What Can a Family Recover in a California Wrongful Death Case?
California wrongful death damages compensate the family’s losses: the financial support the person would have provided, funeral and burial costs, and — with no cap — the loss of the person’s companionship, protection, and guidance. A separate ‘survival’ claim recovers what the deceased person’s own claim was worth. Who can file is strictly defined by statute.
Losing someone is not a legal problem. The bills that follow are — we can carry those.
Se habla español — Llama Me. No out-of-pocket fees — we work on contingency.
Who is allowed to bring a wrongful death claim?
California limits it by statute: the surviving spouse or domestic partner, children, and — if there are none — those who would inherit by intestate succession, plus certain dependents like putative spouses and stepchildren who relied on the deceased financially (Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60). Parents of an adult child qualify only in defined circumstances. All claimants generally must join one action — families should coordinate, not race.
What losses does wrongful death compensation cover?
Two categories. Economic: the financial support the deceased would have contributed over their lifetime, loss of gifts and benefits, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of household services they provided. Non-economic: loss of the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, moral support — and for a spouse, consortium (CACI No. 3921). California places no cap on these damages in ordinary cases, and no formula — like all non-economic loss, evidence of the relationship is the case.
What is a survival action, and how is it different?
It’s the deceased person’s own claim, surviving their death and brought by the estate (Code Civ. Proc. § 377.30): medical bills from the final injury, lost earnings before death, and punitive damages where the conduct warrants them — punitive damages are available in survival actions but not wrongful death claims, which is why the two are usually filed together. What the estate can recover for the person’s own pre-death pain and suffering has shifted with recent legislation — the current scope is a question to ask at the evaluation, not one to guess from the internet.
What is the deadline?
Generally two years from the date of death (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1) — note, from the death, which may be later than the accident. If a public entity is involved — a city vehicle, a dangerous road — the six-month government claim rule applies (details). Criminal proceedings against the at-fault party run separately and do not pause the civil deadlines.
How do families handle a case like this while grieving?
Mostly, they shouldn’t have to. The practical work — preserving evidence, dealing with insurers, coordinating the estate paperwork for a survival claim — is what the firm carries, on contingency, while the family handles what matters. One caution from hard experience: insurers approach grieving families early with quick settlements, and a signed release ends everything. Nothing needs to be signed quickly — not ever, and especially not now.
Take the time you need. We’ll guard the case meanwhile.
Se habla español — Llama Me. No out-of-pocket fees — we work on contingency.
