Incidents that Lead to Wrongful Death Claims

The death of a loved one is a tragedy that is painful to deal with, especially when the death is caused by the fault of another person or entity. In San Francisco, California, if a person is killed because of the fault of another person or entity, then the loved ones who survive that person have a right to seek compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit. At Cartwright Law Firm, Inc., we have experienced wrongful death lawyers who can help if you are in the unfortunate situation of needing to file a wrongful death claim.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits in California

A wrongful death lawsuit arises in California when an individual dies because of someone else’s fault or as the result of an entity’s fault. There are three primary areas and circumstances under which wrongful death claims often arise, and these are:

1. Negligence. The law requires people to act with reasonable care, meaning to act as reasonably as you would expect everyone else to act under the same circumstances. If it is a business, the business owner is required to keep and maintain their business in a safe manner as you would expect another owner to do. If a person fails to act with reasonable care or if a business owner fails to keep their business reasonably safe and that failure leads to the death of another person, then the person or business entity can be held liable for wrongful death. 
2. General Accidents. Negligence is common in accidents, which can include car accidents, automobile accidents, or accidents on commercial premises. When an accident occurs causing death, then the person who caused the accident can be liable for a wrongful death claim if it is proven that they were negligent in causing the accident.
3. Workplace Accidents. If someone is killed at their workplace in an accident caused because of a third party’s negligence, then the surviving loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit against the employer or business owner. An accident could involve machine or equipment use, as well as illness caused by unsafe work conditions, explosions, or fires.
4. Medical Malpractice. Medical malpractice happens when a patient suffers harm at the hands of a doctor or other medical professional. To rise to a level of medical malpractice, however, the harm caused must be due to the doctor or medical professional’s failure to competently perform her or his medical duties. If a person under the care of the doctor or medical professional dies because of the doctor or medical professional’s incompetence or error, then this would be grounds to file a wrongful death claim against the doctor or medical professional.
5. Intentional Acts. If a person is killed by the intentional act of another person to cause their death, then the person who causes the death can be sued for wrongful death. For example, if someone commits murder, the person will be arrested and charged with murder. However, regardless of the outcome of the murder case, the family of the victim can also bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the person who committed the murder.
6. Product Liability. Companies are required by both federal and California state law to design and manufacture products that are safe for their intended use or purpose. If there is a fault in the design or manufacturing of a product that causes death, then the family of the person killed can sue the manufacturer and others involved in bringing the product to market for wrongful death. A wrongful death lawsuit can also be filed if the manufacturer failed to warn of known dangers associated with the use of their product.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California?

Under California’s wrongful death law, the following individuals can file a wrongful death lawsuit in the state’s courts:

1. the decedent’s surviving spouse or domestic partner
2. the decedent’s surviving children, and/or 
3. the grandchildren of any deceased child of the decedent.

If the person who died does not have a surviving person in their line of descent, then a wrongful death lawsuit can be brought by anyone “who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession,” which typically ends up being the deceased person’s parents, or the deceased person’s siblings, depending on who is living at the time when the person dies.

Elements of Wrongful Death Lawsuit in California

To be successful in a wrongful death lawsuit in California, you must prove several elements of the case as follows:

1. The person who caused the death had a duty of care which they breached
2. The death was caused by another person or entity in breach of their duty of care, such as being negligent or willfully causing the death 
3. The death was due to the harm caused by the killer and not due to natural causes or other intervening causes 
4. Proof that the death has caused damages in the form of monetary loss to the deceased family member or members.

Statute of Limitations for California Wrongful Death Actions

Under California law, a surviving family member and members of the estate of the person who was killed have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. There are some exceptions to the 2-year limitation, but these are generally limited and apply to specific circumstances which are rare in occurrence.

How Can a San Francisco Wrongful Death Attorney Help?

If your loved one has been killed, you have a lot you are dealing with, the most important being grieving the loss of your loved one and making arrangements, even as you try and figure out how to go on with life without them. Mourning is a never-ending experience and even as you do so, there are other things that you must tend to, such as figuring out how to keep things afloat now that your loved one is gone.

At Cartwright Law Firm, Inc., we try to take this worry away from you by doing what is necessary to ensure that you get proper and appropriate compensation for the loss of your loved one.

If your loved one died due to someone else’s conduct, then please contact our office today for a free case review.