Losing a loved one to the negligence of another person is devastating, but insult is added to injury when you begin to receive expensive bills for medical expenses, the funeral and the burial. This is only the beginning because you are left without your loved one’s salary for all of your other expenses, and you and the remaining family members must learn to survive on your own. You should not have to pay these expenses when there is a guilty party who may even have acted in an intentional way to harm your loved one. In California, you are entitled to file a “wrongful death lawsuit,” and you will need to hire a wrongful death attorney to help you fight the other side. First, we will explain what is meant by “wrongful death” below:
What Is a “Wrongful Death” in California?
A wrongful death is one that occurred because of the negligent or willful actions of another person. It is a lawsuit that family members of the victim bring against the person responsible for the death. California allows these types of lawsuits because it recognizes the deep impact that the loss of a family member holds for people. It is a manner outside of the criminal justice system that gives family members justice and a means of financial compensation.
Wrongful death typically results from accidents in which someone was determined to be negligent. Other examples are deaths from defective products, dangerous premises and medical malpractice.
Sometimes, people have acted intentionally and caused the death of the victim, and this conduct is considered to be reckless. This means that the defendant showed a callous disregard for the possibility of causing others bodily harm. Crimes, such as battery, fall under this umbrella. For manufacturers, it has been the intentional release of a product that was known to be dangerous.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Several people can file a wrongful death lawsuit, including the following in descending order:
• The victim’s spouse or domestic partner
• The victim’s surviving children
• The victim’s grandchildren, if the grandchildren are from a deceased child
In addition to the above, any minors who lived with the victim for at least 180 days before the victim died have standing in a wrongful death lawsuit. This includes foster children. The victim’s parents may file a wrongful death lawsuit if the victim did not have surviving children, and the victim’s siblings have standing if the victim’s parents are deceased.
Additional Family Members Entitled to Bring a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In California, the following people may bring a wrongful death lawsuit if they were financially dependent upon the victim:
• A partner who believed that he or she was married to the victim
• Children of the partner listed above
• Stepchildren of the victim
• Parents of the victim
• The victim’s legal guardians, if the victim’s parents are deceased
In a wrongful death lawsuit, plaintiffs receive damages if they prove their claims in court. These “damages” compensate the plaintiffs for their losses, and they may be of the following types:
Economic Damages
Economic damages can be definitively calculated because they have a numeric value. An example is the victim’s salary that he or she would have contributed toward the family over the years. The court also typically awards funeral and burial expenses and remaining medical bills. They may receive a sum of money for gifts and other benefits the victim would have given to his or her family members.
Family members may also receive payment for the services the victim provided for the family. These include housekeeping services, cooking, cleaning, childcare and maintenance that the family would be required to hire outside help to provide.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include the loss of moral support, society, affection, protection, assistance, care, comfort, companionship and love. It also includes the loss of the romantic relationship the surviving spouse had with the victim and the loss of training and guidance for the children. These damages fall under a loss of consortium claim.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages may be awarded if the defendant acted in a manner that is particularly blameworthy and reckless. The court awards these damages as a way of punishing the defendant. It also serves as a means of deterring the defendant and others from committing similar crimes in the future.
The Statute of Limitations
In wrongful death lawsuits, the statute of limitations is generally two years. If this date passes and the lawsuit has not been filed, family members lose the right to do so. If the family decides to file the lawsuit after the statute of limitations passes, the court will dismiss the case.
Government Entities
There are, however, exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations rule. If the defendant is a government entity, the statute of limitations may be 6 months. The defendant may also be a government employee who is responsible for a death that occurred while the employee was performing his or her governmental duties. In this case, the statute of limitations could also be 6 months.
Medical Malpractice
When the wrongful death is due to medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is within three years of the date of the victim’s injury. It may also be within one year of the date that the victim discovered or should have discovered that there was an injury.
The deadline that applies in medical malpractice cases will be the earliest of the two. If the defendant concealed the harm that he or she caused the victim, the court may increase the statute of limitations. The court also increases the statute of limitations in cases when the surgeon left objects inside the victim’s body during surgery.
The examples here are not exhaustive, so it is in your best interests to hire a wrongful death attorney if you are unsure of when the statute of limitations for your case ends.
