Helping Bakersfield Families Pursue Answers After a Preventable Loss

Wrongful Death Lawyer in California: Who Can File and What to Do Next

A wrongful death lawyer helps a family bring a legal claim after a person dies because of someone else’s wrongful act or neglect. In California, the claim belongs to specific family members and other heirs, and the filing deadlines are short. This guide explains who can file, what damages may apply, how fault works, and when the clock starts. Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury practice in Bakersfield, California. It handles wrongful death cases along with car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, and catastrophic injury matters.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in California?

A wrongful death claim is a lawsuit family members bring when another party’s wrongful act or neglect causes a death. California Courts self-help guide explains the basics of these cases. California lets the listed survivors sue under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60.

A survival action is a different claim. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34, that action is limited to losses the person suffered before death. Pain, suffering, and disfigurement generally are not included, but they may be recovered if the action was filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, or was granted a preference under Section 36 before January 1, 2022. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.62, an action under Section 377.30 may be joined with an action under Section 377.60 arising out of the same wrongful act or neglect.

Fatal cases often start with car and truck crashes, motorcycle and bicycle collisions, pedestrian strikes, bus incidents, fatal dog attacks, or falls on unsafe property. Each setting raises its own proof questions, which the sections below cover.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California?

The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the children, and certain other heirs can bring the claim. The statute starts with the closest family. If there is no surviving issue, the persons who would inherit the decedent’s property under intestate succession may file.

Other people may also sue if they depended on the decedent. This includes a putative spouse, stepchildren, parents, or legal guardians 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 one-half or more of support may also sue.

A personal representative may file the action on these people’s behalf.

Adult children and parents need a closer look. Whether an adult child or a parent can sue depends on whether they fit one of these groups, including dependence on the decedent. An unmarried partner is not a domestic partner under the statute unless the couple had a registered domestic partnership. Identifying the right people early helps avoid delays.

What Compensation Can Families Recover in a Wrongful Death Case?

Families can seek economic losses and non-economic losses, but in any action for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death based on principles of comparative fault, each defendant is liable for non-economic damages only in proportion to its percentage of fault, and the amounts vary with each case. California defines economic losses as objectively verifiable money losses. These include medical expenses, loss of earnings, and burial costs, under Civil Code § 1431.2.

Non-economic losses are subjective losses. The same statute lists emotional distress and loss of society and companionship. Funeral and burial costs are a common economic item families track from the start.

The same statute also limits how defendants pay non-economic damages. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.2, in an action for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death based on comparative fault, each defendant’s liability for non-economic damages is several only and not joint, and each defendant is liable only for the amount of non-economic damages allocated to it in direct proportion to its percentage of fault. Families with several at-fault parties should know this early.

IRS on tax implications can matter too.

Accidents That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims

Fatal incidents can support a claim when another party’s wrongful act or neglect caused the death. Common settings include crashes involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Bus incidents, fatal dog attacks, and deaths tied to dangerous property also come up often.

Commercial truck and bus cases often involve more than one potentially responsible party, such as the driver, the employer, or the vehicle owner. Investigators look at who controlled the vehicle and how it was maintained. See our truck accident lawyer and bus accident lawyer pages for those issues.

A fatal dog attack or a deadly fall on unsafe property raises different liability questions. When a city, county, or state agency owns the property, Government Code § 835 sets the rules. The plaintiff must show a dangerous condition caused the injury, and that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred. The plaintiff must also show that a negligent or wrongful act or omission of a public entity employee, within the scope of employment, created the condition, or that the entity had actual or constructive notice of it a sufficient time before the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition. Read more on our dog bite lawyer and premises liability lawyer pages.

Some people die days or months after the original injury. In those cases, the key question is how the death connects to the first incident. Medical records usually matter a great deal. Our catastrophic injury lawyer page covers that path in more detail.

How Does Comparative Fault Affect a Claim?

Daly v. General Motors Corp. restates the comparative fault rule (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). For example, a person found 70% at fault would recover 30% of the damages.

Fault is decided with evidence. Police or California Highway Patrol reports, witness statements, photographs, vehicle data, and physical evidence all show how an incident happened. Other drivers’ insurers often argue that the decedent shared the blame, so early evidence matters.

Some vehicle cases face an extra limit. Under Civil Code § 3333.4, a person generally cannot recover non-economic losses in certain car cases. Examples include an impaired-driving conviction or an uninsured vehicle owner. The statute has exceptions, so the facts of each crash need review.

How Long Do You Have to File?

Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. Exceptions can apply, so the timing needs review on the specific facts.

Claims against a public entity follow a different path. A written claim must be presented within six months for a death claim, under Government Code § 911.2. Except as provided in Sections 946.4 and 946.6, under Government Code § 945.4, a lawsuit for money or damages against the public entity cannot be brought until a written claim has been presented to the public entity and has been acted upon by the board, or deemed rejected.

These deadlines run quickly. Families often lose track of them while handling funeral arrangements and paperwork. Keep the crash date, the date of death, and every letter from insurers or agencies in one place. Vehicle data and dash camera footage can be overwritten, so preserve them early.

Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Worth Pursuing?

Whether a claim is worth pursuing depends on several facts, and no lawyer can know the result in advance. Key factors include who the eligible heirs are, how strong the liability evidence is, and how much insurance is available.

Insurance limits matter in fatal crashes. For a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum bodily injury limits are $30,000 for one person and $60,000 for two or more persons in one accident. These minimums come from Vehicle Code § 16056. Many policies carry higher limits. A family’s own uninsured motorist coverage may also come into play, depending on the policy.

Cases can end in a settlement or move toward trial. A settlement is an agreement reached before a jury decides the case. A trial puts the case before a jury. Each path has different timing, costs, and risks, which a lawyer can explain once the facts are reviewed.

How Much Do Wrongful Death Lawyers Charge?

Under Business and Professions Code § 6147, the agreement must state the fee rate, explain how costs affect the fee and the client’s recovery, and say to what extent, if any, the client could have to pay the attorney for related matters not covered by the contingency fee contract.

Colvin Accident Lawyers offers a free first consultation that is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Review any written fee agreement carefully before signing.

What Kind of Lawyer Do You Need?

That makes the facts, the evidence, and the deadlines central from the start.

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury practice in Bakersfield, California. Donald Norman Colvin is the lawyer. Our team includes support staff who assist with case work. The practice handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death matters, including for motorcycle crashes described on our motorcycle accident lawyer page.

Families in Kern County and nearby communities, including Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano, and Tehachapi, can contact the practice.

Talking Through Your Family’s Situation With Colvin Accident Lawyers

If your family has lost someone in a crash or other incident, a first conversation can help you sort out the facts and the deadlines. Colvin Accident Lawyers works with families in this position.

Frequently Asked Questions

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