Costa Mesa Wrongful Death Attorney
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While newly grieving the loss of a loved one, you may feel incapable of making decisions about your legal options until you’re feeling slightly less overwhelmed. That’s both a normal and understandable concern. Unless your loved one died while on the job (because the workers’ compensation death benefits process is particularly time-sensitive), you won’t need to commit to a concrete plan of action concerning your legal options for months after your loved one passed away. However, it is important to invest an hour or two of your time in exploring your legal options generally as soon as you possibly can.
Too often, surviving loved ones are blind-sided with significant costs related to their recent loss. Unless you explore your legal options proactively, you won’t be able to make informed decisions about which legal options you’d like to pursue and by when you need to begin pursuing them. Our trusted, compassionate, and reputable legal team will never pressure you to make a decision about your options before you’re ready to do so. However, scheduling a free, no-risk, confidential consultation will ensure that you’re empowered to make informed decisions within the timeframe allowed by law.
Wrongful Death and Survival Actions
There are two primary kinds of compensation that surviving loved ones can seek via the personal injury claims process in the wake of losing a loved one. First, they can file a wrongful death action. Wrongful death cases allow surviving loved ones to be reimbursed for their own financial losses incurred as a result of the deceased’s passing. These financial losses may include lost earnings (both past and future), loss of financial support, funeral or memorial costs, cremation or burial costs, medical bills associated with treating the deceased’s injuries before they died, etc. Put another way, wrongful death actions attempt to make surviving loved ones financially “whole” again in order to compensate for personal financial losses stemming from the death of their family member.
Second, they can file a survival action. Survival actions, when applicable, are filed simultaneously as a part of the broader wrongful death case so that those involved don’t have to navigate the civil justice system twice for the same loss. Filing a survival action is only appropriate in cases wherein the deceased was both conscious and suffering pain as a result of their injuries before they died. This action can result in damage awards for the pain and suffering felt by the injury victim before they succumbed to their fatal harm.
In
California, surviving loved ones are not barred from pursuing these forms of compensation if their lost loved one was partially at fault for the injurious circumstances that led to their death. If your loved one was partially to blame for the circumstances that led to their
fatal injuries, you will simply be entitled to receive less compensation than you would if your loved one’s death had been entirely someone else’s fault.
Eligibility: Filing Claims After an Injury Victim Dies
As every state has its own eligibility requirements regarding wrongful death claims, it’s important to avoid making assumptions about whether you can file a claim yourself based on any past experience you may have with a wrongful death process outside of California. In the Golden State, a representative of the deceased’s estate generally makes the effort to file the claim on behalf of surviving loved ones. However, the following relatives and dependents may also file wrongful death claims (and survival actions, when applicable) under California law:
- Surviving spouses and domestic partners
- The parents or legal guardians of deceased minors and other injury victims – subject to certain exceptions
- The deceased’s surviving children, as well as “issue” of any of the deceased’s children who predeceased them
- Additional eligible dependents of the deceased, including qualifying minors who were unrelated to the deceased but relied on the deceased for significant financial support – subject to certain exceptions
Finally, additional exceptions are made, in rare circumstances, for certain other relationships; including some that don’t require a blood relation or legally recognized marriage. If you’re unsure of whether you are eligible to file a claim, allow our team to clarify this legal issue for you during a free consultation.
California Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits
Each year, more than 5,000 American workers die while engaging in work-related activities. If your loved one died while on the job, traveling for work, or otherwise performing job-related functions, you may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits in addition to (or instead of) personal injury damages related to your loss. If your loved one wasn’t eligible for workers’ compensation coverage at the time that they were injured, pursuing these benefits won’t be a successful endeavor. However, if your loved one was eligible for workers’ compensation coverage at the time that they sustained harm, any of your loved one’s eligible dependents may qualify to receive substantial benefits payments made over time in installments.
If you’re unsure of whether this compensation opportunity is relevant to your situation, that’s okay. Please alert our team to the work-related nature of your loved one’s harm during your free consultation and we will advise you of your options accordingly.
Filing Civil Action Related to Criminal Wrongdoing
The criminal justice system serves an unquestionably important function in our society. However, it is not the only venue wherein those who have harmed others as a result of criminal wrongdoing may be held accountable for their actions or inactions. If your loved one was killed as a result of another’s criminal wrongdoing, that responsible party may be held accountable by the criminal justice system and they may not. Regardless of whether the party responsible for your loved one’s death is ever charged, convicted, or acquitted of criminal charges, you may still hold them responsible for your loss in a civil suit.
If and when you file a wrongful death action (and a survival action, if applicable) against the party responsible for killing your loved one, they will be held to a lesser standard of proof in civil court than is upheld in criminal court. As a result, you may have a far easier time obtaining damages from the defendant than a prosecutor will have obtaining a conviction. Don’t let anything that is (or is not) happening on the criminal justice “side” of the legal situation related to your loss hold you back from pursuing justice in civil court. In the U.S., these two legal systems are distinct. O.J. Simpson learned that lesson the hard way in the mid-90s when he was acquitted of murder in California criminal court but later held civilly liable for wrongful death and ordered to pay the surviving loved ones of his former wife and her friend tens of millions of dollars.
Preparing for Your Free Wrongful Death Consultation
Once your free consultation with our legal team has been scheduled, you will want to take a little time to prepare for this meeting. Gathering some information and taking some notes proactively will help to ensure that you’re able to get the most out of your no-cost case evaluation session. Begin by gathering any documentation that will better help us to understand the nuances of your loved one’s injurious circumstances. If any accident reports were filed with law enforcement and/or your loved one’s place of business, please bring copies along for our reference. Similarly, if your loved one received medical care related to their injuries before passing away, it would be helpful to look over any medical documentation that you feel comfortable sharing with our team. Additionally, if your loved one died as a result of an accident and you have pictures or video of the accident scene, bringing those along for us to view would be helpful. In short, if there is paperwork or shareable images available that will help us to better understand your loved one’s case, bringing them to your consultation will allow us to give you guidance that is uniquely personalized.
Finally, if you are aware of any witnesses to your loved one’s injurious circumstances, you have contacted or been contacted by insurance representatives, or have been approached by lawyers retained by anyone involved in your loved one’s case, please bring along their names and contact information. If you are able to provide us with this valuable information upfront, we won’t have to burden you by asking you to track it down after your meeting has taken place. Being as proactive as you can may help to make your legal situation less stressful as your case progresses.
Contact Us Today for a Free Wrongful Death Case Evaluation
As no amount of compensation can bring your loved one back or “make up” in any truly meaningful way for what you have lost, you may be understandably tempted to forgo exploring your legal options while your grief is fresh. However, when funeral and burial costs, medical bills, and other financial obligations begin to pile up and the impact of your loved one’s lost earnings begins to impact your family’s financial wellbeing, you will likely thank yourself for making the effort to seek any compensation to which you’re entitled with the aid of our trusted legal team.
If you haven’t yet scheduled a free consultation, please connect with our firm today to set up a time to speak with our team in a risk-free, confidential setting. We will never pressure you to take legal action. We will simply assess your situation and inform you of both your rights and options under the law. Should you ultimately choose to take action, it will be our honor to assist your family with its legal needs and to honor the memory of your loved one through our efforts. We look forward to speaking with you.