Lost a Loved One Weeks After a Car Accident?

If someone died weeks after car accident injuries, a wrongful death claim may still be possible in California. The time gap alone does not decide it. What matters is whether the crash caused the injuries that led to the death, and whether the claim is filed on time.

What a Death Weeks or Months After a Crash Means for a Claim

A death that follows a crash by weeks or months can still support a wrongful death claim when the crash caused the injuries that led to the death. The calendar alone does not answer the question.

When people ask what happens if a person dies in a car accident, the process follows three steps. The death is reviewed. The medical records are read to trace the path from injury to death. Then eligible family members decide whether to pursue a claim.

These steps apply to car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, and bus crashes. Each one can cause injuries that become fatal later.

If your family is working through this timeline, contact Colvin Accident Lawyers to talk it through.

How California Links a Later Death to the Crash

A later death is not tied to the crash just because it happened soon or late.

Common paths families ask about include complications after surgery, infection, blood clots, pneumonia, and organ failure. Each one is traced back through treatment records to see whether the crash injuries set it in motion.

Key records include:

• Ambulance and emergency room records from the first hours
• Admission, discharge, and ICU notes
• Imaging and treatment notes
• The death certificate
• Autopsy findings, when one was done

A complete medical chronology and a physician’s written opinion can help document the connection between the accident and the injuries. Early records matter because they describe the injuries before treatment changed them. Whether the link can be shown depends on the facts, so the records are reviewed before any conclusion is reached.

Sharing that timeline with Colvin Accident Lawyers is a practical next step.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in California

The surviving spouse, domestic partner, and children of the decedent may bring the claim. Other dependent relatives may qualify as well.

Under Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60, the first group includes the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children. If there is no surviving issue of the decedent, people who would be entitled to the decedent’s property by intestate succession, including a surviving spouse or domestic partner, may qualify.

Others may qualify if they depended on the decedent. That can include a putative spouse, stepchildren, parents, or a guardian when the parents have died. A minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the previous 180 days and relied on the decedent for half or more of support may also qualify.

The decedent’s personal representative may also bring the claim on behalf of these family members. Separately, the decedent’s own claim that survives the death passes to the successor in interest, and if there is no personal representative, the successor in interest may bring that claim, as Code Civ. Proc. § 377.30 provides. Under Code Civ. Proc. § 377.32, that person signs an affidavit under penalty of perjury and attaches a certified copy of the death certificate.

A common mistake is assuming a relative qualifies without checking dependence. Families can review their standing with Colvin Accident Lawyers.

Deadlines: How Long a Family Has to File

For wrongful death claims, Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 requires the action to be brought within two years for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.

Under Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1, an action for the death of a person caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect generally must be filed within two years.

Public entities have a shorter first step. Under Gov. Code § 911.2, a claim for death must be presented not later than six months after the claim accrues. If that step was missed, Gov. Code § 911.4 allows a written application for leave to present the claim within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year after accrual, which must state the reason for the delay in presenting the claim. After written notice of a denial given in accordance with Gov. Code § 913, Gov. Code § 945.6 generally requires suit within six months of that notice; without such notice, suit is generally due within two years from accrual.

Exceptions can change these dates. Missing a deadline can end a claim.

A common mistake is treating one deadline as covering every claim. A government claim, a late application, and a claim on the family’s own policy each run on different timing.

Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers to check the crash date, the death date, and any public agency involved.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Recover

A wrongful death claim covers losses the family suffered because of the death. A separate survival claim covers losses the decedent suffered before death, but those damages generally do not include damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement, except in the limited cases the statute describes.

In general terms, the family’s claim may include financial losses tied to the death. Examples include funeral and burial costs, and lost financial support.

Under Code Civ. Proc. § 377.61, wrongful death damages may be awarded that are just under all the circumstances. They may not include damages recoverable in the survival action.

The law generally excludes the decedent’s pain and suffering from a survival claim under Code Civ. Proc. § 377.34. A narrow exception applied only to actions granted a preference under Section 36 before January 1, 2022, or filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026; that filing window has closed.

No fixed amount applies to every family. Value is built from documented losses and the facts of the crash, and no lawyer can promise a particular result. Strength turns on proof of fault, proof that the crash caused the death, and available insurance.

Insurance, Other Defendants, and the At-Fault Driver

Recovery may come from the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, the family’s own uninsured motorist coverage, or other responsible parties. Policy limits can cap what any one policy pays.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) on the family’s own policy may apply when the at-fault driver has too little or no coverage. Under Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)(1), no cause of action accrues unless one of the listed actions is taken within two years from the date of the accident.

If the at-fault driver has died, a claim may still be possible against that driver’s estate and any applicable insurance.

In many truck and bus crashes, the employer or motor carrier may also be a responsible party. Each defendant’s share of fault matters. Under Civ. Code § 1431.2, each defendant is liable for non-economic damages only in direct proportion to its own percentage of fault.

In personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death actions based on principles of comparative fault, each defendant is liable for non-economic damages only for the amount allocated to it in direct proportion to its percentage of fault.

Medicare’s interests may need to be considered before any settlement.

Families should not sign a release or give a recorded statement until they understand its terms.

Next Steps and What to Gather Now

Start by gathering the death certificate, the crash report, medical records, and insurance details. Keeping these together makes each deadline easier to check.

1. Get the death certificate. A certified copy is needed for the required court filing.
2. Collect every medical record from the crash through the death, including discharge summaries, imaging, and physician notes.
3. Save crash evidence, such as photos, vehicle information, and any dash camera or phone footage.
4. Note the key dates: the crash, the death, and any government claim date.
5. Write down witness names and contact details, plus insurance information.
6. Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers to review the timeline, the records, and your claim options.

After a consultation, a claim generally moves through investigation, presentation of the claim, negotiation, and, if needed, a lawsuit.

Why Families Work With Colvin Accident Lawyers

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury firm based in Bakersfield, California. It handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, train, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.

Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. The firm is based in Bakersfield, California, and accident victims and families in Kern County, Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano, and Tehachapi may contact the firm about their cases.

Families who reach out can talk through the medical timeline, the records, and the deadlines that apply to their situation.

The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Frequently Asked Questions About Delayed Wrongful Death Claims