There are two ways to litigate cases. There is the quick way and the thorough way. Some firms avoid trials and take lots of cases that will try to do a little investigation and try to settle the case quickly. These firms will always take your case, but they will try to wrap up the case in a few months (and generally get significantly less compensation — as little as 15 percent of the value of the case). Insurance companies defending wrongful death cases are thrilled when they are up against one of these law firms. Why? Because they know they will be able to settle the wrongful death case cheaply compared to what it is actually worth.
The firms that maximize the value of a wrongful death case are the ones who will spend time, money and resources on investigation, evaluating plans, looking at product design and meeting with experts. This is the type of firm you want to hire if you have a wrongful death case, although the process will take longer. The average time for a thorough California wrongful death case is closer to 1 ½ to 2 years. The length of your case will depend on the specific facts of the case. Our firm has had wrongful death cases resolve for $2 million plus in a only few months, and then had wrongful death cases take more than two years before resolving for seven figures. It seems like a long time, but the victim only has one chance to make the corporation pay enough that they will not be so careless in the future.