“Wrongful death” is a phrase lawyers use when a person gets killed by someone else’s wrongdoing. A wrongful death case is brought by the spouse and/or children of the person who was killed. This type of case specifically means that when someone died, there was a person or corporation who caused the death. For example, a car striking the side of a semi-truck at Wellsona Road in San Luis Obispo, California, could later result in a wrongful death case against the truck driver and the truck driver’s company for not having a truck with working warning lights on the side of the truck.
Wrongful death cases are valuable cases because the goal of the case is to compensate for the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, and numerous other affections that the victim would have provided their family if they had not been killed. Lawyers often group all of these categories together. They should NOT be grouped together. California Civil Jury Instruction (CACI) 3921 states: Juries must decide on a reasonable amount for every single type of loss. This is a very common mistake made by firms that do not regularly handle wrongful death cases. These cases are often worth seven figures because the death should not have occurred, and the million-dollar verdict or settlement is California’s rule to replace the loss of a loved one.
What Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
A wrongful death lawsuit is filed because someone else’s wrongdoing killed someone, and the family is seeking justice from the person or corporation who caused the death. A family is devastated by the loss of their loved one and seeks justice through the court system. The justice is in the form of a lawsuit that places the blame on the person or corporation who caused the accident.
A wrongful death lawsuit is the only way of telling corporations that when they do not follow safety rules or regulations, they will be held accountable. These cases can be filed anytime there is something that is done that is unreasonable. The suit will be brought by the children or the spouse of the victim. One firm can represent all the children and the spouse if there is a waiver of conflict form signed.
