Long Beach Wrongful Death By Police Lawyer

Police officers have an inherently dangerous job, and sometimes, they are required to use deadly force to protect themselves and members of the public from imminent threats of deadly harm. Unfortunately, sometimes, their use of force results in wrongful death. If you have lost a loved one due to police misconduct, you may have grounds for legal recourse. A Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer can help you understand your legal options in this tragic situation.

Compassionate Legal Counsel for Wrongful Death by Police Cases in Long Beach, CA

The Greg Peacock Law team has years of professional experience helping clients in Long Beach and surrounding communities of California with all types of police misconduct cases, including wrongful arrests, excessive force, police brutality, and even wrongful death. Whenever the police fail to meet the requirements of their job and deadly harm results, the family of the victim has the right to pursue accountability and compensation for their loss.

Our firm will carefully review the details of your case, help you understand the process you must complete to ensure accountability and explain the various damages you may be able to claim from a police officer and/or the police department responsible for a loved one’s death. Even if they were killed during an arrest for committing a crime, if they did not pose an imminent threat of deadly harm and the police escalated the situation unnecessarily, this could be grounds for a suit.

Why You Need a Long Beach Wrongful Death by Police Lawyer

Do not assume that you can handle a civil claim for wrongful death by police without legal counsel. Even if you are certain that your family member’s death was the result of police misconduct, this type of civil suit is inherently difficult to win, and attempting to handle it alone while struggling with the loss of a loved one is unlikely to yield positive results.

An experienced legal team can help you understand the requirements for filing a police misconduct claim in California, the statutory rules you must follow to file your case correctly, and what evidence you will need in order to hold the defendant officer accountable for their actions. They can handle your legal affairs on your behalf and help you reach the optimal outcome to this difficult civil case.

You can rely on your Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer at Greg Peacock Law to represent you in every phase of your case, from gathering the evidence needed to prove that police misconduct resulted in the death of your family member to identifying all the various forms of compensation you are eligible to seek with your claim. Our goal is to help you maximize your compensation as efficiently as possible.

Wrongful Death By Police

Call Greg Peacock Law today at
(949) 292-7478 for your Free Consultation!

Free Consultation!

How Do Police Cause Wrongful Deaths in Long Beach?

Police officers are required to use careful judgment while performing their job duties, and sometimes this entails confronting inherently dangerous situations. Police officers are issued firearms so they can protect themselves and others from imminent threats. However, they may only draw and fire their weapons when there is a clear threat before them. If the police escalate a situation without just cause, this can form the basis of a police misconduct claim.

It is possible for a wrongful death by police claim to arise from many different scenarios:

• If your loved one was shot and killed by police without presenting a clear threat of imminent harm, this is an example of excessive force that has led to a wrongful death and would likely form grounds for a civil suit.
• It is possible for a suspect to die in police custody if they fail to recognize a medical emergency, address an injury the suspect suffered prior to or during arrest, or acknowledge a suspect’s medical condition.
• Police may cause a wrongful death to a bystander if they fail to exercise firearm safety by confirming their target and what is beyond the target before firing. For example, if they attempt to shoot a suspect who presents a threat and a stray shot enters a nearby home or hits a bystander, this can be the basis for a wrongful death claim.
• It is possible for the police to cause a wrongful death by using excessive force during arrest, even if they do not use their firearm. For example, when subduing a suspect, if the officer causes the suspect to hit their head on the ground, this could cause an internal brain injury that quickly proves fatal, and the officers may fail to recognize the need for immediate medical intervention after the arrest.
• Police officers are required to operate their vehicles safely and must abide by all traffic signals unless they are actively pursuing a suspect in another vehicle or responding to an emergency. If a police officer mishandles their vehicle in any way or negligently causes a fatal accident, they can be held accountable for any resulting injuries or deaths.
• In rare cases, police officers can cause wrongful deaths with intentional acts of excessive force. They may intend to hurt a suspect without necessarily intending to kill them. However, if such actions result in the victim’s death, this is a very serious case of police brutality that may not only lead to formal discipline against the officer but also criminal charges.

Your Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer will closely examine the details of the situation that led to your family member’s death and help you determine your optimal path to ensuring accountability. A successful wrongful death suit may also yield valuable compensation that will help your family adjust to your new circumstances following the death in question.

In order to succeed with a wrongful death by police claim in Long Beach, the plaintiff must prove that police misconduct of some type occurred and that this misconduct directly caused the death in question. It is common for defendants in these cases to claim their actions were justified in various ways, but an experienced Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer can help you disprove any such allegations to ensure accountability.

Qualified Immunity in Police Misconduct Cases

Most police officers are protected by qualified immunity, a legal concept that exists to insulate police from civil claims for damages in response to actions taken while on duty. This can prevent an individual from suing a police officer in certain situations, but qualified immunity does not apply when a police officer violates Constitutional rights, acts with egregious negligence, or acts with actual malice and harms a member of the public.

In order to file a police misconduct case in Long Beach, the plaintiff and their attorney must be able to cite previous cases that include similar details to the current case. This proves that the police officer in question violated an established law, and thus, qualified immunity will not apply. These are inherently complex cases that demand the attention of seasoned legal counsel. The right attorney will be an invaluable asset for building the foundation of your wrongful death case.

Claiming Compensation for Wrongful Death by Police

In California, a wrongful death claim is a type of personal injury claim filed by the surviving family of a victim of a personal injury. If the victim would have had grounds to file a personal injury suit if they had survived, then their family would have grounds to file a wrongful death claim when they have not. Success with this type of case requires clear proof of the exact cause of the death in question.

If you intend to file a wrongful death claim pertaining to an act of police misconduct, your Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer will help you gather the foundational evidence needed to overcome the officer’s qualified immunity and proceed with your civil suit. If you can successfully prove that intentional police brutality, excessive force, or gross negligence resulted in your family member’s death, it is possible to claim compensation for:

• Damages to the estate of the deceased, such as their final medical expenses, if any type of medical intervention was attempted for the injury that claimed their life. It is also possible for the family to claim compensation for any of the victim’s damaged property.
• Funeral and burial expenses.
• Compensation for lost financial support if the deceased earned income for their family. The family may also seek compensation for the lost value of household services the deceased provided, as well as increased living expenses directly resulting from the wrongful death.
• Compensation for the pain and suffering the victim experienced prior to their death because of the defendant’s actions. It is possible that the injury that took their life was not immediately fatal. Your attorney can assess the details of any such injury and help you determine a suitable amount of compensation to seek with your claim.
• Compensation for the pain and suffering experienced by the family of the victim due to the mental anguish and emotional distress resulting from the wrongful death. This can be difficult to quantify in monetary terms, and it is impossible to assign a dollar value to a human life. Your legal representative will help you maximize this aspect of your recovery.
• Legal expenses. Under certain conditions, a plaintiff may seek compensation for their attorneys’ fees, court filing fees, and other expenses related to bringing their claim. If you have any concerns about the cost of bringing a wrongful death by police claim, your attorney can advise you whether it would be reasonable to expect compensation for your legal expenses as part of your final case award.
• Punitive damages. The court can award punitive damages when a defendant’s behavior indicates a clear and willful dereliction of duty or egregious negligence. The amount the plaintiff can receive will typically depend on the court’s determination of how serious the defendant’s actions were.

A successful police misconduct claim for wrongful death may also lead to an injunction against the police officer’s department. The plaintiff may seek to have the defendant fired from the police force, require the police department to conduct corrective training for their officers, or complete a formal evaluation of their arrest procedures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

What to Expect From Your Long Beach Wrongful Death By Police Lawyer

Greg Peacock Law focuses exclusively on police misconduct cases in Long Beach and surrounding areas of California because we firmly believe in holding police officers and police departments accountable when they violate the rights of citizens in any way. Throughout the years of our firm’s operation we have successfully represented many clients in all types of police misconduct cases.

We know the unique legal challenges you are likely to face in a wrongful death by police claim and the emotional strain of the situation you face. Our goal is to help you make clearer sense of your legal options in the aftermath of a loved one’s wrongful death by police and to help your family recover the maximum amount of compensation possible under California law.

It is important to remember that filing a wrongful death suit against the police is very different from filing a wrongful death suit against another private party. It is essential to have experienced legal counsel on your side for this type of case if you want to have the greatest chance of successfully holding the defendant accountable for your family member’s death. We can provide the ongoing support you will need throughout these difficult proceedings.

If you have any concerns about the cost of hiring an attorney for a wrongful death by police claim in Long Beach, this is no cause for alarm if you choose Greg Peacock Law to represent you. We take police misconduct cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning our firm will not charge you a fee unless we win your case. There are no upfront fees, and we will only charge a percentage of your final case award if we succeed with your claim.

You face a strict time limit if you intend to file any type of police misconduct case in Long Beach. The sooner you connect with an experienced attorney, the more likely you will be to succeed with your claim and hold the defendant accountable. Contact Greg Peacock Law today and schedule your consultation with a Long Beach wrongful death by police lawyer you can trust. We can help you with this difficult case.