Proper Parties who can Pursue Wrongful Death Claims

Death in itself is devastating but when death is due to an accident, the impact can be worse and life altering especially to those left by the deceased.

The loss is not only sudden and devastating but the surviving family members are also faced with the fact that the deceased could no longer be there for them. They succumb to the pain, grief and emotional loss.

It is at times like this that families in California seek the assistance of wrongful death lawyers to help them in their legal pursuit against the offending party and obtain financial compensation from those responsible.

Wrongful death claims can be complicated and particular, which is why it is so essential to have an experienced and expert lawyer on your side.

In California, wrongful death claims have both procedural and substantive provisions. The claim must be filed by one WHO has a cause of action and allege WHAT damages to be recovered.

Damages Recovered

As the surviving heirs, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit for the recovery of the following three kinds of damages:

• The loss of the love, companionship, comfort, affection, society, solace, moral support or consortium of the decedent


• The cost of the household services the decedent would have provided in the future, if any


• The value of the financial support, which the claimant would have received were it not for the death

The foregoing mostly pertains to pecuniary losses. Often times, in determining such loss the age, character and condition, earning capacity, life expectancy, health and intelligence of the decedent, as well as the circumstances of the distributes must all be considered.

While damage may have been established to exist, the above claims cannot automatically be given to just any claimant. Anyone who tries to pose a claim must prove that he/she is a proper party to pursue such claims. Otherwise, the case shall fail.

Proper Claimants

In claiming compensation, not all claimants are proper party to assert the same. The law specifies those people who may file a wrongful death claim.

The rule of preference provides as follows:

• surviving spouse


• children


• surviving issue of deceased children of the decedent

The above survivors can file separately or jointly. In their absence, the next in line are the deceased's:

• parents;


• brothers and sisters;


• children of deceased brothers and sisters;


• grandparents;


• lineal descendants

Still, in the absence of the above-mentioned claimants, a second group of claimants may file a claim:

• putative spouse (one who can prove that he/she had believed in good faith that he/she was married to the decedent, but were not married by law)


• children of putative spouse


• stepchildren


• and parents of decedent

However, the second group of claimants must prove that they were dependent upon the decedent at the time of death.

Ultimately, in the absence of the foregoing parties, any minor may file a claim if concurrence of the following exists:

• he/she can prove that they were a resident of the decedent's household for 180 days prior to the death


• he/she was dependent upon the decedent for at least 50% of his/her support at the time of death

Mesriani Law Group is a full service law firm which specializes in all facets of Personal Injury Law Litigation, including Wrongful Death Claims, Car Accidents, Slip and Fall and Premises Liability Claims, Employment / Labor Law, Disability Law and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, and Business Law. Each of the attorneys at the Mesriani Law Group has been acknowledged as one of the very best in their field. Whether your case deals with Personal Injury Law, Employment Law, Social Security representation or Corporate/Business law, you can be assured that your case will be handled by an expert who specializes in that form of litigation. It is this diversity that makes us unique. We are not a firm with one specialty, but several. But it is not the accomplishments of its attorneys or its stellar business plan that makes Mesriani Law Group the best law firm in Los Angeles. It is the people working at Mesriani Law Group that truly drive our success. Every employee at Mesriani Law Group is dedicated to delivering the best service possible. Not only that, but Mesriani Law Group prides itself on giving the same level of attention to each and every client, be it a small personal injury matter or a multi-million dollar litigation. Mesriani Law Group is dedicated to giving its clients the very best representation and remains committed to having only the very best attorneys handling their cases.

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