Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is a form of tort damage for which a victim’s family members can seek financial recovery. Under the body of tort law, a person who is negligent or who intentionally hurts someone else is held legally liable for that action. California’s wrongful death laws permit only individuals with a certain relationship to the victim to file a wrongful death claim. Below are the heirs who may file these actions, in descending order of priority:
• The victim’s surviving spouse, children, dependent stepchildren, dependent minors living in the victim’s household for at least six months, and dependent parents.
• If there are no heirs as described above, then claimants include those who would be entitled to inherit the victim’s estate under the law of intestate succession: Parents, whether or not they were dependent; if there are none, then siblings or children of deceased siblings; if there are none, then grandparents; if there are none, then children of a deceased spouse.
• If none of these relatives exist, the next of kin may file a wrongful death suit.
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. When proceeds are received from the wrongful death suit, they may be distributed by the personal representative according to the wrongful death statute.
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:
• 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;
• the loss of gifts or benefits that the heir would have expected to receive from the victim;
• funeral and burial expenses; and
• the reasonable value of the household services that the wrongful death victim would have provided to the heir.
A California jury is also permitted to award the monetary value of certain types of non-economic losses due to a wrongful death. These include:
• the loss of the victim’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, and society;
• the loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations, if applicable; and
• the loss of the training and guidance of the victim, if applicable.
A jury is not permitted 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.
If one of your family members has been the victim of an injury, a wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate so that you can recover financial compensation for your suffering. Call our office today at 877-603-8473 for a free case review.