Whenever someone loses their life prematurely due to reckless, careless, or illegal misconduct, surviving family members of the decedent may pursue restitution through a wrongful death claim. In many cases, you may also seek compensation for losses sustained by the decedent between the initial injury and their passing in what is known as a survival action.
A qualified wrongful death attorney could explain that survival actions are similar to wrongful death litigation in some ways, but different in others. When you want the best chance of a favorable result in such a case, you should make contacting a seasoned San Mateo survival actions lawyer at Solution Now Law Firm your top priority.
While wrongful death claims and survival actions both stem from premature loss of life, they are based on different legal grounds. Survival actions enable the deceased person’s estate to recover losses that the deceased person could have filed suit over had they survived.
This means that a survival action may not be possible in cases where the deceased suffered instantaneous death due to an accident or criminal act, as there would have been no time for the deceased person to experience individual losses. However, if there was any gap between the first incident and the decedent’s date of death, the personal representative for their estate may pursue a survival action.
Notably, though, survival actions in California must begin within six months of the decedent’s death or within two years of the initial wrongful act which led to their death—whichever comes later. As an experienced San Mateo survival actions attorney could explain, this differs from the filing deadline for wrongful death claims, which allows a claim to continue two years after the decedent’s date of death.
A team of proactive survival action attorneys in San Mateo could help pursue both economic and non-economic damages, which may include:
In addition, when there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with intentional malice, cruel or unjust oppression, or engaged in fraud, the court may impose additional punitive damages. This sets survival actions apart from how wrongful death claims work in California, since punitive damages are not available in wrongful death claims under any circumstances.
Survival actions could be an important part of a comprehensive recovery strategy after the untimely loss of your loved one. While no amount of money can fully make up for the harm done, it could help protect your family’s best interests and achieve a measure of justice for your loss.
A San Mateo survival actions lawyer at our firm could play a vital role in getting a positive outcome from this unique type of claim. Reach out to one of our compassionate attorneys at Solution Now Law Firm to learn more about your legal options.
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