California, like most states, sets specific time limits, called statutes of limitations, for filing particular types of claims. If the statute of limitations expires, you can lose your right to file a claim.
- Legal Basis: Wrongful death claims arise when a death results from negligence (e.g., a car accident due to reckless driving, medical malpractice), recklessness, or intentional misconduct (e.g., criminal acts).
- Civil Action: Unlike criminal murder cases, which are prosecuted by the state and focus on punishment, wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases filed by private individuals seeking monetary damages.
- Burden of Proof: The standard of proof in a wrongful death lawsuit is lower than in a criminal case. The plaintiff must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant's actions or negligence more likely than not caused the death.
- Eligible Claimants: State laws determine who can file a wrongful death claim. Typically, the deceased's surviving spouse, children, and parents are eligible. Some states, like California, also recognize domestic partners, stepchildren, dependent minors, and other heirs or the estate representative.
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Damages: Wrongful death claims seek compensation for both economic and non-economic losses.
- Economic Damages: These cover quantifiable financial losses such as funeral and burial expenses, medical bills incurred before death, loss of the deceased's income and future earnings, loss of benefits (e.g., health insurance, pension), and the value of household services the deceased would have provided.
- Non-Economic Damages: These address intangible losses like pain and suffering, loss of companionship, guidance, care, assistance, protection, affection, and society.
- Punitive Damages: In some cases, if the defendant's conduct was particularly reckless or egregious, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar actions in the future.
- Statute of Limitations: There are strict time limits for filing wrongful death claims, which vary by state and the circumstances of the case. For instance, in California, the general statute of limitations is two years from the date of death. Missing this deadline can result in the loss of the right to seek compensation.
What is Wrongful Death?
A wrongful death is a death caused by the negligence or misconduct of an individual or company. The death could be from a traffic accident, medical mistakes made in a hospital, work-related injuries sustained on the job, violence by criminals, airplane or train crashes, exposure to a toxic substance, or similar events.
What is a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil claim or lawsuit for damages, such as compensation for funeral expenses, loss of future income, and other benefits that the survivors have lost due to the victim's death. This is different from a survivor's action, which is a civil claim for losses that the victim experienced before death. In some cases, however, a wrongful death claim and a survivor's action may be brought together. Our attorneys have experience with both wrongful death and survivor's actions.
In California, wrongful death suits can be brought against individuals or companies. Also, if the death resulted from a criminal act, a person may be both prosecuted criminally for homicide and sued civilly in a wrongful death action (as in the O.J. Simpson cases).
Who May Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim may be brought by the spouse, domestic partner, child, or dependent parent of the wrongful death victim. There are certain restrictions, though. For example, some states prohibit one family member from filing a wrongful death claim against another for the death of a third family member.
Damages Claimed in a Wrongful Death Case?
The damages that can be claimed in a wrongful death case are based on losses that the survivors have suffered due to the death. It is impossible to say what damages, if any, may be recovered in any particular case without knowing the circumstances of that case. But some examples of the types of damages sought in wrongful death cases include the following:
- Funeral expense;
- Loss of future earnings (which the victim would have earned had he or she lived);
- Benefits lost due to the victim's death, such as medical insurance, pensions or retirement plans;
- Companionship, care or protection; and
- Suffering and mental anguish experienced by the survivors because of the death.
In cases involving both a wrongful death claim and a survivor's action, the damages sought in the wrongful death claim cannot be the same as the damages sought in the survivor's action.
Wrongful Death Legal Considerations
We cannot offer legal advice to you without knowledge of the circumstances of your case, and nothing on this website should be construed as offering such advice. If you believe a family member has died from the misconduct or negligence of another, and seek to bring a wrongful death claim, it is prudent to obtain legal advice from an attorney as soon as possible.
How We Can Help
The attorneys in our office have extensive experience with wrongful death claims, and are well-versed in the complex legal issues raised by these claims. They will put their resources and experience to work for you. And our lawyers and staff receive a tremendous amount of satisfaction knowing that they are helping families who have lost a loved one unexpectedly.
