Effective January 1, 2022, plaintiffs in survival actions in California will be able to obtain damages for predeath pain, suffering, or disfigurement. This marks a dramatic change in California law that will likely impact the value of litigated cases as well as the costs of defending these matters.
A survival action is an action brought by a decedent’s successors or heirs to recover damages that the deceased would have been entitled to from the time of their injury up until the time of their death. Survival actions in California are governed by § 377.34 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP).
Prior to January 1, 2022, if an injured party died before their legal case was resolved, either by settlement or by verdict, the recovery in that lawsuit could not include predeath pain, suffering, or disfigurement. The only recovery permitted was economic monetary losses and possible punitive damages under other statutes. California was one of only five states that prohibited recovery of non-economic damages (the others being Florida, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona).
On Friday October 1, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 447, modifying the existing law. Under the newly amended CCP 377.34, plaintiffs in survival actions can be awarded damages for predeath pain, suffering, or disfigurement.
January 1, 2022.
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