What is wrongful death? A wrongful death is defined as a person who has been killed by negligence, intentional acts, or another person’s wrongful act. This is according to the CA Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60.
In general, wrongful deaths can be brought by certain family members or the personal representatives of the deceased. There are steps every family must take immediately after the death of a loved one due to wrongfulness.
Find Out Who Can Make a Wrongful Death Claim
Before your family or you can file a wrongful-death claim, you need to determine who is eligible for a lawsuit against the responsible parties. California’s wrongful death laws permit the following personal representatives and loved ones to file a claim.
● Domestic partners and survivors of spouses.
● If the grandchildren or children of the deceased are not still alive, they can be adopted by their children.
● Stepkids and other financial dependents, depending on the circumstances.
● Other persons who are eligible for the property of the deceased (includes personal representatives).
Tenina Law can help you determine if you are eligible to file a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Calculate Potential Damages
Next, calculate the potentially recoverable damages. A wrongful death lawsuit allows loved ones and their dependents to claim compensation for the loss of support.
This includes economic and non-economic damage. These include, but aren’t limited to: The family member who died would receive financial support if they had not suffered wrongful death.
Without the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney, calculating eligible damages can be confusing and difficult. Ineligible damages can lead to wrongful death claims being denied, delayed, or underpaid. For more information, please contact us.
This article was written by Alla Tenina. Alla is a top Orange County personal injury attorney, and the founder of Tenina Law. She has experience in bankruptcies, real estate planning, and complex tax matters. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; the ABA and its members do not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.
