ compensation. However, the unique facts of your case will determine what rights and legal options you have.
Our San Jose wrongful death attorneys at Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys are passionate about protecting the rights of families who suffer tragic and innumerable consequences following the death of their loved ones. With experience handling claims of negligence, we can help you understand whether you may have a valid wrongful death lawsuit, and help you seek a recovery of your damages.
Most employers in the state of California are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. This no-fault insurance is intended to provide workers who suffer injuries while performing job-related duties, as well as families who lose loved ones in workplace accidents, with medical and financial benefits – regardless of who is at fault.
Because the workers’ comp system operates on a system that does not take fault into consideration, there may be situations where families can seek justice and compensation outside of workers’ compensation in order to hold negligent parties accountable, and recover the full scope of their damages.
These wrongful death lawsuits are filed in civil court, and they may be pursued in connection to fatal workplace accidents under certain circumstances involving negligence, typically when it involves a third party other than the employer.
Families may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit if their loved one’s death resulted from the negligent or wrongful acts of a third party, meaning a party who was not the worker’s direct employer. Commonly, these suits are filed against contractors that may have worked with the employer, but can include a number of various situations. Examples include:
Due to California laws regarding workers’ compensation, families are generally unable to file wrongful death lawsuits if only the victim’s employer was negligent. That’s because these claims are generally handled in the workers’ comp system.
However, there may be some cases, such as those involving egregious acts of negligence, criminal activity, or intentional misconduct, where civil wrongful death suits against an employer may be permitted. Additionally, employers may be held partially at fault and civilly liable if their negligence and the negligence of a third party contributed to an employee’s death.
As members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, we have proven our ability to negotiate and litigate on behalf of our clients successfully. Retain us to put our tactical strategies to work for you. These skills are what make our legal team such a formidable opponent in any courtroom or negotiation setting.