You are likely to get really overwhelmed with mixed emotions such as grief, frustration, anger, etc. if you lost your family member as a result of someone else’s actions. Usually, people may file a wrongful death claim in such scenarios in order to hold the person who is responsible for the accident that leads to their loved one’s death as well as to claim compensation. However, if your family member died at work, there are two ways to seek compensation for your irreparable lost; wrongful death claim and workers’ compensation. Now, most people will be wondering about the right option to consider in case of such unfortunate incidents. In order to help you out with this, below is a detailed comparison between the wrongful death lawsuit and workers’ compensation.
Workers’ Compensation Law
In California, the companies are entitled to pay compensation if any of their employees die during the course of work. In order to get compensation, death must be the aftermath of job-related injuries or work-related incidents. Unlike the wrongful death claim, the parents, as well as other dependents of the dead as well, can collect the death benefits apart from the spouse, children, and domestic partner of the demised. The amount of compensation will depend on many factors such as the work-related incident that caused the person’s death and the number of total and partial dependents. Furthermore, the time period to file workers’ compensation lawsuit is up to 12 months from the date of death.
The Pros
- The dependents will get compensation on a weekly basis
- Since California’s workers’ compensation program employs a no-fault system, you will not have to prove that the employer was negligent or was at fault.
The Cons
- The death benefits will not include emotional stress, loss of companionship, emotional distress, etc.
- The maximum amount of money you will get using the workers’ compensation lawsuit in California is $320,000.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The objective of a wrongful death suit as well is the same as that of workers’ compensation case. However, some places in California do not promote wrongful death lawsuit option in case of workplace-related death since the family members of the demised can sue the employer using the workers’ compensation claim. Plus, it will be really challenging for you to win a wrongful death claim without a proper wrongful death attorney, unlike a workers’ compensation case making it quite expensive. Plus, it will take a good amount of time to litigate and settle a wrongful death case.
Still, the main advantage of claiming a wrongful death suit in case you lost your loved one is that you are likely to get financial coverage for your mental pain and emotional stress as well. On top of that, you can claim for as much money as you want in this case since there are no particular limits on the death benefits the dependents can collect in the wrongful death claim.