Understanding CA Wrongful Death Damages

Ultimate Guide to Understanding Wrongful Death Damages in California

A California wrongful death claim follows the law relating to claims for the loss resulting from a death that is considered to be caused by someone else. Below, our top Los Angeles Wrongful Death Attorney explains the steps in understanding what damages are and how to get awarded maximum compensation for accidental death or intentional killing of a close loved one.

California’s wrongful death statute, which you can find in California Code of Civil Procedure section 337.60, et seq, explains the process. Do you want to file a wrongful death claim? The team at Ehline Law can help.

Do You Have a Wrongful Death Case? Contact Ehline Law

If your loved one’s death results from another person’s negligence or intentional misconduct, you have the right to file a wrongful death case. The deceased’s loved ones may have a valid wrongful death case consequent to traumatic events, including car accidents, slips, trips, and falls that lead to death. We base wrongful death cases on the premise that someone else’s carelessness or intentional infliction of physical harm caused the death of another.

Vital Issues to Consider Before Filing a Wrongful Death Claim

When it comes to wrongful death lawsuits, California wrongful death law allows surviving family members or a decedent’s estate to sue for economic and non-economic damages when a person dies as the result of someone else’s wrongful act, whether the act of killing your beloved family member was negligent, reckless, or intentional.

They can file a wrongful death lawsuit for economic damages and non-economic damages, and even future economic damages. Damages in wrongful death cases can include burial expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, and compensatory damages for the loss of the deceased’s companionship and financial support over their life expectancy.

You can even receive compensation for assistance, protection, affection, society, and more by hiring the right personal injury attorney. Pursuing a wrongful death claim in California may require knowledge and experience in the various issues related to these cases and California civil jury instructions. You need the skills of an expert and aggressive wrongful death lawyer to help you obtain maximum compensation.

Call Our Compassionate Personal Injury Attorney Team

Call us today and set up a free, no-risk consultation with our lawyers. We will explain with compassion and explain your rights, discuss expectations, and tell you how we can help you recover damages.

Let us now establish a common sense, attorney-client relationship to take on your wrongful death action and get you the cash value you deserve. We can also help with defending against or bringing any survival actions.

What Damages are Recoverable in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?

Under California law, a wrongful death lawsuit is “a cause of action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.” We can generally define the damages in wrongful death cases by two distinct time periods: the first category that permits recovery of damages the deceased experienced from the injury that caused the death to the decedent’s death. This category in the code of civil procedure may include medical bills, the decedent’s pain and suffering, lost wages, and funeral and burial expenses.

Moreover, the second category covers all losses the decedent’s next of kin suffered after the victim’s death. This kind of damages will provide support to the decedent’s surviving spouse or family for things like in-home nursing care and value of household services, and other companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, training, and guidance. There are many losses for injury victims to consider before forming an attorney-client relationship or negotiating with an insurance company.

How Much is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Worth in California?

Many factors affect the worth of wrongful death; the most critical factor is the type of losses that the victims have suffered and are therefore seeking compensation for.

California statutes allow plaintiffs to seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, medical expenses incurred prior to the decedent’s death; burial expenses; decedent’s lost wages and benefits that would have been earned but for death; loss of financial support; and value of the loss of parental guidance, companionship, and affection suffered by surviving family members.

We will calculate all economic losses based on their actual monetary value. In other words, if funeral expenses cost the decedent’s family $10,000, then they can seek $10,000 in damages for these expenses when they apply to wrongful death actions.

Conversely, it is more difficult to calculate the worth of non-economic losses, such as the value of lost companionship in a wrongful death suit.

Who Gets the Money in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in California?

Typically, the court can award wrongful death damages to the decedent’s surviving spouse, the surviving children, and the surviving parents. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the deceased’s death, the jury can also award punitive damages to the surviving family members. For example, dog bites or car accidents that were reckless or intentional deserve to be punished and not just compensated as a lump sum.

You can see more articles to learn more about punitive damages authored by our superb personal injury lawyer, Michael Ehline. The court can also award punitive damages where the defendant engaged in a particularly reckless or egregious type of conduct resulting in the deceased person’s death from a premises liability claim, for example.

How is wrongful death damage calculated?

You can recover damages for anything the decedent would have contributed while they lived. You can also recover what you lost for intangibles like moral support (general damages) and tangibles financial losses like gifts or benefits you expected to receive, including medical bills.

There is no monetary value that can be accurate when it comes to valuing a person’s life. However, on legal grounds, we apply a range of factors to determine the value of a wrongful death claim.

These factors include the decedent’s earning capacity, the decedent’s age, the decedent’s training, and education. Also factored are the circumstances and age of the decedent’s dependents, the value of lost benefits, funeral expenses, the decedent’s medical bills, and life expectancy.

Courts value damages in a wrongful death case on convincing evidence that we can prove with the services of expert economists, accountants, and other qualified witnesses.

Pain, Anguish, and Loss of Companionship

Another significant factor we consider when calculating damages in wrongful death suits include the value for non-financial losses like pain, anguish, and loss of financial support and companionship (even mental anguish like grief, sorrow, love, companionship, comfort, care, including sexual relations)

As noted above, damages can even be from the loss of gifts expected by the decedent’s surviving family. Damages may be hard to prove or value without a great Los Angeles, personal injury lawyer by your side.

What Ehline Law Firm Offers

Our professional attorneys will help calculate the amount that the deceased would have contributed to their loved ones’ lives with the services of a certified economist and come up with a figure that the defendant may try to dispute. Still, we are there to support you and claim this financial compensation. The judge or jurors will ultimately be responsible for determining what figure most accurately represents the future income earned by the deceased. We ensure you get a reasonable value in your California wrongful death case.

Contact an Experienced Wrongful Death Attorney for A Free Consultation Today

If you suffered the loss of a loved one due to the negligence of another, you might have the legal right to seek compensation. At Ehline Law Firm, we understand the devastation caused by the untimely and wrongful death of a loved one. Our compassionate and aggressive legal team is ready to provide you with strong advocacy and support during this difficult time. We will give you moral support, among other things. We have won several personal injury cases and wrongful death claims, and our many clients trust us. No matter the degree of the defendant’s recklessness or negligence, get free legal advice today if you’re a wrongful death victim.

Call us today and set up a free, no-risk consultation with our lawyers. We will explain your rights to recover what the decedent would have provided, what you would have expected, and how we can recover these items and get your lifestyle back together.

Wrongful death suits are a type of personal injury that no one wants to be faced with. Losing a loved one is a difficult experience, especially if it happened unexpectedly and was caused by someone else’s negligence. It can leave a family (personal representative) feeling lost, confused, and angry. Aside from the emotional pain, there are financial concerns as well. You might be entitled to compensation if your loved one died due to someone else’s negligence. Neglectful death lawsuits are designed to compensate the surviving deceased family members financially. However, a grieving person will have a difficult time negotiating a settlement agreement due to a wrongful death caused by a reckless or careless defendant.

In this article, our top-rated Los Angeles wrongful death attorneys will discuss the legal process of filing a neglectful death lawsuit, including the elements of a wrongful death claim, how to prove negligence, preserving evidence, the statute of limitations, and the role of a wrongful death attorney and the injured party. We will also cover recovering money for lost income, funeral expenses, loss of consortium, and medical bills in typical wrongful death actions.

Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim

A death is considered wrongful or negligent when it is caused by a breach of contract or warranty, illegal conduct, or some procedural failure on the part of a healthcare professional. However, wrongful death lawsuits for medical malpractice (medical negligence) are among the hardest to prove (even with medical records) or finance. And even if you think you have a potential wrongful death suit, that doesn’t mean an experienced personal injury attorney wants to help with wrongful death settlements. Most lawyers loathe med mal cases and won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.

The decedent’s estate or surviving family members may file a civil lawsuit over wrongful death claims in certain situations, including:

• Negligence or Breach of Procedure: In wrongful death cases, this can include a car accident caused by a drunk driver, medical malpractice, or a work-related accident like chemical burns causing a victim’s death.
• Breach of Duty of Care occurs when someone fails to take reasonable care in a particular situation. For example, a store owner fails to fix a broken stair, causing someone to fall and die. Personal injury lawsuits are typically brought by a personal injury lawyer on behalf of the surviving spouse affected by the wrongful act.
• Direct or Indirect Causation: This refers to a situation where the defendant’s actions directly or indirectly caused the death of the decedent. For example, a doctor who prescribed the wrong medication to a patient resulted in their death; you may be able to file a wrongful death action.

Many wrongful death claims fail because sometimes expert witness testimony is required to prove the cause of the untimely death. If you fail to hire an expert, you can lose the causation argument, and your case gets dismissed by the civil court. Sometimes a criminal court determines the defendant breached the criminal standard of care. But that typically won’t be enough to prove a civil personal injury claim to the insurance company or a civil jury in a personal injury lawsuit.

Proving Negligence

As discussed above, regardless of the type of case, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence and conduct led to the death of the decedent. To prove negligence, you must be able to show that the responsible party was acting recklessly. You can prove your wrongful death damages by demonstrating the death was due to lack of preparation in an employee work area, intoxication, or some other cause. In wrongful death claims, you must persuade the court that the evidence and your account of the incident have a greater than 50% chance of accuracy. This is called the preponderance of the evidence standard to prove negligence caused the person’s death.

Preserving Evidence for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

After establishing a link between the defendant’s breach of duty and the your loved one’s death, it is necessary to show that the defendant’s behavior was caused by negligence. This is why the preservation of evidence is so important; the causation of a death can be difficult to prove depending on the facts, which may even cost you your wrongful death claim. A lawyer who is an expert in this area will know how to collect and review all kinds of evidence (including accident records, medical reports, and other documentation) and then link it to the breach of duty that caused the death of your family member, thus proving the defendant’s negligence.

The Role of a Wrongful Death Attorney

Hiring an experienced wrongful death attorney to represent you in a neglectful death lawsuit is crucial. The attorney can help you gather evidence to prove negligence and represent you in court if necessary. An attorney can also ensure all legal deadlines are met in a wrongful death lawsuit. These superior injury lawyers will also make sure your wrongful death case is filed correctly. A wrongful death attorney can provide guidance on the statute of limitations and any potential defenses that the defendant may use to dispute the wrongful death lawsuit claim.

Statute of Limitations For a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

When it comes to statutes of limitation in wrongful death cases, although there is no precise legal definition related to duty of care, the general laws for personal injury claims apply for this type of case, which means a maximum of two years to file your claim if a family member has died due to the negligence of a third party. It is important to note that the statute of limitations to file a wrongful death lawsuit varies from state to state, so it is essential to consult with an attorney knowledgeable about your state’s wrongful death lawsuit laws.

Our wrongful death lawsuit attorneys will investigate to see if you have a justiciable potential wrongful death lawsuit to file and even potential punitive damages due to criminal acts. These wrongful death lawsuit experts will also help you build your claim. We will do so by helping you gather vital evidence of causation and fault.

You will need this as a plaintiff must prove that the reported death was caused by negligence. We will also attempt insurance settlement negotiations. If we cannot win you enough money, we will represent you in a court wrongful death lawsuit if necessary.

Contact a Proven, Tested, Negligent Death Lawyer to Process Your Claims

Do you have witness statements or a police report to show the circumstances surrounding the death? Was it an intentional act? Was it a typical traffic accident? Want to pursue the person responsible? The proven legal team at our law firm will take steps to show the defendant was legally responsible to the victim’s family.

Our legal representatives will help certain family members with the right to sue to obtain financial compensation for lost wages and help file a wrongful death case against anyone who owed the decedent a legal duty. Call us today by dialing (213) 596-9642, or reach out online for a virtual consultation free of charge. Do or die. We make it happen by settlement or by a solid jury verdict in the plaintiff’s favor! Filing a wrongful death lawsuit just got a lot easier for you!

A death investigation is a complex process that requires a thorough understanding of the cause and manner of death. Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys will discuss the difference between cause and manner of death and their importance in death investigations.

Cause of Death

The cause of death refers to the underlying medical condition or disease that led to the person’s death, such as a heart attack, cancer, or stroke. 

A medical examiner can determine the cause of death by conducting a medical examination, which includes a review of the decedent’s medical history, an external examination, and laboratory tests.

Categories of Manner of Death

The manner of death refers to the circumstances surrounding the death, while the cause of death refers to the physiological disruption within a person that led to their death.

A medical examiner determines the manner of death based on the evidence supporting the cause of death. In many legal proceedings, the manner of death is a key focus as it can determine whether there will be criminal charges or if the insurance claims will be successful.

There are six different categories of the manner of death, which includes the following.

Natural Death

Natural death occurs when a person dies due to natural causes, a natural disease, or physiological derangement. For example, if a person dies due to heart disease, it will fall under “natural death,” and the death certificate will state the underlying disease or medical condition that led to the person’s death.

Accidental Death

Accidental death occurs when a person dies due to an unintended or unexpected injury. For example, in cases where an injury occurred due to a slip or fall accident or any other accident, the death certificate will list the specific cause of the accident that led to the person’s death.

Suicide Death

Suicide occurs as a result of a self-inflicted act committed. A person may commit suicide for various reasons, such as mental illness, depression, or emotional distress.

Suicide can happen through several means, including hanging, poisoning occurring from an overdose, or a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In such cases, the death certificate will state that the person died due to a self-inflicted injury, and there will be evidence to support that the death was a result of a conscious decision by the person.

Homicide Death

Homicide occurs when one person’s actions lead to another’s death. Homicide can be intentional or unintentional. For example, if a person suffers a gunshot wound during an assault or dies during a robbery, the death manner would fall under “intentional homicide.”

However, if someone dies due to an unintentional injury caused by another person, it would fall under “unintentional homicide.”

Undetermined Death

The undetermined manner of death occurs when a clear preponderance of evidence supporting a specific manner is unavailable. For example, if law enforcement finds a person’s body, and there are no obvious signs of injury, and the autopsy does not reveal the cause of death, then the manner of death would fall under “undetermined.”

Pending Death

The pending manner of death is a classification given when the investigation into the circumstances surrounding a person’s death is ongoing, and the medical examiner or coroner has not yet determined the manner of death.

In some cases, the cause of death may be apparent, but the circumstances surrounding the death are unclear, and additional investigation is necessary before determining the manner of death.

For example, if a person dies at home with no known medical conditions, the medical examiner may need to conduct a more in-depth investigation, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing medical records, and conducting additional tests, before determining the manner of death.

A pending death may also occur when there is not enough information available to make a definitive determination about the cause and manner of death. This can happen in cases where law enforcement finds a person’s body in a remote location or in a state of decomposition, and they cannot quickly determine the cause of death through a standard autopsy.

What Is the Difference Between Death Cause and Manner of Death?

The cause of death is the medical reason that a person died, such as a disease or an injury that produced a physiological disruption within a person resulting in death. For example, the cause of death for a person who dies from a brain Hemorrhage is extreme blood loss in the brain. On the other hand, the manner of death is how the cause of death came about.

The cause and manner of death are crucial aspects of any investigation, whether it be a natural death, accidental death, or unnatural death. The medical examiner’s office is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death, analyzing the evidence, and conducting a thorough examination (external and autopsy).

Understanding the cause and manner of death can provide closure for loved ones and help determine legal outcomes, as many legal proceedings focus on these characteristics during the trial.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law

If you’ve lost a loved one due to another’s negligence or international act, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as you may be able to seek compensation.

Do you have a reason for a wrongful death lawsuit?

Deaths are extremely difficult for family members; however, they may be slightly more traumatic when they get caused by someone’s carelessness. Wrongful death happens when an individual’s death is directly caused by another party’s or a company’s negligence or wrongful act.

A variety of events and circumstances can result in wrongful death cases. This article discusses the most typical types of wrongful death lawsuits one can expect to encounter. A friendly, charismatic, experienced attorney from Ehline Law Firm can assist the deceased’s immediate family with a wrongful death claim.

Types of Accidents for Which You Can File a Wrongful Death Claim

• Wrongful Death Cases Involve the Following Accidents
• Contact Us for a Personal Injury Attorney

What Are the Most Common Types of Wrongful Death Cases?

Surviving family members can often file a wrongful death suit if a loved one’s death results from:

Car Accidents

Due to the extremely large number of drivers and the frequency with which people drive, motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of wrongful death. California has over 16 million drivers, and hundreds of car accidents occur every day. Thousands of people get killed every year as a result of a fatal car accident.

The vast majority of fatal automobile accidents get caused by at least one motorist’s negligence, whether it’s because of speeding, careless driving, failing to pay attention to the road, or driving while intoxicated.

If any of these conditions get met, the negligent driver may get held responsible for the death of any other people involved in the crash, which includes passengers and other drivers.

If road problems cause the accident, the county or state may be held accountable. There are also cases where an incident happens, but neither driver is at fault; these are rare.

Medical Malpractice

Although the vast majority of nurses and doctors are well-trained, they are still human and occasionally make mistakes. These errors can arise when medical workers take shortcuts, fail to follow proper procedures, or overlook things.

Misdiagnosis of conditions or the inability to diagnose disorders is the most common cause of wrongful death claims in medical malpractice cases. In medicine, mistakes made during surgery and throughout treating illnesses are also significant causes of a wrongful death lawsuit.

Defective Products

The manufacturer is held responsible if someone dies due to a defective product. One of the reasons why manufacturers spend a great deal of time testing and ensuring the safety of their goods is product liability. Defective pharmaceutical items, hazardous food, harmful kid’s products, and faulty autos are some of the unique types of this form of wrongful death action.

Workplace Accidents

Workplace wrongful deaths are more common in high-risk occupations such as logging and construction. Still, a wrongful death may happen at any place of employment or even outside the office if a manager puts an employee in a problematic situation.

A nurse who got compelled to perform many 12-hour shifts and then died in a car accident on her way home due to weariness is an example of this type of wrongful death case.

Accidents Involving Semi-trucks

While still classified as car accidents, semi-truck incidents fall into a different realm due to a few important characteristics. Semi-trucks are so much bigger than other automobiles that they’re more likely to kill people in a collision.

Semi-truck accidents are caused by various factors, including traveling with an overweight load, mechanical problems with the vehicle, and driver mistakes, including aggressive driving, losing control of the vehicle, a drunk driver, or driving whilst fatigued.

Pedestrian Accidents

As pedestrians have little protection, incidents involving them are more probable to result in fatalities. The most prevalent cause of these incidents is driver fault; however, in cases where the driver could not see the pedestrian owing to a lack of conspicuous pedestrian walkways, the county or city may be responsible.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Wrongful Death Attorney from Ehline Law Firm for Legal Advice

If a family member of yours has died as a result of a wrongful death or has fatal injuries, you do not have to seek compensation on your own. At Ehline Law Firm, our California personal injury attorneys are ready to take on your wrongful death lawsuit. Contact us at (213) 596-9642 immediately if you would like a free case evaluation.

We value our attorney-client relationship; therefore, you can count on us to help you have a successful wrongful death lawsuit recover damages, such as emotional and financial losses, medical bills, lost wages, burial expenses, and funeral expenses.