Wrongful Death Lawyer Serving Kern County Families

A wrongful death lawyer in Kern County helps a surviving family learn whether a claim exists and how to protect it. In California, certain family members can bring a wrongful death claim after a death caused by someone else’s carelessness or wrongful act. This page explains who may file, which deadlines apply, and what evidence to save. Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, and families from Bakersfield and nearby Kern County communities can reach us.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in Kern County

A surviving family member, not the person who died, holds a California wrongful death claim. The right usually belongs to close family, such as a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, and to children. In some cases, parents or other family members who depended on the person may also have a claim. In some cases, an estate representative brings the case for the family.

Several relatives can have a claim from the same death. Families often assume only the spouse can act. That is not always so, and waiting for everyone to agree can use up valuable time. Each person’s rights depend on the family relationship and the facts of the death, so those details come first at the free consultation.

A practical step helps here. Write down each family member’s relationship to the person who died, along with any marriage or registration dates. A clear list lets the review move faster.

Fatal Crashes on Kern County Roads and in Its Communities

Fatal incidents in Kern County happen on highways, city streets, and rural roads, and each setting raises different questions. Highway 99 carries heavy through traffic past Bakersfield. Highway 58, including the Tehachapi grade, carries passenger cars and large trucks through steep, winding sections. Highway 178 and rural two-lane roads leave little room for error. Surface streets in Bakersfield and in towns such as Delano bring pedestrians, cyclists, and turning traffic together.

The mix of commuter traffic, commercial trucks, and farm and oilfield vehicles can shape how a collision happens. Commercial drivers must follow federal limits on driving and on-duty time. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration publishes the federal hours-of-service rules that apply to them. Fatal incidents also happen in parking lots, near schools, and in neighborhoods where people walk and ride bikes. Each setting leads to different questions about who had a duty to act with care.

Time Limits to Make Your Claim in California

A California wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. The Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 sets this general two-year period. Exceptions can change the timing, so two years is a starting point, not a safe assumption.

If a public entity may be responsible, the deadline can be much shorter. Cities, counties, state agencies, and public transit agencies generally require a written government claim first. Under Government Code § 911.2, a claim for death or injury generally must be presented not later than six months after the cause of action accrues.

Waiting for an insurance decision, a coroner’s findings, or a police report uses up time. Those documents matter, but the clock keeps running while families wait for them. Bring the date of death and the incident details to the free consultation. That lets us check which deadlines may apply to your family.

Types of Fatal Accidents We Handle

Colvin Accident Lawyers handles wrongful death matters that arise from car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, and premises-related incidents. Catastrophic injuries that later lead to death are also within the practice. Each type raises its own liability questions.

• Car and truck collisions: Questions include the driver’s care and, for commercial trucks, the carrier’s duties and records.
• Motorcycle and bicycle crashes: Questions often include how the other driver saw and yielded to the rider, and what the road conditions were.
• Pedestrian and bus incidents: Questions center on whether each driver or operator acted with reasonable care. Under Civ. Code § 1714, everyone is responsible for injury occasioned to another by want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the injured person has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.
• Dog bites: California makes a dog’s owner liable for damages to a person bitten in a public place or lawfully on private property. The rule applies regardless of the dog’s former viciousness.
• Premises liability: Property owners and managers must also use ordinary care in managing their property.

Some deaths involve more than one responsible party. A fatal case may need a review of each party’s role. After the consultation, the firm decides whether it can take a matter, and not every death becomes one we accept.

Evidence to Preserve After a Fatal Incident

The evidence that matters most after a fatal crash is often the evidence that disappears first. Families can start by keeping what they already have and asking others to keep theirs. Useful items include the police or California Highway Patrol collision report, photos and video, witness names, and vehicle and property damage records. Medical and coroner or medical examiner records also matter.

Trucking companies create many records. The federal hours-of-service supporting-document rule requires a motor carrier, subject to a cap on how many documents it must keep, to retain supporting documents generated or received in the normal course of business for each of its drivers for every 24-hour period, such as dispatch records, trip records, and expense receipts related to on-duty not driving time, to verify the driver’s on-duty not driving time. Surveillance video and social media posts can also change or disappear. Early requests help preserve them.

Do not alter the vehicle, the scene, or any electronic devices on your own. Bring the documents you already have to the consultation. Keep a short written timeline of what you saw, heard, and were told.

What Happens at the Free First Consultation

Colvin Accident Lawyers offers a free first consultation that is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. In that meeting, we review the basic facts of the death with you. We look at the date and place of the incident, your family’s relationship to the person who died, and which records already exist. We also identify the deadlines that may apply to your situation.

Bring what you have, including the crash report, any letters from insurers, and medical or coroner paperwork. Review any early insurance offer before you accept it. Early offers often come before the medical, funeral, and loss-of-support records are complete. No one can know the outcome of a case in advance, so the consultation focuses on facts and timing.

About Colvin Accident Lawyers in Bakersfield

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury practice based in Bakersfield, California. Donald Norman Colvin, a California-licensed attorney, is responsible for the practice. The practice has support staff, including assistants and office staff, who help families with records, scheduling, and communication.

Our team handles the calls and paperwork that follow a loss, so families have one clear point of contact. The practice handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death matters. Staff can help gather the records you request and keep your questions organized for the consultation.

Questions Families Ask About Wrongful Death Claims in Kern County

Talk With Donald Norman Colvin About Your Family’s Loss

If someone you love died in a crash in Kern County, you may be facing insurance calls, a government deadline, or a choice about filing. You do not have to sort those decisions out alone. Reach out through our contact page to set up your free, confidential first consultation with a wrongful death lawyer in Kern County, with no obligation to continue.

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site. Donald Norman Colvin, California-licensed attorney.