Wrongful Death Lawyer
Request Our No-Cost Representation
Our San Diego wrongful death attorneys are deeply attuned to the anguish of the families they help. On top of great emotional suffering and the loss of the deceased person's companionship, a wrongful death can thrust surviving family members into financial stress. Under no circumstance do our lawyers want to add any financial burdens.
We begin each wrongful death claim with a 100% free consultation. If we take on your wrongful death lawsuit, we will do so on a contingency basis. This means we do not charge a single cent throughout the entirety of the case. The only way we get paid is by receiving a percentage of any wrongful death verdict or settlement we obtain on your behalf. Call or write to us so we can represent you.
(619) 230-5712
What Is
a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim allows family members to seek compensation from a party who committed negligent or malicious acts that killed their loved one.
A wrongful death lawsuit is pursued in civil court, which has a lower threshold for standard of proof than in criminal court. This means winning a wrongful death claim does not require proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
What must be proven is that 1) more likely than not, the deceased person's passing was caused by negligence or intent to harm by the defendant; and 2) the surviving family members are suffering monetary harm as a direct result of the wrongful death.
Wrongful Death Compensation
Comes in Many Forms
Some families choose to focus on grieving and healing instead of pursuing a wrongful death claim because they are unaware of the many categories of compensation available to them. Our wrongful death attorneys can seek compensation for the following and more:
- Burial or funeral expenses
- Pain and suffering experienced by the decedent
- Lost companionship, emotional support, and mentorship
- Medical bills and expenses the decedent incurred prior to their passing
- Lost financial support and lost future wages the deceased would have earned
California Allows
For Significant Compensation
Some states place maximums on the amount of compensation a family can receive in a wrongful death lawsuit. California only limits wrongful death compensation for a single case type – medical malpractice. If your wrongful death claim revolves around an auto accident, slip and fall, defective product, or any other cause of death outside of medical malpractice there is no compensation limit.
For decades, California limited non-economic damages in medical malpractice wrongful death cases to $250,000. Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that raised this cap to $500,000 as of 2023. It will continue to rise by an additional $50,000 each year until the cap plateaus at $1 million.
Our Wrongful Death Attorneys Earn Major Verdicts & Settlements
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Our wrongful death and personal injury attorneys have built their careers on winning six and seven-figure cases. John K. Landay and Malcolm B. Roberts's great victories include $500,000 in a car accident case and $2.3 million for senior citizens who were egregiously defrauded.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by any of the people listed below.
Relatives
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by the decedent's spouse, domestic partner, children, or grandchildren.
Dependents
Financial dependents not described above can file, such as step children, parents, or a financially dependent minor who lived with the decedent for the 180 days before their passing.
Representative
A wrongful death claim can also be filed by a personal representative of the deceased's estate. A personal representative is either named so in the decedent's will or appointed by the court.
Statute of Limitations Limit Your Time to File
In the wake of a loved one's death, it can be tempting to solely focus on emotional recovery. This leads some families to put off filing their wrongful death case until it is too late. Statute of limitations laws set deadlines for filing. If these deadlines are missed, you almost certainly lose the ability to receive compensation.
The standard deadline for a wrongful death case in California is two years from the date of your loved one's passing. Medical malpractice wrongful death can be more complex. Families usually have no more than three years to file a medical malpractice wrongful death case. Often, you may have just a single year to file from the date the injury was or should reasonably have been discovered.
Begin Your
Wrongful Death Case
Delaying speaking to a wrongful death lawyer can only harm your potential case. Our San Diego wrongful death lawyers are here to answer all of your questions and pursue the compensation you deserve. At your free consultation, we will provide a thorough and honest assessment of the prospects of your case.
In addition to their success in plaintiff work, our attorneys have a background in defense. Our San Diego law firm successfully protected a securities brokerage firm from plaintiffs seeking almost $1 million in damages. Our track record of winning major cases from both sides allows us to anticipate and prevent potential complications. To receive help from proven San Diego wrongful death attorneys, simply reach out today.
(619) 230-5712
Examples of Wrongful Death Cases
Auto Accident
California law dictates that drivers must exercise a reasonable standard of care when operating a vehicle. They must drive at safe speeds, monitor the direction of their vehicle, and keep a lookout for pedestrians. If a driver ignored basic safety rules and killed a bicyclist, the bicyclist's family could sue for wrongful death.
Premises Liability
The owner of a property has a duty to exercise care to keep their property safe. If a property owner failed to perform basic maintenance, thus leading to a deadly accident, the property owner can be sued for wrongful death. A specific example is failing to perform upkeep on an escalator, leading to a malfunction and deadly fall.
Medical Malpractice
In California, medical professionals are deemed negligent if they fail to exercise the level of skill, knowledge, and care on a patient that a reasonably careful medical professional should. An example would be health care professionals missing obvious signs of a serious heart condition, and this failure to diagnose being lethal.
Defective Products
Product manufacturers must take many steps to ensure the safety of what they sell. Unfortunately, defects can occur in the marketing, manufacturing, or design of a product. A fatal example of a defective product is a prescription medicine manufacturer failing to provide adequate, clear warnings of the dangers of their medicine.
