Wins

Dec 18, 2009
Court of Appeal affirms that standing to assert a wrongful death claim is purely statutory and determined as of the date of death

Wright v. Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (2009) 2009 Cal.App. Unpub. LEXIS 9990 (California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five) [unpublished]. Three siblings attempted to sue for the wrongful death of their sister, arguing that they became the sister’s heirs when their mother died after the sister. The Court of Appeal disagreed and affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue for wrongful death because their mother—who did have standing under the wrongful death statute – was still alive when the sister died.