Wrongful death cases are different than other personal injury claims, in that wrongful death cases involve damages for loss of consortium, society, affection and companionship, which means the loss of having that person around you. With wrongful death cases the estate has claims for the loss of the earnings capabilities of the victim as well as funeral and burial expenses. For our wrongful death cases we hire experts in order to get the evidence that is needed to get a substantial recovery of money for the estate.

For example, we will hire an economist who will write a report on the projected earnings of the victim. The settlement often is a policy limits case, which means, in a fatal car accident; the total amount of insurance that the fault driver was insured for one accident goes to the estate. Often, in addition to the liability claim, there are often under insured claims that can be pursued to get more money for the estate. Sometimes there even may be a possibility of stacking different insurance policies to get the maximum wrongful death settlement.

Wrongful death cases are also different from injury cases because they are very delicate cases which require careful consideration by the attorney and the insurance companies. They require extensive research, discussion with colleagues, and a great deal of evidence and expert opinion collection. Often a lawsuit is needed to get the insurance company to give the money the estate deserves in a timely fashion. The insurance company may try to hang on to the money as long as possible.

Wrongful death cases are those where someone died as a result of the negligence or wrongdoing of another. Deaths are caused in a great number of ways. Common cases include vehicular negligence, dangerous conditions, defective products, medical negligence, elder abuse, negligent law enforcement as well as many others. The persons who have the right to sue over the wrongful death in California are the legal heirs. If the decedent was married, that means the widow is the plaintiff. If there is no spouse, the children are the heirs and plaintiffs. Minors need to be represented by a “guardian ad litem” for the lawsuit. The Court must approve of settlements for minors and the funds are preserved until the minor’s 18th birthday (unless otherwise structured and approved by the court).

Damages in wrongful death cases include general damages for the loss of love, society, comfort and similar items. Damages recoverable also include economic damages for provable loss of financial support, subject to certain limitations. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover the “present value” of provable future losses of financial support. For example, a surviving spouse may show that the future loss of earnings of the remainder of the deceased’s life would have a present value of $2.5 million. These numbers are based on the earning history of the deceased as well as his or her life expectancy at the time of death.