If you have lost a family member or loved one as a result of an airplane accident then you may be going through a range of emotions and feelings. Anger, denial, fear, and confusion are all common emotions after the loss of someone close to you. Along with all those emotions, you may also have a number of questions – some practical, some philosophical and some legal. If the person that you lost was your spouse or parent, then financial concerns eventually start to enter your mind. No one wants to think about financial issues when they are grieving the loss of a loved one, but eventually it becomes necessary to do so. California airplane accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates says that people frequently come to him with very little idea of what their legal options are after losing a loved one in an airplane accident. While all accident scenarios are different, one legal course of action that is frequently available in a fatal airplane accident is to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
What is a wrongful death? A wrongful death is a death caused in whole or in part by the willful or negligent act or omission of a person or persons. What this means in layman’s terms is that if someone else intentionally or negligently caused the death of your loved one then they can be held responsible through a wrongful death lawsuit. As a rule, an airplane accident would not be considered an intentional act, so the most likely case scenario is that someone was negligent and that negligence caused or contributed to your loved one’s death. Negligence is a complicated legal concept and the details are better explained by a competent California airplane accident attorney, but in simple terms if means “at fault”.
So who may file a wrongful death lawsuit in the State of California? Who can file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit is governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60-377.62. The section allows three groups of people to file. They are, in order of priority:
(a) The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children, or, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession. (b) Whether or not qualified under subdivision (a), if they were dependent on the decedent, the putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents. As used in this subdivision, “putative spouse” means the surviving spouse of a void or voidable marriage who is found by the court to have believed in good faith that the marriage to the decedent was valid. (c) A minor, whether or not qualified under subdivision (a) or (b), if, at the time of the decedent’s death, the minor resided for the previous 180 days in the decedent’s household and was dependent on the decedent for one-half or more of the minor’s support.
If you are qualified under one of these relationships, then you may potentially file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit.
What compensation you are entitled to depends on a number of factors. The idea behind a wrongful death lawsuit – aside from holding the negligent party responsible – is to put you back in the financial position that you were in before the untimely death. Therefore, you potentially be entitled to future earnings of the decedent, the value of household services that the decedent performed, and the loss of love, companionship, comfort, affection and consortium (if the decedent was your spouse). Exactly what all that is worth will depend greatly on your specific circumstances and is best discussed with an experienced California Airplane accident attorney.
If you would like to have your potential airplane accident wrongful death case evaluated by attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, he can be contacted at his office at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
