Having to bear the loss of a loved one who died in a fatal car accident is a process that no one ever wishes to go through. These things happen though and the surviving members must find way to soldier on without their deceased loved one. When the cause of the accident that claimed your loved one however can be attributed to the fault of a negligent or drunk driver(s), then you don’t just have to sit back and bear the pain, you can file for car accident claims Medford Oregon. For sure, it will not bring your loved one back, but at least you will feel a sense of justice and that might help you cope better with you loss. Plus money always helps, and you stand to get a lot from these claims.
Who Can File For A Car Accident Claim?
Usually, when an accident occurs due to negligence on a driver’s part, then it is the party directly involved in the accident that should file for car accident claims Medford Oregon. If the accident was a fatal one however, then the law states that the dependants of the deceased can make a compensation claim as long as the accident was a result of somebody else’s negligence or mistake.
Dependants in this context include any of the following: the deceased’s
- Children; whether biological, step or adopted children.
- Siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces or nephews.
- Parents, or those he considered his parents.
- A spouse or ex-spouse.
- Living partner whom they must have spent at least two years together before the accident.
Claims That You Can Make
Loss of Dependency: if the deceased’s income was what his family and other relatives relied on for their daily means, then the dependants can make a claim that would provide them with money to keep on living their life.
Loss of Services: maybe the deceased was the handy man in his home or was responsible for the wellbeing of another family member, then the dependants can demand compensation so that they can hire someone else to continue with such duties.
Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity: this is applicable if the deceased was bed-ridden before his eventual death. This claim covers compensation for the pain that the deceased went through in the days before his death.
Loss of Earning: this is also applicable if the deceased didn’t die immediately but couldn’t work and earn a living until he eventually died. The compensation in this case would be for the money that was lost in form of unpaid earnings for all the time that the deceased was too indisposed to work.
Actual Financial Losses: this involves compensation for the actual cost that was incurred in caring for the deceased right from the time of the accident up until when he breathed his last and even beyond. Usually such costs would cover hospital expenses and other form of medical care that the deceased might have received before his death. It could also cover all funeral expenses that were incurred thereafter and that which was incurred in dealing with the deceased’s estate should there be a need.
It is important to note that the deceased’s family has 3 years to make a claim in cases like this. The 3 years starts counting from the day that the accident victim dies or that it was confirmed that the cause of the victim’s death was the accident.
