Hi, I’m Matt Eason, a personal injury and wrongful death attorney here in Sacramento. I’ve been practicing in those areas of law for over 25 years. I recently received a question from someone asking, “Where does the money come from in a wrongful death lawsuit?”
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As the question is ambiguous, I’ll likely answer it in two directions: Where does the money come from to fund the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit? Where does the money come from to satisfy a judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit?
Concerning the first question, where does the money come from to fund a wrongful death lawsuit? The answer is the attorneys are going to provide those funds. A reasonable, wrongful death attorney will typically front all the necessary costs and not charge attorney fees until the case is resolved. Then, the attorneys’ fees at that stage are usually compensated on a contingency or percentage basis. So, the short answer regarding how a lawsuit is funded is that the attorney will do that for you.
The second sub-question is where does the money come from to satisfy a claim or judgment in a wrongful death accident or lawsuit? That historically comes from the insurance policy representing the defendant. Most individuals don’t have a significant amount of resources to pay for the wrongful death of somebody. Unfortunately, many people’s most essential assets are retirement accounts or the equity in their home, and large portions of that, if not all, are exempt from collection.
So, as a practical matter, recovering money in a wrongful death action is almost always dependent upon the defendant’s assets, their insurance company, or possibly their employer. If you have questions about wrongful death actions, I hope you’ll consider contacting me, Matt Eason, or a Sacramento wrongful death attorney at our office, Eason & Tambornini.
