Cartwright, Scruggs, Fulton & Walther
Santa Cruz's Most Experienced Personal Injury Law Firm

1340 Soquel Ave, Suite 215
Santa Cruz CA 95062
831.457.1700
www.csfwlaw.com

Wrongful Death

Don't let your rights for a wrongful death settlement pass you by.

Generally speaking, one is entitled to damages for all detriment he or she has personally suffered and is likely to suffer in the future because of a wrongful death. These amounts are not limited to simply out-of-pocket expenses, but cover the total value of the benefits one could reasonably expect to receive from the deceased if he or she had lived.

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The loss of a loved one is perhaps the greatest sorrow we experience as humans. When that death was avoidable, and was the fault of someone else, the grieving process is often interrupted by feelings of anger and frustration. While the law can do nothing to overcome the tragedy of a wrongful death, it can provide a process by which the surviving family members can hold the responsible parties accountable for their misconduct.

What is "Wrongful Death"?

In order for a death to be “wrongful,” the person who caused the death must have been negligent, or engaged in some other type of misconduct which the law recognizes as actionable. When wrongful death occurs, certain of the family members have a legal right in California to obtain damages for wrongful death.

Entitlements

California Code of Civil Procedure §377.60 establishes a separate statutory cause of action in favor of specified heirs of a person who dies as a result of the “wrongful act or neglect” of another. Specified heirs are entitled to recover damages for themselves for the loss they sustained as a result of their family member’s death. For example, the deceased victim’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and grandchildren of deceased children may bring a wrongful death action. If there are no surviving children or grandchildren, the persons who would have been entitled to succeed to the estate if the victim had died intestate have claims for wrongful death. There are additional exceptions allowing suits for wrongful death where certain individuals were “dependent” on the victim at the time of his or her death. The circumstances under which one may be entitled to bring a wrongful death action are complex, and one should rely on the advice of an experienced attorney in such matters.

Generally speaking, one is entitled to damages for all detriment he or she has personally suffered and is likely to suffer in the future because of a wrongful death. These amounts are not limited to simply out-of-pocket expenses, but cover the total value of the benefits one could reasonably expect to receive from the deceased if he or she had lived. These type of losses include:

• Money for support or other financial benefits one would have received, including not only food, clothing and shelter, but any other financial contributions which one would probably have received.
• Additionally, each claimant in a wrongful death action is entitled to compensation for the loss of services, advice or training he or she would have received from the decedent. In this category, a loss of household services that follows the death of a spouse or parent are recoverable. Additionally, children of a deceased parent can recover the monetary value of the parent’s advice and services in their training and education.
• Most importantly, a wrongful death claimant is entitled to what the law refers to as loss of consortium, which includes the loss of love, companionship, comfort, affection, and moral support, which is commonly present between parents, spouses, registered domestic partners and children. Oddly, loss of consortium does not include compensation for a family member’s grief or mental suffering. There is obviously a very fine line between the loss of love, companionship and comfort, which is recoverable as money damages, and the grief and mental suffering which one endures when a loved one is lost.

Normally punitive damages are not available to a claimant in a wrongful death action. However, punitive damages can be obtained in a “Survivor” action to compensate the decedent’s Estate for detriment the decedent personally suffered before death. Consequently, a wrongdoer who has acted intentionally, fraudulently, maliciously or oppressively may be punished and made an example of by being forced to pay punitive damages to the Estate.

Necessary Evidence

• To Prove Relationship
  All evidence of the closeness of the relationship between the victims and the decedent in a wrongful death action that demonstrate to a judge and jury the significance of the loss are important, such as:
  • Letters
  • Diaries
  • Photographs
  • Videos
  • and all similar documentary evidence
• To Prove Financial Support
  Additionally, all evidence of the financial support that the family received from their loved one is important in establishing economic damages and can be crucial in holding the responsible parties accountable. Evidence to gather might be:
  • Decedent’s wage history
  • Evidence of actual financial support received from the decedent

There is no mechanism by which the law can adequately rectify the wrongful loss of a loved one’s life. The law has, however, created a process by which the survivor’s grief, frustration, anger and negative emotions can be channeled in a way that can hopefully both uncover the truth and hold those responsible to account for their actions.

At CSF&W, we are experienced in representing families of those who have lost loved ones, and we have been honored to assist many such families in negotiating their way through the legal process to obtain the justice.