California Wrongful Death Lawyer

For more information, visit our Wrongful Death Info Center.

Wrongful Death

According to the National Safety Council, a fatal injury occurs every five minutes. There were approximately 101,500 accidental deaths in the U.S. in 2003. The leading causes of accidental deaths are motor vehicle accidents, falls, poisonings, choking, and fires, flames and smoke. A "wrongful death" occurs when a person dies due to the negligent, careless, intentional, or reckless act of another person or entity. If someone close to you has died due to the wrongful act or neglect of another, it is important to find a reputable and well-established law firm with an exceptional reputation for handling wrongful death cases.

Time is of the essence in many wrongful death actions. Preserving evidence and identifying defendants are key factors in many of the underlying accidents involving death cases. This requires retaining investigators and experts to commence investigations and evaluations as promptly as possible. Hiring legal representation therefore should not be delayed.

Wrongful Death Statutes

Under traditional "common law" wrongful death actions did not exist. It was thought that the claim of the victim of a wrongful death died with that person. State legislatures realized that this rule failed to compensate family members and others who suffered certain economic and non-economic losses due to a person's death and enacted wrongful death statutes to correct this problem.

California Wrongful Death Claimants

California's wrongful death statute permits three different groups of claimants to assert a wrongful death claim:

1) the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children and the surviving offspring of deceased children of the wrongful death victim, or, if the wrongful death victim left no surviving offspring, then those people who would be entitled to inherit the victim's property had the victim left no will;

2) the putative spouse, children of a putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents of the wrongful death victim, if they were dependent on the victim for support; and

3) a minor who was a resident in the wrongful death victim's household and who was dependent on the wrongful death victim for one-half or more of his or her support.

A "putative spouse" is a person who had a good faith belief that he or she was married to the wrongful death victim, but the marriage was not legally valid. A wrongful death victim's personal representative can also maintain a wrongful death action on behalf of the individuals listed above. A personal representative is a person appointed by the probate court to handle the wrongful death victim's assets, or estate. The group of heirs allowed to sue become the plaintiffs in a wrongful death action.

California Wrongful Death Damages

A wrongful death action is intended to compensate the plaintiffs for their own losses rather than the losses incurred by the deceased. The plaintiffs are not entitled to certain types of damages normally recoverable in a personal injury claim, such as the wrongful death victim's medical expenses, lost income and punitive damages. These claims belong to the wrongful death victim's estate and may be recoverable by the personal representative of the victim in a "survival action." In many cases, the survival action may be joined with the wrongful death claim and litigated at the same time.

Wrongful death laws recognize that certain people suffer their own economic and non-economic losses due to the wrongful death of someone close to them. In California, juries are allowed to award compensation to the heirs asserting the action based upon the following types of economic damages: 1) the financial support that the wrongful death victim would have contributed to the heir during either the life expectancy of the victim or the heir, whichever is shorter; 2) the loss of gifts or benefits that the heir would have expected to receive from the victim; 3) funeral and burial expenses; and 4) the reasonable value of the household services that the wrongful death victim would have provided to the heir. A California jury is also entitled to award the monetary value of certain types of non-economic losses due to a wrongful death. These include: 1) the loss of the victim's love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, and society; 2) the loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations, if applicable; and 3) the loss of the training and guidance of the victim, if applicable. A jury is not entitled to consider the grief, sorrow or mental anguish of the heirs, the poverty or wealth of the heirs, or the wrongful death victim's pain and suffering. An exception exists in cases where a parent or sibling witnesses the injury or death of the victim. In such instances these heirs may claim damages for infliction of emotional distress.

Wrongful Death Lawyers

If someone close to you has died due to the negligent, reckless, or intentional behavior of another party, it is essential that you contact a well-established personal injury law firm. You should ensure that the law firm has extensive experience and exceptional expertise in prosecuting wrongful death claims and the types of accident claims that gave rise to the fatality. Proving the high worth of a wrongful death case requires a great deal of skill and experience. Establishing life expectancy is a necessity and requires a sophisticated analysis of the victim's age, health, activities, lifestyle and occupation. Determining the amount of lost financial support suffered by a claimant requires an economic analysis of the victim's employment history, past wages, and expected future wages. Establishing a monetary value for loss of companionship, society and comfort must be done skillfully through the art of persuasion. By their very nature these are non-economic damages and therefore not quantifiable through mathematical formulas. Proving and explaining liability and damages to a jury may require not only talent and skill but the employment of at times numerous experts. As a result these cases are often expensive to prosecute properly.

Our team of highly skilled attorneys understand the complex nature of wrongful death claims and have helped numerous clients through the difficult circumstances brought about by these tragic losses. We have obtained exceptional results in a large number of death cases. We also have the extensive financial resources that allow us to invest whatever costs are required to enhance our chances of success in these serious and complex cases.

For an immediate consultation regarding a wrongful death of someone close to you, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

For more information, visit our Wrongful Death Info Center.