What If Someone Dies Before Settling a Claim?.

Generally, there are two possible outcomes to a personal injury claim. Either the injured person settles a claim with an insurance company while he or she is alive or the injured person dies before a claim is settled. When a person dies before settling a personal injury claim, there are two possible claims that may be brought against the responsible party:

Wrongful Death Claim
Survival Action.

Wrongful Death Claims

Usually, loved ones are emotionally distraught and the last thing people want to do is deal with the complexity of a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death claims are complicated because the party who brings the claim must prove that the death was caused by the other party. For this reason, it is often important to conduct a complete investigation, often including an autopsy, in order to prove that the other party caused this person’s death.

A wrongful death settlement can often be greatly affected by actions which are taken immediately after a person passes away. An experienced wrongful death attorney will be able to guide you through this difficult time and help you recover the maximum financial compensation given the circumstances.

Survival Actions

Unlike a wrongful death claim, survival actions do not have to prove that the death was caused by the responsible party. As a result, the deceased person’s family is limited to recovering losses that occurred before he or she died in a survival action. This includes any punitive damages that the deceased person would have been entitled to recover.

Anyone pursuing the survival action can recover money for the following damages:

Medical expenses and care incurred before death
Bills from ambulance services
Loss of earning capacity from date of injury to the date of death
Any other punitive damages (money awarded to an injured person to punish the responsible party for their conduct) the deceased would have been entitled to had they lived

Deciding whether or not to file a survival action can be very confusing for family members during a time period where emotions run high and judgments are clouded. We strongly recommend that you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney or wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible after the loss of your loved one. This is a tragic circumstance, and we believe that you shouldn’t have to deal with this situation on your own.

Call Us Now to Maximize Your Settlement

Since 1992, our San Diego law office has recovered millions of dollars for injured people and their families of the wrongfully deceased. We know that it is important to settle an insurance claim as soon as possible because, under California law, human pain and suffering dies with the injured person. Still, injured people are only entitled to one personal injury settlement, and therefore, it is important to not rush into a claim and miss something.

We know that the responsible party’s insurance company will most likely not explain all of your legal rights and will only want to pay you a small settlement. Since you cannot later go back and make a claim for additional damages after your claim is settled, you need to file your personal injury claim right the first time.

If you would like help with your insurance claim, then please contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a FREE consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in San Diego. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.

Most Recent Blog Post

[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.