What is a Wrongful Death Case in California?

A wrongful death case is a case where a person dies due to the intentional or negligent act of another, or entity. The law allows relatives, domestic partners, and persons who depend upon the wrongful death victim for support to sue for wrongful death. The issue of who can sue for wrongful death is covered below.

Wrongful death cases are traditionally amongst the most emotionally charged cases in personal injury.

Wrongful death cases can take many forms. For instance; a loved one could be killed in a car or motorcycle accident that was not their fault; a loved one may have been killed due to excessive use of force by the police or a private security agency; a loved one may have been killed due to a dangerous condition on public or private property, including defective roads or improperly placed road signs; a loved one may have been killed due to the defective construction of a building on real property; an unborn child may have died due to the negligence of a doctor, or due to an assault and battery on the mother; a loved one may have been killed due to a defective product, or negligent repair.

A wrongful death case can arise when someone was injured in an accident, and then subsequently dies as a result of their injuries.

TIME LIMIT TO FILE A LAWSUIT FOR YOUR WRONGFUL DEATH (CALIFORNIA STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS)

The present Statute of Limitations for filing a lawsuit for wrongful death in the State of California is two (2) years from the date of the accident or incident causing the wrongful death. If you do not file a lawsuit within two (2) years, you lose your right to sue! CCP § 335.1

There are exceptions to the above rule if the wrongful death was caused by the negligence of a doctor or health care provider, or due to building defects.

If the defendant to the wrongful death action is a governmental entity, a claim must be filed with that governmental entity within 6 months from the date of the accident. If the entity rejects the claim, you must then file a lawsuit within six months from the date of the rejection.

WHO CAN SUE 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 victims personal representative on their behalf:

(a) The victims surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and offspring of deceased children, or, if there is no surviving children of the victim, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the victim by intestate succession (a person dying without a will).

(b) Whether or not qualified under (a) above, if they were dependent on the victim, the putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents. '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 victim was valid.

(c) A minor, if, at the time of the victims death, the minor resided for the previous 180 days in the victims household and was dependent on the victim for one-half or more of the minor's support.
As you can see, there are many people that may qualify to sue for wrongful death. Our law firm handles wrongful death cases, and can tell you whether or not you have the right to sue for wrongful death.

Compensation That You Are Entitled To In a Wrongful Death Case WRONGFUL DEATH DAMAGES

Financial Support - The financial support, if any, that the person who was a victim of wrongful death would have contributed to the family during either the life expectancy that the victim had before [his/her] death or the life expectancy of the person who is suing, whichever is shorter.

The Loss of Gifts and Benefits - The loss of gifts or benefits that the person who is suing would have expected to receive from the victim of a wrongful death.

Funeral and Burial Expenses - The cost of funeral and burial expenses.

The Reasonable Value of Household Services - The reasonable value of household services that the victim would have provided

The loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support that the victim would have provided.

The loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations with the victim.

The loss of training and guidance of the victim.

PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Punitive damages (punishment damages) are awardable to the victims estate in an action by the estate representative based on the cause of action the victim would have had if he or she had survived. an example of a case or the estate of a victim can sue for wrongful death with punitive damages would be intentional homicide.

Copyright 2006

Norman Gregory Fernandez is a California lawyer who handles many types of legal matters. You can reach him through his website at http://www.norman-law.com

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Attorney Howard Ankin on WGN Midday News. 03.08.10

Attorney Howard Ankin of Ankin Law appears on WGN Midday News to discuss legal and worker compensation issues. Ankin Law Offices LLC understands the difficulties and the complex issues linked to workers compensation, personal injury, wrongful death lawsuits, general practice, and motor vehicle accidents. www.ankinlaw.com Ankin Law WGN TV Midday News 03.08.10



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Don't Settle Your New York Wrongful Death Case Without Knowing the New Law

A new New York law put into place in January 2006 means that when you settle your wrongful death case, you will be entitled to earn interest on your money, while you wait for the Surrogate's Court to finalize your settlement.

In the past, when a wrongful death case was settled, litigants needed to wait for approval from the Surrogate's Court in order to have the Court oversee and supervise how the monies would be distributed to the family members. The problem was that the Surrogate's Court would often take many months to reach a conclusion before rendering a final decision that allowed the litigants the approval necessary to obtain their settlement monies. During those months spent waiting for court approval, their settlement money was being held by the insurance companies, and gaining interest for the benefit of the insurance companies.

This has now changed.

When a wrongful death suit is tentatively settled now, your attorney must apply to the TRIAL court for permission to tentatively settle the case. Once the trial court grants their approval, the attorney is able to submit closing papers to the insurance company that will allow your lawyer to obtain your settlement check. From that check, the attorney will be able to immediately (subject to the trial court giving approval) retrieve his expenses that he has documented to the satisfaction of the court, and also be able to obtain his (or her) attorney's fee.

Once that has happened, the case then awaits final approval from the Surrogate's Court to decide how the settlement monies will be distributed. During this hiatus, interest is being generated for the benefit of the litigant, so that when the money is distributed, the interest is also divided according to the formula worked out by the court.

Gerry Oginski is an experienced New York medical malpractice and personal injury trial attorney and practices exclusively in the State of New York. He has tirelessly represented injured victims in all types of medical malpractice and injury cases in the last 19 years. As a solo practitioner he is able to devote 100% of his time to each individual client. A client is never a file number in his office.

Take a look at Gerry's website http://www.oginski-law.com and read his free special reports on malpractice and accident law. Read actual testimony of real doctors in medical malpractice cases. Learn answers to your legal questions. We have over 200 FAQs to the most interesting legal questions. Read about his success stories. Read the latest injury and malpractice news. I guarantee there's something for you. http://www.oginski-law.com 516-487-8207

Also, take a look at Gerry's FREE NY Medical Malpractice video tutorials at http://medicalmalpracticetutorial.blogspot.com

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Las Vegas Injury Lawyers - RIchard Harris Law Firm - Neck and Back Injuries

As our Nevada injury lawyers celebrates over a quarter century of helping injured people, we want to thank our clients past, present and future for placing their trust and confidence in us. We have the most service oriented, hard working law firm in Nevada. Contact the Nevada injury lawyers at Richard Harris Law Firm today!



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Wrongful Death - How Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help

One personal injury case can turn into wrongful death lawsuit anytime. If the victim is killed as a result of personal injury or negligence of an individual or institute or organization, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought against the responsible party.

However, unlike personal injury cases, here the compensation is paid to the dependants of the killed person. Any form of personal injury accident including automobile accident, slip and fall, work place accident, medical negligence and other such incidents can be the reason of accidental death. Since recklessness and negligence of an entity ruins the life of another, victims have got all the right to file compensation claim in the court of law.

In case of accidental death, those who are financially dependent on the killed person are considered as the victims. Just imagine if the person on whom you depend financially, god forbid, is killed by a road accident won't you become helpless?

State and federal laws help such people by empowering them to claim compensation from the guilty party. Lawyers specialized in handling accidental death cases can help accidental death victims get compensated in their state.

It is true that the loss of a near and dear one cannot be compensated, no money is enough to balance the absence of a family member; still, monetary compensation helps surviving members get back on to their normal lifestyle.

To file wrongful death lawsuit in the court of law, the family members and dependants of the killed person should take help from accidental death attorneys who can guide them starting from evidence collection to presentation. Along with compensation, the feeling of getting justice reduces emotional suffering.

Families suffering from accidental death of a member have the right to receive compensation from the party responsible for the death. The responsible party can be an individual or an organization. Sometimes the surviving members are eligible for compensation from insurance companies as well. It is recommended to consult wrongful death lawyers as soon as possible, so that the lawyer can guide the claimants on how to protect key and strong evidence and make the wrongful death compensation claim process much easier. Wrongful death attorneys can also guide you learn the importance of Statute of Limitations (SOL) and help prevent your claim from going invalid by taking proper steps timely.

If you or your acquaintances lose a family member due to irresponsibility and negligence of a third person, do not delay to see personal injury lawyers or wrongful death attorneys. While hiring personal injury lawyer, make sure you deal with a skilled and experienced attorney. Those with years of experience in representing accidental death claimants can be of great assistance. Laws related to accidental death may vary from state to state. Victims should consult lawyers from their own state.

Senior attorneys represent the case in court of law highlighting the rights of the surviving members of the victim's family. Wrongful death lawyers educate their clients about their rights, collect reports and evidence properly and help claimants win the case. The compensation amount enhances the recovery process and brings back the surviving members to their normal lifestyle.

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Truck Accident Lawyers | Serious Injury | Illinois, IL

Call 1-800-773-6770 to speak to a real truck accident lawyer. Also visit us at: www.truckaccidentlaw.org Truck accident attorneys Gordon & Elias LLP understand how painful a serious injury or wrongful death can impact a family. Truck accidents involving serious injury are terrible occurrences in the lives of the families involved. In Illinois, wrongful death along truck routes and interstates and burn injuries suffered from an accident are a terrible thing for a family to go through. The Texas based attorneys at Gordon & Elias LLP can serve clients throughout Southern Illinois, including Alton, Arlington Heights, Belleville, Bolingbrook, Buffalo Grove, Calumet City, Carpentersville, Champaign, Crystal Lake, Danville, Decatur, DeKalb, East St. Louis, Elgin, Galesburg, Granite City, Highland Park, Joliet, Moline, Normal, Peoria, Quincy, Rock Island, Rockford, Springfield, Urbana, Waukegan, Zion.



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Depositions - Understand How it Works

Every lawsuit is based on the evidence presented in it. That is a rather obvious statement. The procedure for these lawsuits calls for a period of discovery. As the name suggests, this is the time when the parties find out what each other have in regards to evidence and generate testimony from the parties and witnesses regarding the events of the dispute. This testimony is gained through the deposition process.

A deposition is a question and answer session. The lawyers ask the questions and the witness answers them. This is effectively the same thing as you see in movies and television when someone is on the stand. Depositions usually take place in an office, not court. That being said, they are still taken under oath and are formal events.

The first thing to understand about depositions is they are a one way affair for parties in the lawsuit. Let's say you sue a doctor for the wrongful death of your spouse. The lawyer for the doctor is going to depose you. The deposition will take place in the office of your lawyer. During this period, the lawyer for the doctor will ask you a host of questions. Unlike court, your lawyer will not follow up those questions by asking you anything. Why? There is little reason to do so before court because it would simply give the other side a preview of what you are going to say.

The second "oddity" about depositions has to do with objections. On television, dramatic moments are played out where the questioning attorney asks some brutal question, opposing counsel objects and the judge rules. This does not happen in depositions. Instead, the attorney will ask a question and opposing counsel will object for the record being taken down by the court reporter. There is no ruling on that objection and you must answer the question unless expressly told by your attorney not to.

Finally, one of the biggest complaints about depositions is how long they are. Remember, a deposition is part of the discovery process. As a result, the attorneys are going to ask a ton of questions about a wide host of subjects because, frankly, they know nothing about you or your view of things. This is there one chance to find out something, so they are going to cast their net far and wide to do so.

Depositions are critical to the outcome of most cases. While similar to what you see in a court dramatization, they are not exactly the same thing.

Thomas Ajava writes for MobileWrongfulDeathLawyer.com - get a free consultation with a Mobile wrongful death lawyer to assess the potential of your wrongful death case.

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