Drunk driving is common in California. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 9,000 people die each year due to drunk driving accidents. Drunk drivers often lose concentration and control of their vehicles, causing catastrophic accidents.

Losing a loved one in a drunk driving accident can be devastating. The loss will cause an emotional rollercoaster and affect your financial life. Fortunately, California law allows you to hold the liable party accountable by pursuing an insurance claim or a wrongful death lawsuit. This type of lawsuit requires you to establish liability for the wrongful death, allowing you to be compensated.

Pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit requires careful navigation. Hiring and retaining a personal injury lawyer early on helps you understand your options and follow the right path to recover maximum compensation for your loss. Additionally, your lawyer can take control of your case while you focus on grieving your loved one.

An Overview of Drunk Driving Accidents and Wrongful Death

Drunk driving is a leading cause of catastrophic accidents in California. It involves operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, which is a criminal offense in California. After an accident, law enforcement officers may test the blood alcohol content of the drivers involved to determine this form of negligence.

Drunk driving can cause a wide variety of serious accidents, including head-on collisions, side-impact collisions, and pedestrian accidents. These types of accidents cause severe injuries and, sometimes, the death of the victims.

Some of the reasons why drunk driving causes serious accidents and wrongful deaths include:

  • Blurry and double vision. Excessive use of alcohol or drugs can impair a driver’s vision. Poor visibility can cause collisions with other vehicles or hitting obstacles on the road.
  • Impaired Judgment. Operating a vehicle requires concentration and proper judgment for situations on the road. An intoxicated driver can have impaired judgment, which could cause a collision with other vehicles.
  • Slow reactions. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs slows a driver’s braid, which impacts their reaction time to emergencies on the road.
  • Low Caution. Often, drunk drivers are reckless and not careful in their actions on the road, which could increase the risk of catastrophic accidents.
  • Poor Concentration. A drunk driver can easily fall asleep behind the wheel. This causes them to lose concentration on the road. Such action is likely to cause a catastrophic accident and serious injuries or death to the victims.

Pursuing Compensation for Wrongful Death from a Drunk Driving Accident

If you lose a loved one in a drunk driving accident, you can pursue compensation for your losses by:

Filing an Insurance Claim

You can recover compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one by filing a claim with the insurance company of the drunk driver or other liable parties. With your claim, you can gather and present relevant evidence to support your claim.

Before you receive compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one in an insurance claim, you must deal with insurance adjusters. Often, the adjusters are insurance company employees and do not have your best interests at heart. Therefore, you must have expert legal guidance when interacting with or responding to the insurance company.

After reviewing your claim, the insurance company can offer you a settlement. You could negotiate for more if the amount offered is insufficient to cover your losses. You must ensure that the settlement you accept can cover all the expenses associated with your loved one’s death.

If you accept a settlement, you cannot pursue any other civil action. If you are unsatisfied with the amount offered by the insurance company, you can sue the drunk driver.

Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

When you file a wrongful death lawsuit in court, the judge will determine the amount you deserve as compensation. Filing the wrongful death lawsuit required you to submit your claim to the court. The court will schedule a hearing where you can prove liability for the wrongful death.

Additionally, you can prove to the court the damages you suffered from your loved one’s loss for a chance at compensation. Common evidence you can present in a wrongful death lawsuit after a drunk driving accident includes:

Drunk Driving Evidence

When filing a wrongful death claim after a drunk driving accident in California, you must present evidence showing that the driver was intoxicated. Under California law, a driver is intoxicated when their blood alcohol content exceeds the legal limit or their driving conduct is impaired due to alcohol or drug use.

By presenting the results of the defendant’s breathalyzer or blood test, you can prove to the court that the driver was impaired.

Police Reports

When a drunk driving accident occurs in California, the police will be called to the accident scene. After assessing the accident scene, the law enforcement officers will write a report. In the report, the police will summarize their assessment and opinion of how the accident occurred. Additionally, the police report will have video and photographic evidence of the accident. Police reports are critical evidence in your wrongful death claim.

With the help of your wrongful death lawyer, you can subpoena the police report and use it to strengthen your claim.

Medical Reports

Reports from medical examiners and autopsy results carry significant legal weight. If your loved one succumbed to injuries from a drunk driving accident, they may have undergone extensive treatment before their death. The physician who examined them after the accident can write a report, which you can present as evidence in your wrongful death claim.

Additionally, a medical examiner will write a report showing the exact cause of your loved one's death. The autopsy reveals whether the victim had underlying issues that could have contributed to their death besides the accident.

Expert Testimony

In complex drunk driving accidents, expert opinions may be necessary to establish a link between the defendant’s actions and your loved one's death. For example, you can bring an accident reconstruction expert to determine how the collision occurred and how the actions of the drunk driver or other parties may have contributed to your loved one's demise. These experts could help establish liability for the wrongful death.

Evidence of Negligence

Through investigations and discovery, your attorney can uncover evidence that demonstrates negligence by the intoxicated driver or other parties you wish to hold liable for the wrongful death. For example, discovering photos or videos of the defendant consuming alcohol before the accident could help create the link between drunk driving and the accident.

Documentation of Damages

In addition to proving that your loved one suffered a wrongful death in a drunk driving accident, you must present evidence of the losses you have suffered. This includes funeral costs and other monetary losses from death.

Establishing Liability in a Drunk Driving Wrongful Death Claim

Different individuals could be held liable in a drunk driving accident wrongful death lawsuit, including:

  • The drunk driver. Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a crime in California. You can sue a driver if they were found to be intoxicated at the time of the accident.
  • Bars and restaurants. A bar or restaurant that continues to serve alcohol to an individual who is visibly intoxicated can be held liable for the wrongful death resulting from a drunk driving accident.
  • Passengers. A passenger can be held partially liable for a drunk driving accident if they encourage the driver to consume alcohol.

A significant portion of holding a drunk driver liable for your loved one's death is establishing liability for the accident. Proving liability for your loved one's death is necessary whether you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Under California law, liability is based on negligence. Therefore, establishing the defendant’s liability requires you to prove the following elements of negligence:

Duty of Care

The first element that you must prove when establishing negligence in a wrongful death claim is that the defendant owed your loved one a duty of care. All drivers operating on California roads are responsible for ensuring other road users' safety.

This is done by driving carefully and avoiding acts that could place other individuals at risk of harm or death. For this reason, proving that the drunk driver owed your loved one a duty of care is not complicated.

Breach of Duty

Owning your loved one a duty of care is not enough to prove that a defendant is liable for their death. Therefore, you must further prove that the driver breached the duty of care. A breach of duty is acting in a manner that places other people at risk of harm.

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated is a breach of duty. Driver impairment is a significant factor in auto accidents. If you file a wrongful death lawsuit against other parties, you must prove how they contributed to the drunk driving accident that caused your loved one’s death.

The Breach of Duty Caused the Death

The most critical element of negligence is proving the connection between the breach of duty by the defendant and your loved one’s death. Therefore, you must show that drunk driving resulted in an accident or death. While the defendant’s actions do not have to be the main cause of the accident, they must be a significant factor.

For example, if a drunk driver operates a vehicle with faulty brakes, you must prove that intoxication was a significant contributor to the accident.

Damages

The last element of negligence you must establish before recovering compensation for a wrongful death lawsuit is the damages you suffered. Losing a loved one can take a toll on you and your family, both emotionally and financially.

In addition to losing the emotional support and love you could have received from the deceased, you will incur numerous costs for burial and funeral expenses.

Damages Available in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claim

When you file a drunk driving accident wrongful death lawsuit, the judge will determine the amount you deserve as compensation. This is done after reviewing the evidence and different factors of your case. Some of the factors that the judge will consider when awarding you damages include:

  • The Age of the Deceased

Losing a loved one due to someone else’s negligence can take a toll on you. Often, the person will no longer work to support your family, and you will lose the years you could have spent together. For this reason, the court will award more compensation if your deceased loved one is younger.

  • The Income and Career History of the Deceased

Losing a loved one in a drunk driving accident is a loss of the income they brought into the family. Since you will be compensated for the lost earnings, the career history, goals, and income of the deceased will be significant factors in determining your compensation.

You stand a chance at a higher compensation amount if the deceased was in a good career position and earned significant income for the family.

  • Your Relationship with the Deceased

Not everyone is entitled to collect the proceeds of wrongful death lawsuits in California. Often, you must have a significant relationship with the deceased. The closer your relationship with the deceased, the more compensation you stand to recover. Mostly, individuals who depend on the deceased financially will recover more from the lawsuit.

  • The Health of the Deceased Before their Demise

The health of your loved one, before they died in the drunk driving accident may affect the judge’s decision when awarding you compensation. You can claim more compensation if your loved one is in good health.

The compensation benefits you can recover for a drunk driving accident wrongful death lawsuit include:

Burial and Funeral Expenses

The only thing you can do for your loved one after their demise in a drunk-driving car accident is to give them a good send-off. Burial and funeral expenses can take a toll on your financial life. Fortunately, your compensation for the wrongful death lawsuit could cover the costs of:

  • Funeral services
  • Casket or urn
  • Cremation
  • Headstone and grave marker
  • Burial plot

Loss of Income and Financial Support

Losing a loved one, especially a breadwinner, can be financially devastating for your family. However, if you are successful in your wrongful death lawsuit, you could be compensated for the income that the deceased would have brought into the family if they had not died in the accident.

Compensation for this damage is limited to the financial support the deceased would have provided in their lifetime. Therefore, the age and life expectancy of your loved one at the time of their death will determine your settlement. Other factors that could impact the compensation include the deceased persons:

  • Health
  • Occupation
  • Career prospects
  • Lifestyle

Pain and Suffering

Learning your loved one has been killed in a drunk driving accident could be devastating. Although you cannot put a dollar value on emotional pain and suffering, California Senate Bill 447 allows the successors of the deceased to be compensated for this damage in a wrongful death lawsuit. These benefits will be paid to the victim’s estate and distributed to the heirs.

Medical Expenses

Drunk driving results in catastrophic accidents. Sometimes, a victim could die at the accident scene due to the impact of the collision or succumb to injuries. If your loved one is taken to the hospital and treated for their injuries before their death, you could incur extensive medical bills.

During your compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one, you can recover the amount you used to pay for the treatment.

Loss of Consortium

If you lose a close family member in a drunk driving car accident, you can claim compensation for loss of consortium in a wrongful death lawsuit. Loss of consortium is the loss of love, companionship, and emotional support you could have received from your deceased loved one. You can maximize your compensation for loss of consortium by hiring a knowledgeable personal injury attorney to guide you through your case.

Find a Reliable Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me

No one should go through the heart-wrenching experience of losing a loved one, especially due to another person’s negligence. Unfortunately, wrongful death is a common result of drunk driving accidents. When you lose your loved one in such an accident, you may be confused about the right steps you need to take to hold the liable parties accountable for your loss.

Drunk driving is a breach of the duty that each driver has toward other road users. Therefore, you can seek compensation for the wrongful death by filing a personal injury lawsuit against them. This allows you to recover the losses of giving your loved one a decent send-off. Additionally, you could be compensated for the emotional suffering you endured and love the companionship you could have received from the deceased.

Filing and pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit after a drunk driving accident may be a complicated experience. Therefore, you must hire expert legal guidance. At The LA Personal Injury Law Firm, we are dedicated to offering legal guidance and representation to pursue a successful wrongful death claim in Los Angeles, CA. Call us at 310-935-0089 to discuss your case.