MAUI WILDFIRE WRONGFUL DEATH RECOVERIES

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The terrible Maui wildfires have devastated hundreds of families with horrible losses. The worst of those losses involve the wildfire deaths of an unprecedented number of victims. To suffer serious personal injury, property damage, and business loss is bad enough. To have a family member die in the wildfire brings an irreplaceable loss.

Financial recoveries through wrongful-death liability claims cannot replace your lost loved one. But monetary recoveries can help protect you against the financial devastation that can come with losing a loved one. Retain the compassionate and courageous attorneys at the Lento Law Group now to determine your right to maintain a wrongful-death action for the loss of your loved one in the horrible Maui wildfire. Call 833.536.8652 or reach out to us now for a free consultation.

Who May Recover in a Maui Wildfire Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim seeks to provide a monetary recovery for surviving family members of a person who died relating to the Maui wildfire. Depending on the applicable law, a wrongful death claim may compensate the spouse, parent, child, sibling, and other surviving dependents and close family members. Hawaii’s wrongful death statute, for instance, states that a wrongful death action compensates the “surviving spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, children, father, mother, and … any person wholly or partly dependent upon the deceased person.”

What a Maui Wildfire Wrongful Death Claim May Pay

While no legal action can bring back the deceased, a wrongful death claim seeks to make the surviving family members as whole for their loss as possible. Hawaii’s wrongful death statute, for instance, compensations for:

“loss of society, companionship, comfort, consortium, or protection”;
“loss of marital care, attention, advice, or counsel”;
“loss of care, attention, advice, or counsel of a reciprocal beneficiary” as other law defines;
“loss of filial care or attention”; and
“loss of parental care, training, guidance, or education….”

Maui Wildfire Wrongful Death Recovery Theories

Maui wildfire wrongful death recoveries generally depend on proving a negligence, gross negligence, products liability, or other tort claim against public or private entities whose acts or omissions caused or contributed to wildfire losses. Investigations are turning up evidence supporting several possible theories. Aged, outdated, and unreasonably dangerous electric lines and equipment may have sparked the wildfires.

Once the wildfires started, officials may have unreasonably or recklessly failed to use available emergency notification systems. They may also have failed to reasonably evacuate or even may have actively discouraged, delayed, or frustrated evacuation. Other public or private entities may have failed to properly suppress the wildfires using available fire suppression utilities and equipment. Further investigation will likely provide evidence supporting other liability theories.

Who Might Pay a Maui Wildfire Wrongful Death Recovery

The public utilities responsible may include Hawaiian Electric Company, its parent Hawaiian Electric Industries, Maui Electric Company, the County of Maui, and local city governments. Further investigation may reveal multiple other responsible public and private entities.

Maui Wildfire Wrongful Death Attorneys