Which Records Best Support a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

When someone you love dies due to another’s negligence, you deserve justice and compensation for what you’ve lost and your loved one has suffered. Strong records are needed to establish what happened, why it happened, and what it cost your family, and a wrongful death attorney in Victorville, CA will be able to help you gather and use exactly what is needed.

Important Records for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The key records you’ll need in a wrongful death case are:

• All medical records (to prove causation)
• Autopsy report (to prove manner and cause of death)
• Death certificate (to further prove manner and cause of death)
• Police and incident reports (to show negligence)

Medical Records

You will want to collect every medical record connected to your loved one’s care, both before and after the incident that led to their death. There are several things these records will show. First, of course, they’ll demonstrate the exact injuries and how those injuries progressed to a fatal outcome. They’ll also show the timeline of the incident and the moment that harm began, which you’ll need to tie the death to the defendant’s actions rather than some pre-existing condition.

Insurers and defense lawyers will likely try to shift blame to other, pre-existing health issues if they can. Having detailed treatment records will help your lawyer shut that down and show the direct link between the negligence and the death.

Autopsy Report

If an autopsy was performed, that report will be one of the most powerful pieces of evidence you can have. In an autopsy, a forensic pathologist documents the precise cause of death, any contributing factors, and the manner of death.

Death Certificate

The death certificate lists the official cause and manner of death, as well. Courts treat this as prima facie evidence, meaning it automatically carries weight unless it’s contradicted by stronger proof.

Police or Incident Reports

Police reports, accident reconstruction summaries, or official incident logs from the scene of the accident or incident that harmed your loved one will be an independent, contemporaneous account of what occurred. If the incident happened on public property or involved a government entity, additional investigation files may exist, but you’ll need to talk to a lawyer to get access to these records quickly before they are purged.

How Your Victorville, CA Wrongful Death Attorney Will Use Your Records

Your attorney will use the records, piece by piece, building on one another, to construct the strongest possible narrative to show exactly what happened. When the pieces fit together without contradiction, the case becomes much harder for the defense to dismantle. Your attorney can also subpoena additional records that you cannot access on your own, such as internal company safety logs or surveillance footage held by third parties.

Whether you have already begun collecting documents or feel unsure about what to do next, we can help. Contact us today at the Law Offices of Vondra & Hanna in Victorville, CA and let us help you take the next steps.

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