Death / Time Limit / Military

T

talerco

Member
Jurisdiction
California
Met a hard working young lady this weekend. 21 years old. The story as I know it.....

I'm not sure of her legal status. I would say she qualifies as a DREAMER but I'm thinking she is one of those who were afraid to register for that program.....whatever that means her status is these days.

Somewhere between 7 and 11 years ago her mother (illegally here) was walking on the sidewalk and a drunk-driving Marine jumped the curb and killed her instantly. Because of the family's illegal status, and complete lack of resources, they quietly grieved and did nothing official about this. The loss has been pretty devastating to this girl, her father and sibling.

I suspect way too much time has passed but is there any possibility of compensation for this either civilly or via the military at this time?
Thanks!
 
adjusterjack said:
Civil - No. The CA statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is 2 years.
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Wrong answer, Jack. The correct answer is that there is a chance the statute of limitations (SOL) to sue is still open. First, note that CA Civil Procedure Code section 351 states that the SOL period is tolled for the period of time that the defendant is out of the state. Military members tend to move around quite a bit as they get reassigned fairly frequently. So it is quite possible that the military person involved here left the state before the SOL expired. If so and that person has not returned to the state to restart the SOL running again, the SOL would still be open. Second, CA Civil Procedure Code section 352 states that when the plaintiff is a minor, the SOL period does not start to run until the plaintiff is an adult. So, to the extent that this woman would have a claim to pursue personally for her mother's death (and I don't know CA law on wrongful death claims to know if she would) her claim would not have started to run until she turned 18. So if the military member was outside the state more than a year from the time she turned 18, there may still be a lawsuit to pursue here. She ought to see a personal injury lawyer ASAP to see if there is lawsuit worth pursuing at this point. Time is not on her side here. If the SOL is still open, she needs to act now. If she waits longer, she may find the SOL has passed and there is nothing she can do.

It would, however, be too late to pursue any compensation from the military. And it's not even clear that the military would be liable anyway. Just because the driver was in the military is not enough. The driver would have had to be on military business at the time of the accident.
 
talerco said:
I would say she qualifies as a DREAMER but I'm thinking she is one of those who were afraid to register for that program.
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What program?

talerco said:
Somewhere between 7 and 11 years ago her mother (illegally here) was walking on the sidewalk and a drunk-driving Marine jumped the curb and killed her instantly. . . . is there any possibility of compensation for this either civilly or via the military at this time?
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No (unless, as noted in "Tax Counsel's" response, the statute of limitations was tolled by the defendant's absence from the state).* The statute of limitations for negligence is two years. Also, "the military" never would have had any liability because the guy was not apparently acting in the course and scope of his military duties.

* - The original post indicates there were multiple members of the deceased's family in addition to the woman the OP met. Assuming at least one of those persons was an adult with standing under the wrongful death statute, it is unclear to me how CCP 351 would apply.

Tax Counsel said:
to the extent that this woman would have a claim to pursue personally for her mother's death (and I don't know CA law on wrongful death claims to know if she would)
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She would. See CCP 377.60(b).
 
zddoodah said:
What program?



No (unless, as noted in "Tax Counsel's" response, the statute of limitations was tolled by the defendant's absence from the state).* The statute of limitations for negligence is two years. Also, "the military" never would have had any liability because the guy was not apparently acting in the course and scope of his military duties.

* - The original post indicates there were multiple members of the deceased's family in addition to the woman the OP met. Assuming at least one of those persons was an adult with standing under the wrongful death statute, it is unclear to me how CCP 351 would apply.



Thanks so much all - especially Tax Counsel.
I need more information but it is at least a little hopeful. I believe she has a younger brother.
Thanks again for the very helpful information!
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You may want to suggest that your (brand) new friend speak to an attorney. Beyond that, you might want to not get sucked in to her world so quickly...
 
Zigner said:
Beyond that, you might want to not get sucked in to her world so quickly.
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Yeah...I was a little curious about the OP's statement that this person is "a hard working young lady" whom the OP only met "this weekend." Specifically, I wondered how the OP would have any knowledge about this woman's work ethic after knowing her for only a day or two.
 
zddoodah said:
Yeah...I was a little curious about the OP's statement that this person is "a hard working young lady" whom the OP only met "this weekend." Specifically, I wondered how the OP would have any knowledge about this woman's work ethic after knowing her for only a day or two.
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I suppose it depends on the line of work...
 
Can we possibly, just once, stick to the legal question?
You don't know me / you don't know her / you don't know my motivation.
Leave the judgement to the judges.
 
talerco said:
Can we possibly, just once, stick to the legal question?
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The legal question was addressed in the first handful of responses, and you don't get to control or dictate what happens on a public message board. However, if you don't want folks to go off on tangents, maybe refrain from statements like this: "Met a hard working young lady this weekend." And, instead, say, "An acquaintance of mine...blah, blah." If you want folks to "stick to the legal question," then don't add details that have no bearing on the legal question.

talerco said:
You don't know me / you don't know her / you don't know my motivation.
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You're right. Hence my statement that I'm curious about some of the tangential and legally irrelevant facts you put in your original post.
 

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