California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 allows a party to recover monetary damages for the wrongful death of a loved one or family member. Recoverable damages fall into two categories, economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are the tangible expenses or financial losses that are attributable to the accident. Economic damages include loss of financial support, loss of gifts or benefits, funeral expenses, and loss of the reasonable value of household services. Non-economic damages are the intangible losses, such as the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, loss of sexual enjoyment, and loss of training and guidance.
Only individuals named in California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 are permitted to bring a claim for wrongful death. “A cause of action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another may be asserted by any of the following persons or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf:
(a) The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children, or, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession.
(b) Whether or not qualified under subdivision (a), if they were dependent on the decedent, the putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents. As used in this subdivision, “putative spouse” means the surviving spouse of a void or voidable marriage who is found by the court to have believed in good faith that the marriage to the decedent was valid.
California has a “One Action Rule” for wrongful death claims and requires all possible claimants be joined in a single action. The reasoning behind this is to avoid duplicative actions with inconsistent results. Thus, when filing a wrongful death claim it is important to determine all of the heirs (even if they are not represented by the same attorney). Lastly, it is important to consider how long you have to file a wrongful death claim. General personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the incident. (California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). Medical malpractice claims must be brought within three years of the incident or within one year of discovery of injury. (California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5). Wrongful death claims against the state or local government usually require a claim to be brought within six (6) months of the injury.
The loss of a loved is always a difficult and emotional time, and is only magnified when that loss is unexpected. If you have recently lost a love due to negligence please contact us for a free consultation and evaluation.
