If someone else’s actions caused your loved one’s death, you’re likely experiencing a range of emotions, including grief, anger, and confusion. These emotions are often overwhelming in the days, weeks, and months following an untimely death in the family. And it’s completely understandable that you wouldn’t want to deal with the legal system during this time. This is where a Beverly Hills wrongful death lawyer from Dordick Law Corporation comes in.
Our wrongful death lawyers in Beverly Hills will handle every aspect of your legal case while you focus on grieving your loss with your family. We represent grieving families throughout Southern California and work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we secure compensation for you. Contact our firm today for a free consultation and to learn more about how we can help you and your family seek the compensation you need.
Do I Have a Wrongful Death Claim?
To understand if you have a valid wrongful death claim, you first need to determine whether a wrongful death occurred. According to California law, wrongful death occurs when someone else’s negligent or intentional actions cause a death. A wrongful death claim can be filed when an accident victim dies as a result of someone else’s negligence.
Negligent actions refer to actions that a reasonable party in the same or a similar situation would not have taken. For example, a reasonable person knows that drinking and driving is both illegal and highly dangerous. So, if a drunk driver, as the at fault party, collided with and caused the victim’s death, that would count as a wrongful death.
Through your lawsuit, you will have to demonstrate that the defendant’s actions caused or contributed to your loved one’s death and that you sustained compensable losses as a result. An experienced Beverly Hills wrongful death attorney can help you do this.
Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Beverly Hills
Common examples of wrongful death causes include motor vehicle accidents, defective products, hazardous premises, workplace accidents, medical malpractice, and intentional acts.
In Beverly Hills, California, some of the most common causes of wrongful deaths include:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents – The impact of a vehicle accident can cause a wide variety of injuries that could result in death. These injuries include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and internal organ damage. Distracted driving and impaired driving are frequent causes of fatal crashes. In addition to injury compensation, property damage to vehicles is often part of the overall claim.
- Defective Products – Products can have several types of defects, including defects in their design, manufacturing, and warning labels. Depending on the severity of the defect and the nature of the product, these defects can lead to fatal accidents.
- Hazardous Premises – Poorly maintained properties, slippery floors, and other hazardous conditions can cause severe injury and death. Property owners or managers have a duty to maintain safe environments and could be liable when this occurs.
- Workplace Accidents – Construction, manufacturing, and other similar industries have higher rates of fatal workplace accidents than most. These accidents may involve slip and falls, struck-by accidents, caught-in accidents, caught-between accidents, and electrocutions. Identifying the responsible party is crucial in workplace wrongful death claims.
- Medical Malpractice – Routine medical treatments and surgeries can turn deadly when malpractice occurs. Malpractice can include performing surgery on the wrong patient, leaving objects in the patient’s body that lead to infections, misdiagnosing medical conditions, administering incorrect medication dosages, and surgical errors. Such negligence can result in fatal outcomes.
- Intentional Acts – Not all wrongful death cases result from negligence. Intentional criminal acts, including physical assault, domestic violence, and homicide, can result in wrongful death lawsuits in addition to criminal prosecution.
Who Can File a Beverly Hills Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Filing a wrongful death lawsuit is only available to certain family members, known as eligible family members. California law states that the only people who can file a wrongful death lawsuit are:
- The personal representative of the deceased’s estate
- The deceased’s spouse or domestic partner
- The deceased’s children, grandchildren, or other heirs
- The deceased’s parents, if there is no surviving spouse or heir
- The deceased’s next of kin, if there are no surviving heirs
Bereaved family members, such as the spouse, children, domestic partners, or other heirs of the deceased individual, may file a claim depending on specific circumstances. If the deceased passed without immediate family, the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file a claim.
Wrongful death claims filed by any of these parties are for the benefit and on behalf of those who stand to recover compensation through the lawsuit.
What Damages Can I Recover Through a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Through a wrongful death lawsuit, surviving family members can recover compensation for various types of losses sustained due to the death of their loved one. Families and loved ones may be entitled to financial compensation for lost income, medical bills, and funeral and burial expenses. While some parties, such as spouses and minor children or parents of deceased minor children, are presumed to have sustained compensable losses, this is not always the case for other parties.
For example, for next of kin, such as siblings of the deceased, to be eligible to recover compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit, they may have to demonstrate that they were financially dependent on the deceased. Securing compensation in these cases helps support families after the loss of a loved one.
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to compensation sought for losses with tangible value. Losses that fall under this category include:
- The loss of financial support your loved one would have provided for your family for the duration of their life
- Lost income, including future earnings the deceased would have contributed
- Medical bills incurred as a result of the incident
- Funeral expenses and burial expenses faced after your loved one’s death
- The loss of the gifts and benefits your loved one would have provided throughout their life
- The loss of the reasonable value of the household services your loved one would have provided
An experienced wrongful death attorney in Beverly Hills can calculate the value of your economic damages by estimating the long-term financial impact of losing your loved one.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to compensation sought for losses with intangible value. Due to the nature of these losses, it can be challenging to determine a fair value for them. A skilled and compassionate lawyer who can empathize with you and your family and understand the extent to which the loss of your loved one impacted your life.
The losses that qualify for non-economic damages include the loss of your loved one’s:
- Love
- Companionship
- Comfort
- Care
- Assistance
- Protection
- Affection
- Society
- Moral support
- Training
- Guidance
- Sexual relations
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are not available through wrongful death lawsuits in California. However, they may be available through survival actions under rare or unique circumstances, such as when the defendant’s conduct was especially egregious. It is important to distinguish between a wrongful death suit, which compensates surviving family members for their losses, and a survival action, which is a separate but related legal action the deceased’s personal representative can file to seek compensation for losses sustained by the deceased before their death.
Rather than serving to compensate a victim, punitive damages serve as a punishment for a defendant’s particularly egregious actions.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Beverly Hills?
The amount of time you have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Beverly Hills depends on the circumstances of your case. A wrongful death lawsuit is a specific type of personal injury case, and proving liability is essential to recover damages after an individual’s death. In general, California’s statute of limitations for wrongful death cases gives surviving family members two years to file lawsuits against the parties responsible for their loved one’s death.
However, there are several exceptions to this time limit. The first of which is known as the discovery rule. Under normal circumstances, the two-year time limit starts on the date of your loved one’s death. However, if their cause of death or a party’s involvement in their death was unknown, the time limit may not start until you know or reasonably should have known that information.
Another exception is for wrongful deaths arising from medical malpractice. These lawsuits must either be filed within three years of your loved one’s death or one year of your discovery that medical malpractice caused their death, whichever is sooner.
Finally, if the defendant is a government entity, in addition to the standard two-year time limit for filing your lawsuit, there is also a six-month time limit for filing a notice of claim with the appropriate government agency. Missing this deadline will result in the court barring you from filing your lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions on Wrongful Death
Below, we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions about wrongful death lawsuits in Beverly Hills, CA.
What if my loved one was partly at fault for the incident that caused their death?
If your loved one was partly at fault for the incident that caused their death, California’s comparative negligence rule may apply. This rule reduces the compensation available to surviving family members through a trial award by a percentage equal to their loved one’s degree of fault.
For example, if a jury finds your loved one 25 percent at fault for the accident that caused their death, the defendant would only be liable for 75 percent of your damages. A wrongful death lawyer can help maximize your compensation by gathering evidence to fight back against attempts to blame your loved one for their death.
What evidence is necessary for proving wrongful death?
When proving a wrongful death occurred, it’s necessary to have several forms of evidence. Gathering evidence is crucial for proving liability and establishing someone else’s negligence in a wrongful death case. The more evidence you have, the stronger your case will be. Some of the most common and effective forms of evidence your lawyer may gather include:
- Accident scene photographs
- Surveillance or traffic camera footage
- Eyewitness statements
- Expert testimony
- Medical records
- Other professional records, including business and maintenance records
It’s also necessary to have evidence demonstrating the extent of your losses caused by your loved one’s death. This evidence could take the form of your loved one’s pay stubs and bills you incurred after their death for household services they provided.
Will my wrongful death case settle or go to trial?
Most lawsuits settle before trial. However, even if your wrongful death lawsuit goes to trial, it may still settle at any point before the jury returns its verdict. If a settlement cannot be reached, having a legal team with strong trial experience in wrongful death cases is crucial to effectively present your case and advocate for your interests.
Many factors contribute to whether a case settles or goes to trial, including the case’s complexity, the amount of compensation at stake, and the straightforwardness of determining liability.
Contact Our Wrongful Death Lawyers in Beverly Hills
Was your loved one’s death in Beverly Hills caused by another party’s actions? Our law firm has decades of experience handling complex legal cases and helping Beverly Hills residents seek the compensation they need. Contact Dordick Law Corporation at (310) 736-2866 for a free consultation or fill our online form to speak with a highly qualified Beverly Hills personal injury attorney.
