Wrongful Death

Injury Attorney Serving Families in Los Angeles and Beyond

If you are faced with the untimely death of a loved one, you are likely to be shocked and grieving for some time. In addition to feeling grief about the loss, you may also have financial concerns, such as anxiety about how you will pay for a mortgage, childcare, groceries, and other necessities. When a death is caused by someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, you can bring a wrongful death lawsuit with the assistance of an injury attorney. If you are dealing with this tragic situation, Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer Devin Sawdayi can compassionately guide you through the process of seeking the compensation that you deserve.

Bringing a Wrongful Death Claim in California

By law, a decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, or surviving children may sue for wrongful death. If none of these people is available, anyone who would be entitled to the decedent’s estate through intestate succession may sue. This category of people may include a decedent’s parents, siblings, or others. Additionally, people who were financially dependent on the decedent, including stepchildren or a putative spouse, may sue for wrongful death.

Most wrongful death lawsuits are based on negligence. For example, if your loved one died as a result of a doctor’s professional negligence or a truck driver’s drunk driving, you may have grounds to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. To establish negligence, you will need to show the defendant’s duty of care, a breach of duty, causation leading from the breach to the victim’s death, and actual damages.

Wrongful death claims are civil lawsuits brought to the court by a personal representative of the decedent’s estate or survivors for the purposes of determining liability and obtaining monetary damages. They are distinct from any criminal case that may also be brought based on the same underlying conduct. In a criminal case, the defendant’s guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and the outcome may involve a prison term, fines, and other penalties. However, guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a particularly difficult burden of proof to meet. A defendant may be found liable in a civil wrongful death lawsuit even if he or she was not found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a homicide charge.

If you succeed in a wrongful death claim, you likely can recover damages. These may compensate the estate for any losses it experienced in connection with the death, such as funeral expenses, medical bills, future lost income, and burial costs. Often, these are proven through documentary evidence, as is a survivor’s loss of anticipated financial support. However, damages may also be noneconomic, compensating survivors for their own personal losses, such as the value of household services, the loss of love, community, affection, and moral support, the loss of sexual relations, and the loss of training and guidance.

Contact a Knowledgeable Los Angeles Lawyer for a Wrongful Death Claim