• 27
  • April
    2011

Losing a loved one in a fatal accident is devastating. Fatal accidents can be the result of a motor vehicle crash or even an accident at work. In the wake of an unexpected death, there are a number of issues that arise that make mourning the loss of a loved one difficult.

But when trying to sort through many of the financial considerations such as funeral costs and lost income, family members have the option of filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent party. One California woman filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her deceased husband's former employer only to initially have it denied because they had not been legally married.

Her husband was killed in a work accident. The two had been married in 2003 in a church ceremony. Unbeknownst to the woman, the man was still married to his previous wife until three months later when his divorce was final. But despite that, in her eyes the two of them were a married couple.

When she filed the lawsuit against the employer, the court dismissed it on the grounds that she was not actually the man's wife. Typically, California laws protect spouses who believe that they were validly married but were actually not in a legal union. However since 1988, courts have followed an appeals court decision that requires that a claimant sincerely believed that the marriage was valid and that those beliefs are also "objectively reasonable". It was this reasoning that the court dismissed her claim.

But the appeals court ruled that the law only requires that the claimant sincerely believe that the marriage was valid, removing the objective requirement. If it is found that the woman did sincerely believe she was married, her wrongful death suit can move forward.

Her rights to bring a lawsuit now match those of any family member affected by the tragic loss of a loved one in a workplace accident. The contractor in the case is being charged with negligence and may appeal the lower court ruling to the California state Supreme Court.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle online, "Sunnyvale woman's wrongful death suit reinstated," Bob Egelko, 20 April 2011