When someone dies because of another party, the pain is unimaginable. In California, a wrongful death lawsuit helps to hold accountable whoever is responsible for someone’s death. In this situation, it is best to work with personal injury attorneys. They will help you seek full compensation for all legally recognized damages. For your wrongful death claim to succeed, you must understand exactly what types of losses California law allows you to recover. California law sets out four main damages categories available to you. Understanding these categories is the first step toward achieving justice.

California Law’s Wrongful Death and Survival Actions

Before addressing the types of damages, it is best to clarify what wrongful death and survival actions are. In California, when someone suffers a loss of a loved one due to negligence or a wrongful act, it gives rise to two distinct causes of action:

  • The wrongful death action
  • The survival action

These claims exist simultaneously, each compensating different parties for separate harms,  creating a comprehensive recovery framework. It is important to understand this division, as the range of damages you can recover splits along these two statutes.

A wrongful death action seeks damages for the harm suffered by the victim’s family. The statutory heirs of the estate, and not the estate itself, sue under this action. "Immediate family" usually refers to people closest to the deceased. They sue for their own damages resulting from the death. Damages in this category pay an heir or heirs for the decedent’s loss of:

  • Financial support
  • Household services
  • Companionship
  • Affection
  • Moral support
  • Society

Because wrongful death damages compensate the heirs, they exclude the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering, which are instead recoverable under a survival action.

Alternatively, a survival action (based on California Code of Civil Procedure §377.30) is basically the deceased’s personal injury claim that he/she could have brought. The estate of the deceased person, acting through a personal representative or successor in interest, commences this suit on behalf of the deceased person; only losses suffered before the moment of death are recoverable. In a survival action, you can recover expenses to:

  • Treat the deceased’s injuries
  • Lost wages from the date of injury to death
  • Property damage

Most importantly, unlike the historical rule, a survival action allows recovery for the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering and/or disfigurement. Sometimes, a survival action can bring a claim for punitive damages against the defendant for their egregious conduct.

The two acts are important as, taken together, they represent the full scope of the defendant’s liability. The wrongful death action is meant to compensate the living for future damages. In comparison, Survival Action will seek compensation for the damages the deceased endured up until their last breath. California causes of action usually allow the injured party and the deceased's estate to sue for different damages. By separating the suit of the heirs and the suing of the estate into two, the law provides a clear ruling on the lawsuit. This is so the defendant can be held responsible for both the injury to the deceased and the resulting harm to the surviving family.

Type 1: Economic Damages for the Loss of the Family

The distinction between the two primary actions allows for a clear categorization of the recoverable damages, beginning with the monetary losses you suffered due to being a surviving family member. The wrongful death action seeks recovery of these economic damages, representing the actual dollar value you lost as statutory heirs. State law identifies multiple financial losses as quantifiable economic damages for your family. These expenses include:

  1. Loss of Future Financial Support

The largest of these losses is the loss of future financial support. This primary economic harm represents the overall earnings that the deceased would have made and, more particularly, the portion of those earnings that the deceased would have contributed to the well-being of your family over their lifetime.

You should use expert testimony to project the likely course of the decedent’s earning capacity, including raises, promotions, inflation, and the remainder of their working life. The total amount is then discounted to present value since it is paid in a lump sum. After a total future loss is determined, that number is the amount you receive, but that number is discounted down to present cash value because you get that entire amount now and not over many years.

  1. Loss of Gifts or Benefits

Furthermore, your financial assessment should include the value of the loss of gifts or benefits of the deceased. It captures important job benefits like the dollar value of:

  • Health insurance premiums that the employer would have paid
  • Pension or retirement contributions that you will not receive, and
  • The value which you expected to realize from the decedent

These items are an exact, measurable financial protection that disappears at your provider’s death.

  1. Funeral and Burial Expenses

The party responsible must also pay for the reasonable funeral and burial expenses. The costs for the burial plot, cremation, services, and other charges fall under this category.

  1. Loss of Household Services

You can also seek compensation for the loss of household services. This refers to the dollar value of all necessary, non-income-producing services the decedent regularly performs at home. This may involve:

  • Taking care of children
  • Taking care of maintenance and repairs in your property
  • Transport to and from places
  • Cooking
  • Managing household finances and other similar tasks

Attorneys will usually seek specialized vocational experts to quantify the money lost domestically. Specifically, they will consider the time you would have spent on these important activities and put an exact dollar figure on these losses. This way, you acknowledge the actual practical financial impact on your family.

Type 2: Non-Economic Damages for the Family (Loss of Consortium)

In a wrongful death claim, non-economic damages refer to the financial compensation you and your family seek for personal losses that you experienced following the untimely death of a loved one. The damages you could receive for losing a loved one refer to how your family unit has changed. These damages are not economic, which is proved through invoices and receipts. The legal concept of loss of consortium is the main component of this non-economic recovery. It recognizes that wrongful death is not only about lost income but also the destruction of the unique relationship between the deceased and their loved ones.

Non-economic damages include:

  1. Loss of Love and Affection

This refers to the deprivation of the love, companionship, comfort, and moral support the deceased would have provided. Besides, the loss of consortium can also mean a loss of love, emotion, affection, etc. The payment is to compensate for the loss to your family of the intimate contributions that your loved one made and not compensatory damages for grief, sorrow, or emotional distress you feel. Instead, it compensates for the lack of benefits that would have come from your continued relationship with him/her.

The loss of a loved one is difficult and gives rise to a long emotional process. According to California law, the jury must evaluate how your loved one’s death has deprived you of their love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, and moral support. This legal principle acknowledges that the death of your spouse or parent creates a gap that must be compensated for by the law, as justice must be done.

  1. Spousal Loss or Parental Loss

The value of loss of consortium you are entitled to will depend on your relationship with the deceased. The law acknowledges that the different classes of survivors suffer different harms. For instance, if you are a surviving spouse compared to a surviving child.

If you are a surviving spouse, you lost the end of the marital partnership. By the loss of an intimate partner, we mean not only the loss of your partner, but also the loss of the partner’s companionship, daily lives together, emotional support, love, help running the house, and planning the future together. The loss of these financial contributions is calculated separately. The focus on non-economic damages is on the relational loss, which is the loss of the other half of your partnership, along with the non-monetary values of the benefits of a spousal relationship.

When your child’s parent dies, the claim will be for the loss of parental guidance and training. The lack of nurturing and guidance, both physical and moral, from the other parent will harm the child. This part must be essential for younger children, whose growth and future success are closely linked to the parents’ guiding presence. It is not only the parents’ physical presence that is lost, but also the presence and companionship that the parent provides through daily contact.

  1. Relationships Loss Ulceration Evidence

It is important to know that non-economic damages are subjective, and evidence must be shown to a jury to prove the value of a broken relationship and what you are entitled to. It is critical evidence for establishing the strength and closeness of the bond severed by the wrongful death.

The main way attorneys prove this loss is through testimony. You, your family, friends, coworkers, and perhaps even community members may be called to give evidence about the nature of the relationship, that is, the role played by the deceased, the support rendered, and the impact on you. This testimony should show the family life before the tragedy occurred.

Moreover, evidence in photographs, home videos, cards, letters, posts on social media, and more is used. This evidence will not measure your family’s grief. Still, it will measure just how profoundly your family’s loss of the consortium that you and your surviving family members will no longer enjoy.

Type 3: Economic Harm to the Estate of the Deceased

The category of damages only includes the losses the deceased person sustained before death. In California, this survivor’s action is a distinct legal action from a wrongful death action. A wrongful death claim pays you and your family for your losses from your loved one’s death. In contrast, a survival action pays the estate for losses the deceased suffered from the injury/accident until death. The compensation you can recover consists of two main things: medical bills and lost wages.

  1. Medical Costs

The estate representing the deceased can recover all reasonable medical expenses incurred as a result of the defendant’s negligence from the time of the accident or injury to the time of death.

The costs of all treatments that were used for several purposes to either save the life of the deceased or give the deceased relief from suffering. All expenses incurred on account of ambulance or airlift, many rounds of hospitalization or surgery, medication, doctor’s fees, nursing, and hospice charges before death, are classified under recoverable funeral and burial expenses under California law. Since these bills are concrete evidence; the recovery is for these documented individual bills. The estate, and you as administrator, must provide all billing and payment records to substantiate these claims in full.

  1. Income reduction before death due to loss

If the deceased did not die immediately, a survival action also allows for the recovery of any income the deceased lost between the first injury and death.

For instance, the estate can recover lost wages if your loved one was injured in an accident, hospitalized, or unable to work for several weeks or months, and then ultimately died from those injuries. This is the money the deceased would have earned if they had been alive and available to work at that time. This claim only covers wages lost before death. Any wages lost post-death are part of the primary wrongful death claim, which we covered previously on economic damages.

This compensates the decedent’s estate for income lost before death, indirectly benefiting the family from the estate’s recovery.

Type 4: Punitive Damages to Punish the Defendant

California law has a unique type of claim that can be high-stakes. Punitive damages are not meant to compensate you for any damage. They are supposed to punish the defendant for extreme behavior and prevent the defendant from harming others.

Punitive damages are not designed to compensate you for any particular loss. Instead, we have discussed compensatory damages (economic and non-economic). They only intend to punish the defendant severely because their actions are so horrible that they shock the conscience. In California, they send a strong message that egregious or malicious conduct will not be tolerated. These damages are normally far larger than compensatory damages because of their punitive nature on the defendant.

To recover punitive damages, you must show more than just negligence. The defendant must have acted with oppression, fraud, or malice as per the law; clear and convincing evidence is required.

  • Malice — This is the intention of the defendant to cause an injury or a willful and conscious disregard of the safety and rights of others.
  • Oppression — It refers to the behavior of the defendant, which was vile and subjected your loved one to violent and unjust hardship with the conscious disregard of their rights.
  • Fraud — This is when one person intentionally lies about a material fact or covers up a material fact, which causes deprivation of property or legal rights to the loved one.

Proving these mental states requires detailed investigation into the defendant’s internal knowledge, policies, and intent, which is a significant discovery focus in these cases.

Under California law, you can only recover punitive damages in a survival action, not a wrongful death action.

  • Survival action — This claim is the estate’s (the deceased’s) claim. The damages the deceased suffered before death are covered. The deceased person was the victim of the offending conduct, so the punitive damages are attached to their claim, which therefore “survives” the death and is paid to the estate.
  • A wrongful death lawsuit — This is brought about by survivors of the deceased (you and your family). California law clearly states that you cannot recover punitive damages in a wrongful death claim.

This distinction is vital. If your team fails to properly file and pursue the separate survival action for the estate, then you will lose the right to recover punitive damages altogether, regardless of how awful the conduct was. This is why working with a skilled attorney familiar with California’s Survival Statute is necessary.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

A wrongful death lawsuit is the way to hold negligent parties accountable when a family member dies. This will help the surviving family have some stability and justice. Damages are structured to cover both economic and non-economic loss suffered by the plaintiff. This framework ensures that any compensation meets the economic loss caused by death. This means compensation covers everything from loss of earnings from the deceased to the worth of future household services.

Further, this compensation also covers specific costs like funeral and burial costs. It also acknowledges the economic gap left by the loss of companionship, comfort, love, and moral support, the human cost involved in negligence.

You need to navigate these categories expertly to recover the maximum compensation for you and your family. Let San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm turn your loss into a strong legal action for justice. Contact us today at 619-478-4059 for a confidential consultation and to ensure every dimension of your family’s loss is expertly represented.