Ask Rich
The questions families actually ask
These are the questions that come up in the first two weeks, answered the way I would answer them on the phone.
We focus on wrongful death cases, in all 58 California counties, when someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct caused the death. We will also represent seriously injured survivors. The cases we handle most often involve:
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Tractor-trailer and commercial truck crashes
- Motorcycle crashes
- Drunk or intoxicated drivers
- Pedestrians, bicyclists and e-bike riders struck by vehicles
- Transportation network negligence (rideshare)
- Delivery service negligence
- Workplace and industrial accidents
- Drownings
- Falls
- Accidental shootings
- Elder abuse and neglect (non-medical)
- Electrocution and burns
- Police misconduct and deaths in custody
- Suicide when others are to blame
- Murder and manslaughter, as a civil claim
- Product manufacturing defects
- Toxic chemicals
- Trains, boats, airplanes and recreational vehicles
- Choking and other accidental deaths
The firm does not accept medical malpractice matters of any kind. Those claims carry much shorter deadlines and require special medical expert testimony. If that is your situation, consult a medical malpractice specialist immediately.
The test is whether someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct caused the death, and whether there is a source of recovery, usually insurance or financial assets, behind that person or company. Both halves matter. A clear liability case against someone with no coverage and no assets may not be worth bringing, and an honest lawyer will tell you that before you spend two years finding out.
Anyone who gives you a number in the first conversation is guessing or selling. Value depends on the relationship between the heirs and the person who died, their age and earning capacity, the degree of fault, the conduct of the defendant, the venue, and above all the available insurance coverage and financial resources of the defendant(s). Early in a case the honest answer is a range and the reasoning behind it.
A straightforward case with clear liability and cooperative insurance can resolve within six to twelve months. A contested case that has to be filed and worked up commonly runs eighteen months to three years. Cases against government entities, and cases with disputed causation, run longer.
No. Accepted cases are handled on contingency and this firm advances the case costs, filing fees, experts, depositions, records. If there is no recovery you owe no fee and no costs.
Most wrongful death cases settle. But cases settle for their proper value only when the other side believes you are genuinely prepared to try them, so every case I accept is worked as though it will be tried. If it does go to trial, you will be prepared and you will not face it alone.
No. Not because they are villains, most adjusters are decent people doing a job, but because their job is to resolve the claim for as little as the file supports, and a recorded statement given in the first week by someone in shock becomes part of that file permanently. Refer them to your lawyer and say nothing else.
That is normal in a death the coroner is required to investigate. Call the county coroner or medical examiner directly, the directory on this site has the number for all 58 counties, and ask for the investigator assigned. If you are getting nowhere, call us and we will determine if we can be of immediate assistance.
Usually yes. California uses pure comparative fault, which means a recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the person who died, but is not barred by it. Even a substantial share of fault does not necessarily end a case, it changes its value.
Good lawyers analyze all sources of recovery. We look for insurance coverages that you may not understand and do not believe are applicable. We do asset checks and determine if the wrongdoer was in the course and scope of employment of others or whether they were negligently entrusted with using the vehicle. We do that work for you to find sources of recovery that you are likely to miss.
A hit and run does not always end the claim. We live in a world full of video cameras and license plate readers. While these cases can be more challenging to investigate, you should not give up hope at the outset. We often find hit and run drivers months after the incident and often find sources of recovery that you may overlook.
Maybe not, but do not guess. Two years is the usual deadline for a claim against a private party. Six months is the usual deadline for a written claim against a government agency. If you are close to either, call today rather than tomorrow.
These answers are general information about California law, not legal advice about your situation. The right answer in one case is frequently the wrong answer in another that looks very similar.
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Ask about your own case
Tell us what happened. Mr. Harris speaks with every client personally, and there is no fee or costs unless we recover.
Free consultations are offered on a case-by-case basis. Not all matters will be offered a consultation following a preliminary discussion with a paralegal, and not all cases will be accepted.
Day or night, weekends and holidays · Language interpreters available