Your loved one leaves for a construction job in Los Angeles expecting an ordinary workday, but a fall, equipment failure, or another serious incident ends in tragedy. Suddenly, you are dealing with grief while facing funeral costs, lost household income, and difficult questions about how the accident happened and whether someone should be held responsible.
If another party’s negligence contributed to the death, certain surviving family members may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. At Artemis Law Group in Los Angeles, our attorneys help families understand their legal options and determine who may be responsible after a fatal construction accident.
Who can file a wrongful death claim in California?
California law identifies specific people who may have legal standing to bring a wrongful death action. Depending on your relationship to the person who died and the circumstances of your family, eligible claimants may include:
- A surviving spouse or domestic partner
- Surviving children
- Grandchildren if the deceased person’s children are also deceased
- Certain people who would inherit the deceased person’s property through intestate succession
- Certain individuals who were financially dependent on the deceased, when statutory requirements are met
Determining who has standing is important before pursuing a claim. Family relationships, dependency, and estate circumstances can affect who is legally entitled to take action.
Who may be responsible for a fatal construction accident?
Construction sites often involve numerous companies and professionals working together. As a result, determining responsibility for a fatal accident may require looking beyond the deceased person’s employer. Depending on what happened, potentially responsible parties could include a general contractor, a subcontractor, a property owner, an equipment manufacturer, or another company or individual whose actions contributed to unsafe conditions.
For example, a fatality could result from defective equipment, unsafe scaffolding, inadequate site maintenance, or another party’s failure to follow safety practices. A careful investigation can help identify the cause of the accident and which parties may bear legal responsibility.
What must you establish in a wrongful death claim?
A construction fatality does not automatically establish that another party is legally responsible. A wrongful death claim generally requires evidence supporting the underlying wrongful act or negligence. In a negligence-based case, this may involve establishing that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the death and resulting losses.
Evidence can be especially important in construction cases. Accident reports, photographs, surveillance footage, contracts, safety records, witness accounts, equipment records, and other documentation may help clarify what occurred. Depending on the circumstances, input from construction, engineering, or other professionals may also be relevant.
What damages may be available?
A wrongful death claim allows eligible survivors to seek compensation for certain losses resulting from their loved one’s death. Depending on the circumstances, recoverable damages may address:
- Lost financial support
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of household services
- Loss of companionship and protection
- Loss of love, society, comfort, and guidance
The damages available depend on the facts of your case and your relationship with the deceased. A separate survival action may also be relevant in some circumstances and addresses different losses.
How long do you have to file?
California generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death actions, although different or shorter deadlines can apply in some circumstances.
You should therefore avoid assuming that you have the full two years to investigate your case. Construction evidence can disappear, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and claims involving public entities can be subject to additional procedural deadlines.
Speak with a Los Angeles construction accident attorney
After losing someone in a construction accident, you deserve clear answers about your family’s legal rights. Artemis Law Group represents clients from our Los Angeles office in Woodland Hills and across Southern California. Our attorneys have extensive experience in construction law and take the time to carefully review complex cases and develop strategies tailored to each client’s situation. Contact Artemis Law Group to learn more about your options for pursuing a wrongful death claim in Los Angeles.