Losing a Loved One on Someone Else's Property

If someone died on another person’s property, you may be wondering whether a death on someone else’s property lawsuit California law allows is possible. This page explains who can bring the claim, what a family generally must show, and which deadlines matter. Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield.

What a Fatal Accident on Private Property Means Under California Law

A fatal property accident is a death caused by a dangerous condition on property that someone else owns, leases, operates or maintains. Homes, apartments, stores, restaurants, hotels, parking structures and private walkways all fit this group.

Common causes include drowning in an unfenced pool, falls on broken stairs or missing railings, icy or unlit walkways, and collapsing balconies or decks. Deaths linked to poor security can also fall into this category.

In a death on someone else’s property lawsuit California families bring, the claim is usually premises liability. Premises liability is a negligence claim about a property’s condition or how the owner handled it. Under Civil Code § 1714, a person can be responsible for injury caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property. Cal. Civ. Code § 1714 reads: “(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in California

A spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children can bring a wrongful death claim under California law, as can, if there is no surviving issue, the persons who would be entitled to the decedent’s property by intestate succession. Certain dependent relatives, and a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the previous 180 days and was dependent on the decedent for one-half or more of support, can also sue. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 lists who may sue, and a personal representative can sue on their behalf.

If the decedent left no surviving children or issue of deceased children, the people who would inherit under state law, including a surviving spouse or domestic partner, may sue. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 Dependent parents and stepchildren can also qualify. So can a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the previous 180 days and relied on them for at least half of their support.

Two claim types matter. The wrongful death claim may be brought by the family members the statute lists, or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf. A survival claim covers losses the person had before dying. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.30, that claim passes to the decedent’s successor in interest, and the action may be brought by the decedent’s personal representative or, if there is none, by the successor in interest.

Who qualifies can turn on family relationships and on whether a personal representative has been appointed. Those questions are worth raising early, before deadlines pass.

What Must Be Shown in a Premises Liability Death Case

A family generally must show that the owner’s lack of ordinary care caused the death. Most of these claims turn on a few points.

• A dangerous condition. The hazard existed, such as a pool without a barrier, a worn stair tread, or untreated ice.
• Notice. The owner knew of the hazard or should have known through inspections, complaints or maintenance records.
• Causation. The condition, or a failure to fix or warn about it, was a substantial factor in the death.

Public owners face a similar test. Under Government Code § 835, a public agency can be liable for a dangerous condition of its property if the plaintiff establishes that the property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition, and that the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury incurred, and either a negligent or wrongful act or omission of its employee within the scope of employment created the condition, or the agency had actual or constructive notice of the condition a sufficient time before the injury to act. Proof usually includes coroner or medical examiner findings, incident reports and witness accounts. Repairs often erase the hazard, so early photos and measurements matter.

Questions about who was at fault are part of every case, and a free, confidential first consultation with Colvin Accident Lawyers is a good place to ask how they apply to your situation.

Damages a Family May Pursue

Families can seek economic and non-economic losses, and the law treats them differently. Civil Code § 1431.2 defines both categories.

Economic losses are objectively verifiable money losses. They include medical expenses, lost earnings and burial costs. Families should keep funeral invoices, medical bills and pay records.

Non-economic losses are subjective. They include loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium and emotional distress.

Each defendant pays its share of non-economic damages in proportion to its percentage of fault. If an owner and a maintenance contractor both contributed, each answers only for its own share of those losses.

Survival damages are narrower. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34, they generally cover only losses the decedent suffered before death. Damages for pain, suffering or disfigurement are excluded, except where the action was granted a preference before January 1, 2022, or was filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026.

Every case depends on its own facts, and no general page can predict what a claim is worth.

Deadlines, Evidence and Why Early Steps Matter

The general rule is two years. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 sets a two-year period for an action for the death of an individual caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect. Exceptions and tolling rules can pause the clock and alter the timing that applies.

Public property adds an earlier step. Under Government Code § 911.2, a death claim against a public entity generally must be presented within six months after it accrues.

Evidence can disappear. Keep these items early:

• The hazard itself, photographed and measured before repairs
• Surveillance video, which may be overwritten on a schedule
• Inspection, maintenance and repair logs
• Earlier complaints, emails or texts about the condition
• Incident reports, plus witness names and phone numbers
• The death certificate and any coroner or medical examiner report

A written preservation request asks the owner and insurer to keep these records. Send it early, before records change hands.

How a Fatal Premises Accident Claim Typically Proceeds

A typical claim moves from a first conversation to investigation, a claim to the insurer, and a lawsuit only if needed.

1. First contact. A confidential talk covers the death, the property and who is in the family.
2. Investigation. Our team gathers scene evidence and records, identifies the owner, manager, security contractor or insurer, and collects witness statements.
3. Claim presentation. The responsible insurer receives notice of the claim, with supporting documents.
4. Negotiation or lawsuit. If the claim is not resolved fairly, a lawsuit may be filed. Discovery, depositions and, in some cases, mediation or trial may follow.

Insurers have rules too. Insurance Code § 790.03 lists directly advising a claimant not to obtain an attorney’s services among unfair claims settlement practices when done as a general business practice. Each stage can take a different amount of time, depending on the parties, the insurance position and court schedules.

Why Families in Central and Southern California Work With Colvin Accident Lawyers

Colvin Accident Lawyers, with its office in Bakersfield, serves accident victims and families in the following areas: Kern County, Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano and Tehachapi. Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. The firm also has assistants and office staff who support its lawyers.

The firm handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters. Families with a related claim can talk through it in one place.

Our approach is to review the facts, property records and medical findings before discussing how a case may proceed. No lawyer can ensure a specific result, so we do not make that promise.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fatal Property Accident Claims