It’s really hard to lose a son, particularly if his death was something that could have been avoided. In this California case, a distraught mother contacted a wrongful death attorney to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her 16-year old son. He died at a party where there was underage drinking.
No parent ever wants to be in this kind of a situation; one where they have to bury their child. This case is a difficult one because it was senseless and could have been avoided had the negligence of others not taken place. The mother’s wrongful death attorney will be making that point when the case is filed.
While drinking seems to be a part of the high school milieu, it is not encouraged by anyone, and certainly not by concerned parents. In this case, the party was a large one and it was without any type of supervision. The shocking facts that came out after the 16-year olds death indicated that the parents and children who hosted the party were the ones who bought the alcohol in the first place. In fact, the wrongful death attorney discovered in the police report that the host family’s teenage son and daughter had used false ID cards to get the liquor.
In filing this lawsuit, the wrongful death attorney cited negligence by the students who had the alcohol on the premises at the party and on the part of the parents who were out of town, while having the reasonable expectation that their children would hold a party in their absence. One thing is for sure, the parents did not give permission for the gathering to take place.
The 16-year old boy had been at the party for about two hours when he collapsed in front of two other students. One of them knew CPR and was able to revive him. He was shaky on his feet and taken to a bedroom to lie down. They left him there and planned to check on him again, but unfortunately, he vomited and choked. He was found near death and CPR was given again as 911 was being called. It was too late.
The results of the autopsy that the wrongful death attorney has in his records shows that the boy had very little alcohol in his bloodstream and that is was possible an undiagnosed heart problem may have caused his sudden death. On the other hand, the alcohol he did drink may have prompted the heart problems. This is something the wrongful death attorney will be covering in the lawsuit.
The police report, also on file with the wrongful death attorney, shows citations and fines were issued to the two teens (18 and 19 years old) who hosted the illegal underage drinking party. They were subsequently sentenced to probation and community service for providing alcohol to minors.
The wrongful death attorney is asking for an undisclosed amount of monetary compensation for the mother’s loss of her son’s companionship, moral and financial support, as well as compensation for the funeral costs.
When someone dies as the result of negligence on the part of another, the surviving relatives may speak to a wrongful death attorney and file a civil lawsuit asking for damages from the party or parties that were responsible for the death. Damages are to compensate the survivors for medical bills (if any), lost wages, loss of companionship (referred to as compensatory damages) or punitive damages, and awarded to punish the offending individuals for their negligent acts.
Compensatory damages are usually awarded by a judge or jury and the intention is that the money repays the survivors for the cost of medical bills, funeral expenses and the burial, as well as any other bills they had to pay as a consequence of the wrongful death. The wrongful death attorney goes about proving compensatory damages by submitting receipts to the court.
This category of damages may be awarded to compensate for work income the victim would have earned if they had lived. In the case of a 16-year old boy, this would be difficult, but not impossible to calculate and would be figured out postulated on what his choice of career would have been and his life expectancy. There are other ways to figure this out, and the wrongful death attorney may do that to reduce future earnings to today’s dollar value.
Punitive damages are awarded by the judge or jury if the negligent act was grossly negligent and is intended to punish the perpetrator for their heinous acts. Not all awards handed down by a court have punitive damages included, and not all wrongful death attorneys ask for punitive damages. It tends to depend on the facts of the case at hand.
