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A plaintiff files a wrongful death lawsuit when their family member dies due to the negligence, fault, or misconduct of someone else. If your loved one has been killed due to the negligence of another, contact PARRIS’ wrongful death lawyers in Lancaster to hold them accountable.
A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligent, reckless, or intentional act of another. Legally speaking, wrongful death is the basis for a civil lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members of the deceased.
Criminal charges do not have to be filed in order for a family to file a wrongful death suit. Negligent, reckless, or intentional acts that result in a person’s death could all give rise to a wrongful death claim.
For example, if a victim is wrongfully killed in a car accident, the victim’s family could file a wrongful death claim against the negligent driver. The at-fault driver need not have committed a crime to be held responsible for the decedent’s death.
However, a wrongful death suit could also be brought in the wake of an intentional killing. For example, if a victim was shot and killed by a perpetrator who is later apprehended by police, the family could file a wrongful death claim against the perpetrator while they face criminal charges.
The primary difference between a wrongful death case and a criminal case is in the consequences for the at-fault party. While a criminal case is meant to punish the perpetrator, a wrongful death case is meant to compensate the deceased’s family for the defendant’s actions.
If convicted of a crime, the defendant may face jail time. If found responsible for the victim’s wrongful death, the defendant (or their insurance company) will have to pay damages to the victim’s family.
In addition, the burden of proof in a civil lawsuit is lower than in a criminal case. While criminal cases must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the defendant committed the crime, a judge or jury decides the outcome of a wrongful death lawsuit based on a “preponderance of the evidence,” which means simply more likely than not. For this reason, survivors may be able to obtain compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit even if the person responsible for their loved one’s death was not convicted in criminal court.
Wrongful death cases can be filed by the decedent’s immediate family members. This may include:
Along with spouses, the law also allows those who were presumed to have a lawful marriage with the person who died—even if that was not legally the case—to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This is known as a putative relationship. Children of the decedent can also file a wrongful death claim.
A wrongful death lawsuit is meant to compensate a family for their past, present, and future losses related to their loved one’s wrongful death. This may include what are called “economic” damages—tangible, calculable losses—and “non-economic” damages, which include the incalculable emotional losses of losing a loved one.
Economic damages may include:
Non-economic damages may include:
The period that courts consider when deciding financial awards are the shorter of these two:
Punitive damages differ from traditional damages in a civil lawsuit in that they are meant to punish particularly egregious behavior in the defendant rather than compensate the plaintiffs.
Surviving family members of the deceased cannot usually recover punitive damages in California wrongful death lawsuits, except in cases when the deceased was killed by a felony homicide for which the defendant has been convicted.
The primary way to recover punitive damages as an heir in California is through a “survival” cause of action.
Survival causes of action are brought on behalf of the victim’s estate to compensate for losses the victim suffered while they lived and before their passing.
In order for a family member to bring a survival action, the decedent must have incurred some financial loss, such as medical bills or lost wages, between their injury and their wrongful death. When wrongful deaths occur instantly, such as in a fatal car accident, these damages can be difficult to determine. Modern case law has allowed survival actions to continue even in cases with minor financial losses, such as a broken cell phone or damaged clothing.
Though survival actions do not compensate family members for their suffering after the victim’s death, a survival action may allow the estate to seek punitive damages against the responsible party. California law allows victims to recover punitive damages when the at-fault party willfully and consciously disregarded the rights or safety of others.
A survival cause of action will be brought separately from a wrongful death case, if appropriate.
In California, the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit is two years from the date of the person’s death. If the case is not filed within two years, the family will likely lose their right to file. Contacting a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible is the best way to make the greatest possible recovery.
Several types of negligent, reckless, or intentional acts can lead to a wrongful death claim. These may include, but are not limited to:
In the eyes of the law, a person is negligent when they fail to act the way a reasonably careful person would act in the same situation. Negligence provides the legal basis for a plaintiff’s recovery in most personal injury claims.
In order to recover damages for negligence, a plaintiff must generally show four things:
A negligent person or corporation may be found liable for a victim’s death even when they weren’t directly responsible for their wrongful death. For instance, if a person is killed in an apartment complex shooting, the landlord may be held liable for the victim’s death for neglecting to have enough security at the complex.
Gross negligence is reserved for negligence that is considered especially severe. Some sources define it as “an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct by a reasonable person.”
For example, a person who causes a car accident while driving 75 mph in a 65 mph zone may be acting with ordinary negligence, while another driver going 100 mph in the same stretch of road may be acting with gross negligence.
The distinction between gross negligence and ordinary negligence matters in criminal law, as charges related to gross negligence carry heavier sentences for the defendant.
Additionally, when a company causes a person’s wrongful death, gross negligence may allow the decedent’s family to hold them accountable in a wrongful death lawsuit even if the decedent signed a release of liability waiver.
Recklessness implies a higher degree of culpability than negligence or gross negligence. A person acts recklessly when:
Reckless actions differ from negligent actions in that a negligent person does not know they are taking a risk, while a reckless person does. For example, driving under the influence is often considered reckless, because a person knows that drinking and driving risks harm to others and does so anyway.
In a wrongful death case, an intentional act is one that was intended to cause harm or death to the victim. If an intentional act caused the victim’s wrongful death, the perpetrator will often face criminal charges as well as a civil lawsuit.
Intentional acts carry the highest degree of liability in wrongful death lawsuits for the person or corporation responsible.
When your loved one has been wrongfully killed in an accident, you deserve to work with a wrongful death attorney you can trust to get the results you need. PARRIS Law Firm is here to fight for your family’s rights.
Founded in 1985 by renowned trial attorney R. Rex Parris, the PARRIS Law Firm specializes in all types of personal injury law, including wrongful death cases. From its inception, our firm’s mission has been to fight for victims of accidents against insurance companies, corporations, or government agencies.
Since the firm’s founding, our attorneys have secured more than $1.9 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients. The wrongful death lawyers at PARRIS are recognized every year as among the top trial lawyers in their field by organizations such as Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and more.
In the wake of horrific tragedies, PARRIS has fearlessly advocated for the families of accident victims. Some of our legal victories for our wrongful death clients include:
All of our cases at PARRIS Law Firm are handled on contingency, meaning that you pay nothing unless we win. In other words, you pay nothing until a verdict or settlement is decided, at which time we receive a percentage of the final amount. Read more about our contingency fee model in our blog post.
If you have lost a loved one in a wrongful death, PARRIS’ Lancaster, CA wrongful death attorneys are here to help you heal and get justice. Call PARRIS Law Firm today to speak with our team about your case for free.
