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What To Know About California Wrongful Death Claims

When you lose a family member, it turns your life quite literally upset down. For many people, it can be even worse to lose someone you love in a traumatic or unexpected way, and especially if it’s the result of something preventable. 

If you lose someone, you may be dealing with not only the emotional aspects, but you may be reeling financially as well, depending on the circumstances. 

That’s why many families file wrongful death claims. In California, if you are the close family member of the decedent, you potentially have the right to file a wrongful death claim to hold the responsible party accountable for their actions. 

There are limitations to filing a wrongful death claim in California, though. For example, you have to do so within a certain window of time, and you have to be able to provide evidence showing both liability and damages. 

The following are key things to know about wrongful death claims, specifically in California. 

Who Can Sue For Wrongful Death in California?

There are certain family members or personal representatives of family members who can bring a lawsuit in California.

These include surviving spouses and domestic partners, children, and grandchildren if the children of the decedent are also deceased. Other minor children like stepchildren might be able to as well if they were dependent on the decedent for at least half of their financial support. 

Survivors can bring a claim based on an intentional wrongful act, recklessness, gross negligence, or negligence. 

Wrongful acts that are a cause of death include car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, drowning, assault, murder, and medical malpractice. Elder abuse and child abuse are also applicable. 

There are also cases called strict liability, and loved ones may be able to sue if, for example, their relative died from a dog mauling or a defective product, even if the defendant wasn’t negligent. 

What Damages Can You Recover?

If you bring a wrongful death claim, there are compensatory damages that cover losses, both economic and non-economic. 

The idea is that these wrongful death damages compensate the heirs of the decedent for the value of the support they would have provided, had he or she lived. 

For example, damages may cover losses based on the expected lifespan of the deceased person at the time of the wrongful act. 

Life expectancy is something the jury considers in these cases based on relevant factors that can include occupation, lifestyle, and overall health. 

Economic damages in California include the financial support that would have been contributed to the deceased person’s family, the loss of benefits that would have been provided, funeral and burial costs, and the value of household services provided by the deceased person. 

Non-economic damages can include loss of companionship, protection, and affection, as well as training and guidance, and, if applicable, sexual relations. 

There isn’t a standard used to decide noneconomic damages in California for wrongful death. 

Punitive damages are not allowed in California for wrongful death cases unless the decedent is killed by felony homicide, and they have been convicted. 

Factors not taken into account by California juries in wrongful death cases include the victim’s pain and suffering or the grief and anguish of the surviving family members. The level of wealth or poverty of the family is not supposed to be factored in either. 

What Is the Statute of Limitations in California?

The statute of limitations is a law guiding how long you have to bring forth certain lawsuits. The length of time varies depending on the state and the type of claim. If you don’t bring a claim forward within the window of time you have available, then you lose your legal right to make a claim. 

The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in California is typically two years from the date of death. 

There are limited exceptions. 

One exception is the discovery rule. Under this rule, if the decedent’s cause of death isn’t immediately known but later comes out through the revelation of factors or through an investigation, it may extend how long the family has to bring a claim. 

Examples would be if someone concealed information about the cause of death, or the death stemmed from using a consumer product later determined to be dangerous.

If a minor child has a right to sue, for example, if both their parents die in a car accident, they may have longer. The clock on those cases usually doesn’t start until the minor is 18. 

A medical malpractice claim, on the other hand, can shorten how long you have available to file a claim. 

There are certain procedural requirements relating to malpractice claims that lead to a potential wrongful death claim that is different from other wrongful death claims. 

How Is a Wrongful Death Claim Proven?

Your lawyer in a wrongful death claim, if it’s going to be successful, is going to have to show the intentional, reckless or careless actions of someone else caused the death of your family member. 

Evidence can vary, depending on the situation surrounding the death. 

For example, in a car accident, police reports, witness reports, photos, and videos of the scene can all play a role, as can opinions from professional reconstruction experts. 

In a violent crime, the evidence is going to come primarily from the investigating homicide detective. 

In medical error cases, evidence would primarily be medical records, and opinions of medical experts regarding the standard of care. 

Finally, in California cases, there’s something called survival actions that let the family of the victim raise a personal injury claim on their behalf. For this to happen, the victim has to have lived for at least a short period of time after the injury or accident that led to their death. 

In survival actions, damages can include compensation for medical expenses and also punitive damages. 

Depending on the specific circumstance, a family may be able to bring a wrongful death and survival claim in the same lawsuit, but you’ll have to speak to a lawyer about this.


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What To Know About California Wrongful Death Claims

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