The exclusive Bel-Air Bay Club has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit following the death of one of their members. 48 year-old William M. Keck III was a the Pacific Palisades-based club when he began to suffer from serious heat stroke while at the club, passing away later that same day. His mother has now named the Bel-Air Bay Club as the defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit seeking unspecified damages stemming from her son’s death.

MyNewsLA.com reports on the details of the day, “Keck III laid down on a locker room bench around 2pm after he became ill. An attendant then moved the bench to make room for Keck on the floor. Club employees and attendants then interacted with Keck III for the next three hours as his condition worsened but no one called 911 until another club member entered the locker room at about 5pm and demanded someone do so.” Keck III passed away at UCLA Medical Center shortly after 6pm that same day.

Los Angeles wrongful death lawsuits like this one against the Bel-Air Bay Club are civil, not criminal. The Bel-Air Bay Club did not murder Keck III or do anything against the law that brought about his death that would lead to criminal charges, but what a civil wrongful death claim alleges is that their actions, or in this case lack of actions in failing to bring Keck III to the attention of medical professionals sooner, played a major role in his death. While many wrongful death lawsuits can also have a criminal element (for instance, a deadly car crash with a drunk driver), the purpose of this type of Los Angeles personal injury death lawsuit is to bring a sense of accountability and justice via financial damages against the defendant. While this complaint against the Bel-Air Bay Club seeks unspecified damages, given the age and occupation of Keck III, you can assume it is pretty substantial. Here are some of the things you can potentially recover in a Los Angeles wrongful death lawsuit:

• Expenses surrounding the death: The cost of the trip to the hospital, treatment before death and the burial and funeral costs (which can be quite expensive) are all things that your lawyer can work to get you paid back for.
• Loss of income: This can be a major one in this case. Keck III was in real estate and at only 48 years-old was likely at his peak earning capacity with at least a decade more of work ahead of him, potentially much more. His lawyers will work to forecast out how much money he would have made had he still been alive and the impact the loss of that money will have on his family.
• Pain and suffering: death and dying is a sad process and it is especially emotionally when the death was sudden and should not have happened. While there is no number that can be placed on loss, lawyers work to come up with a figure that reflects this important element of the death.
• More: Every case is unique and things like loss of companionship for spouses, parenting for children and punitive damages (rare) are all possible.

At Walch Law, we have over 40 years of experience helping families deal with the emotional aftermath of a wrongful death. We are here to handle all your legal needs and get you paid as quickly as possible. One call is all it takes. If you have lost a loved one or been seriously injured and think you might have a case, get in touch with us immediately.