Temecula Wrongful Death Lawyer

The Wrongful Death Claims Process

Like the personal injury claims process, the wrongful death claims process can be used to seek compensation after an accident. However, there are some distinct differences between these two types of claims, including:

The Type of Damages

Personal injury claims typically compensate the victim for wage loss, medical expenses, lost earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering. A wrongful death claim compensates for the above as well as family members for the loss of support and services, funeral and burial costs, and loss of society, companionship, training, guidance, and consortium.

The Statute of Limitations

Claimants in personal injury cases usually have three years to file their claim as a lawsuit, while wrongful death claimants only have two years from the date of death to file the claim. The statute of limitations is extremely important, as failing to file a lawsuit within this time frame will generally result in the loss of the right to use the court process to seek compensation if the insurer fails to pay.

While two years seems like a lot of time, there are a number of things that must occur both before a lawsuit is filed as well as after. Here is a look at the different steps of the process.

• A determination by your attorney as to the source of liability and an associated insurance policy that can provide compensation.
• Valuing the claim to reflect not only the expenses you incurred as a result of your loss, but also the psychological impacts of the loss.
• Filing the wrongful death claim with the at-fault party’s insurer.
• Settlement negotiations. Most wrongful death claims are resolved through a settlement. However, an attorney is often needed to negotiate with the insurer in order to garner a settlement offer that fairly compensates survivors for their loss.
• Filing a wrongful death lawsuit in court, if the insurer fails to pay the claim in full or enter a settlement agreement with the claimant.
• Discovery, which is a phase in the legal process in which both sides of a case have the opportunity to view evidence held by the other party.
• Litigation, if a settlement is not reached before the scheduled trial date. Litigation is more than just a couple of days in court. There are weeks or even months of preparation that goes into preparing a wrongful death lawsuit to be presented to a judge or jury.
• The proceeds of the award are sent to the claimant’s attorney, who receives their payment from the proceeds before turning the rest over to the claimant.

Wrongful death claims can be filed by family members such as a spouse or domestic partner of the deceased, the deceased’s children or parents, or anyone else who is entitled to the deceased’s property under California’s intestate succession laws.