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Wrongful Death Attorney Los Angeles
Losing someone you love upends everything, no matter what the circumstances are. When that loss could have been avoided – a crash that didn’t have to happen, a medical mistake, a dangerous situation no one bothered to fix – the pain is different. It’s not just grief; it’s the constant thought that this was preventable. At the same time, real-life problems start piling up: hospital charges arriving in the mail, funeral and burial costs that have to be paid, and the immediate question of how the family will manage without that person’s income, care, and support.
When a life is cut short because another person or company was careless or reckless, California law treats that kind of loss as a “wrongful death.” This legal category exists to acknowledge how serious and unjust these deaths are and to give surviving relatives a way to seek accountability and financial recovery. In these moments, many families eventually look for guidance from a wrongful death attorney Los Angeles residents trust, simply to understand what rights they have and what steps, if any, they want to take next.
What is a wrongful death claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil case that arises when someone dies because another person, company, or institution was careless, reckless, or intentionally harmful. Instead of the person filing a personal injury case on their own behalf, the law allows certain surviving family members to seek accountability for the life that was cut short. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the focus is on what the deceased contributed to their household – financial support, day-to-day care, guidance, and companionship – and how that loss has changed the lives of the people left behind.
A wrongful death in California can grow out of many situations: a fatal car or truck crash, a pedestrian accident, a dangerous property condition, a defective product, or medical negligence, among others. The common thread is that the death resulted from a “wrongful act or neglect.” Through a wrongful death claim, eligible relatives may pursue compensation for funeral and burial expenses, the loss of financial support, and the emotional and practical impact of losing a spouse, parent, child, or other close family member.
The difference between wrongful death claims and survival actions in Los Angeles
When a life is lost because of negligence, California law allows two separate civil avenues: a wrongful death claim and a survival action lawsuit. They often arise from the same incident but they protect different interests.
A wrongful death claim is brought by certain surviving family members usually a spouse, children, or in some cases parents or other dependents. The focus is on how the death has affected the family. In a wrongful death in California, these relatives may seek compensation for the loss of financial support, the loss of love, companionship, guidance, and the everyday help and services the person provided. The harm measured here is the emotional and economic hole left in the survivors’ lives.
A survival action, by contrast, belongs to the decedent’s estate. It is essentially the personal injury claim the person could have filed had they survived the incident. Instead of looking at long-term family losses, a survival action centers on what the deceased experienced between the time of injury and the time of death. That can include medical expenses tied to the incident, conscious pain and suffering, lost earnings for that period, and in some situations other losses that legally “follow” the person into their estate.
One way to think about it is this:
- The survival action asks, “What did the person who died go through, and what financial harm did they personally suffer before passing away?”
- The wrongful death claim asks, “What has the family lost because this person is no longer here?”
Because both types of cases can be available at the same time, and because the rules about who can recover and how the money is distributed can be technical, many families choose to speak with an experienced wrongful death attorney Los Angeles residents trust to sort out which claims apply to their situation and how best to move forward.
The best way to determine whether a wrongful death claim, a survival action, or both apply in your case is to talk with a lawyer who handles these cases every day. Contact Bojat Law Group at (818) 877-4878 to review your situation.
Who can File a wrongful death claim in Los Angeles?
In wrongful death cases, unlike other personal injury cases, the person who files the claim is not the victim but their next of kin. Also, in Los Angeles or California, wrongful death claims can only be filed by people who have a certain kind of relationship with the person who died.
- Spouse
The victim’s surviving spouse can sue for pain and suffering medical negligence, loss of companionship, trauma, and emotional distress.
2. Children
Minor children, including adopted and stepchildren, are entitled to compensation for parental support, companionship, guidance, instruction, and emotional trauma.
3. Parents
Each parent may be entitled to compensation if they were financially dependent on the deceased. They can also pursue compensation for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors.
4. Other family members
Other family members of the deceased victim deemed as heirs, can file a wrongful death lawsuit if there are no surviving spouse, children, or parents of the deceased.
Each surviving family of the deceased may also recover financial compensation for the value of lost services, support, and emotional distress from the date of the deceased injury to their death, and future loss of services and support.
It is imperative to remember that wrongful death lawsuits can only be filed once. If there are disputes to the claim, it will be in the survivors’ best interests to seek counsel from an experienced Bojat Law Group wrongful death attorney in Los Angeles to make the process smooth and efficient, and also assist in determining a proper claim.
Common causes of fatal injuries that lead to wrongful death
Most wrongful death cases in California start with an everyday situation that suddenly goes very wrong – a late-night drive on the 101, a routine surgery, a shift on a construction site, a product you assume is safe. When basic safety rules are ignored, those ordinary moments can turn into fatal injuries and, ultimately, a wrongful death claim. Some patterns show up over and over:
Motor vehicle crashes
Deadly wrecks involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicyclists, and pedestrians are one of the most frequent sources of wrongful death in California. In 2023 alone, more than 40,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes across the U.S., including over 4,000 in California. Drunk or drugged drivers, people scrolling their phones at red lights, drivers racing through yellow lights, or trucks barreling down the freeway too fast for conditions – all of these are classic examples of preventable conduct that can cost someone their life.Defective products
Sometimes it isn’t just a careless person, but a dangerous product. A vehicle with faulty brakes or airbags, a prescription drug with undisclosed risks, contaminated food, or industrial machinery without proper guards can all lead to fatal injuries. When the design, manufacturing, or warnings are defective and someone dies as a result, the companies behind the product can face a wrongful death claim.Medical malpractice
Hospitals and clinics are supposed to make people better, yet serious errors still happen: a missed diagnosis that allows a condition to spiral, a surgical mistake, the wrong medication or dosage, anesthesia problems, or the use of defective medical devices. When those lapses in care lead to a patient’s death, the family may have a medical malpractice–based wrongful death case.Workplace accidents
Construction sites, warehouses, farms, refineries, and factories are especially risky when employers cut corners on safety. Falls from scaffolding, collapsing structures, heavy equipment rollovers, electrocutions, and exposure to toxic substances are just a few of the ways a workday can turn fatal when rules aren’t followed. Employers and third-party contractors can be held responsible when that negligence results in a wrongful death.
Rideshare crashes also appear more often now in fatal-injury files. In wrongful death cases involving Uber accidents or other rideshare collisions, an Uber accident lawyer Los Angeles families trust can dig into app data, trip records, and overlapping insurance policies to figure out who has to pay for the harm that was done. At a dedicated wrongful death law firm like Bojat Law Group in Los Angeles, CA, the work is twofold: reconstruct how the fatal injury happened and then pursue every responsible party, pushing insurers hard while staying genuinely patient and compassionate with the family left behind.
What types of damages can you recover in a wrongful death lawsuits?
The foundation of a wrongful death case is measurable loss. Courts look at medical bills, medical expenses, funeral expenses, and burial expenses tied to the fatal injuries. They also examine the lost income and financial support the deceased person would have provided: wages, benefits, and earning potential over the rest of their expected working life. When the deceased person’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, or deceased person’s surviving children depended on that income, those numbers matter a great deal.
The next layer involves losses you can’t add up on a calculator. These non economic damages include the loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support that family members – including a surviving spouse, deceased person’s parents, or other close relatives and legal guardians – experience after a loved one’s death. In wrongful death litigation, this is often where the story of the person’s life, their role in the family, and the depth of the relationships becomes critical.
Punitive damages awarded in lawsuits involving extreme negligence can arise in California wrongful death cases, but they are far from guaranteed. Instead of just covering bills and lost income, punitive damages are focused on punishment and deterrence.
How can your law firm help prove another's negligence in a wrongful death case?
When a wrongful death occurs because of someone else’s negligence, you don’t just need sympathy – you need a team that knows how to prove wrongful death in a courtroom or across the negotiation table. At Bojat Law Group, every wrongful death suit starts with careful, old-fashioned investigation paired with the strategy you normally see in serious personal injury cases.
We begin by figuring out exactly what happened and who the person responsible is. In fatal car accidents, workplace accidents, or other forms of accidental death, that can mean getting the police file, scene photos, video footage, black-box or phone data, company safety records, and witness statements. We look for every negligent act – a truck driver who was texting, a supervisor who ignored safety rules, a property owner who never fixed a known hazard – and then work to show why that conduct made the defendant legally liable for the way your person dies.
From there, we use experts to connect the dots. Accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, and economists help us show how someone else’s negligence led to the same death, and what that means in real-world terms:
Lost wages and financial support the family will no longer receive.
The impact on a legally married spouse, deceased children, or other relatives.
The full scope of wrongful death damages, including the loss of guidance and care.
Because a wrongful death case is a civil lawsuit, it is separate from any criminal charges that might also be filed. Even if prosecutors do nothing, we can still bring legal action on behalf of the personal representative or surviving family to seek justice and recover damages from the negligent party.
Our job is to handle the legal side of wrongful death litigation so you and your family member can focus on grieving and rebuilding, while we pursue legal action against the people and companies that caused your loved one’s death.
Can I afford to hire a wrongful death lawyer?
Yes. If you’re thinking, “I can’t take on more bills after my loved one’s death,” you’re exactly the kind of client Bojat Law Group is set up to help.
Bojat Law Group handles Los Angeles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis. That means:
You don’t pay to start a wrongful death claim or wrongful death lawsuit.
Our wrongful death attorneys advance the costs of records, experts, and other wrongful death litigation expenses.
We only get paid if we recover damages for you in a settlement or wrongful death verdict in civil court.
If there is no financial recovery, you don’t owe an attorney’s fee. You’re not adding more financial burden on top of medical bills, funeral expenses, and the loss of financial support after a wrongful death from car accidents, medical malpractice, workplace accidents, or other fatal accidents.
If you’re unsure whether you can seek compensation or how fees work, call Bojat Law Group at (818) 877-4878 for a free consultation. You can ask every question you have about costs, our law firm, and how we handle wrongful death cases in Los Angeles before you decide whether to pursue legal action.
Speak to a Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer today
If you’ve lost a loved one in a sudden accident, you don’t have to face the legal and financial fallout on your own. The Los Angeles wrongful death lawyers at Bojat Law Group have recovered over $100 million for injured clients and families and handle wrongful death claims with both skill and real compassion. We work on a contingency fee basis, if there’s no recovery, you don’t owe an attorney’s fee. Call (818) 877-4878 for a free consultation about your Los Angeles wrongful death case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average wrongful death settlement in California?
In California, the compensation for wrongful death claims typically varies from $250,000 to $500,000. These amounts can change depending on the specific details inherent to each individual case.
What does a wrongful death lawyer do?
A lawyer specializing in wrongful death examines the details surrounding an individual’s passing, pinpoints who is at fault, offers counsel to the bereaved relatives, engages in comprehensive inquiries, acquires testimony from experts, and strives to obtain remuneration for different damages. Their objective is to achieve justice and provide assistance for the family grieving a loss.
What kind of lawyer handles wrongful death?
Being an aspect of personal injury tort law, wrongful death claims, and lawsuits are handled by personal injury attorneys.
Can a person file a wrongful death lawsuit without a lawyer?
You may file a wrongful death lawsuit without a lawyer, but it is difficult. Check to see if you are eligible which includes people filing on behalf of the deceased, this list of the state collection laws, compile evidence which would include the death certificate, calculate monetary and emotional damages, and then file a complaint with the court. Legal help is recommended.
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