When a Parent Dies in a Crash, Your Family Deserves Clear Answers

Searching for an elderly parent killed in car crash wrongful death lawyer help in Kern County? Start with the basics. When a parent dies in a crash caused by someone else, the surviving family may have a wrongful death claim under California law. Only certain family members can bring it, and strict deadlines apply. This page explains those rules in plain language.

Who a Wrongful Death Claim Is For When an Elderly Parent Dies in a Car Crash

A wrongful death claim is a legal claim that certain listed family members, or the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf, may bring after another person’s wrongful act or neglect causes a death (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60). The claim belongs to the survivors, not to the parent who died.

Crashes that kill older adults take many forms. The parent may have been driving, riding as a passenger, or walking across a street or parking lot. These crashes happen on busy city streets in Bakersfield and on rural two-lane roads across Kern County.

The losses fall on the people left behind. Adult children may have lost a parent who helped with rides, household tasks, or daily care. A surviving spouse may have lost a partner of many years.

Families in this position are often grieving and planning a funeral at the same time. Questions about money and paperwork can feel like too much. It helps to know that the law sets out who may sue and how the claim works.

A separate claim, called a survival action, may belong to the parent’s estate. It covers losses the parent suffered before death. The next section explains how the two claims differ.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California

A surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children can bring a wrongful death claim; if there are no surviving issue, the people who would inherit by intestate succession may bring it. Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60, the list starts with those family members.

Parents have their own rule. Under the same section, a parent may bring the claim if the parent was dependent on the person who died, or, if the person left no surviving children or other issue, as someone entitled to the decedent’s property by intestate succession. If they were dependent on the person who died, putative spouses, children of a putative spouse, stepchildren, and legal guardians (if the parents are deceased) are also covered, as is a minor who lived in the household for the previous 180 days and depended on the decedent for half or more of their support.

Eligibility depends on the facts, so the consultation reviews each family’s relationships and the level of support involved.

Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.30, the decedent’s cause of action passes to the decedent’s successor in interest. The personal representative may bring it, or the successor in interest if there is none.

Fatal Car Crash Scenarios Involving Older Adults in Kern County

Each crash type raises different questions about who did what.

A driver turning across traffic may not see an oncoming vehicle in time. Rear-end impacts at higher speed can also be deadly.

Head-on and lane-departure crashes on rural roads often involve a vehicle that crosses into oncoming lanes. Commercial trucks and buses bring their own rules and records, so the vehicle type matters.

Pedestrian cases often turn on right-of-way. Under Cal. Veh. Code § 21950, a driver must yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, and in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. The same section says pedestrians must still use due care.

Impaired, distracted, or speeding driving can each play a role in a fatal crash.

Evidence That Shows How the Crash Happened

The most useful records usually include the police crash report, the coroner’s findings, and witness statements. Each one helps show how the crash happened and what caused the death.

Ask for the California Highway Patrol fatal crash report, or the local agency report if that applies. It typically lists the parties, vehicles, roadway conditions, and the officer’s findings. Ask for the coroner’s report on cause and manner of death when one exists.

Other evidence can matter just as much. This includes witness statements, traffic and business video, scene and vehicle photos, vehicle data, and medical and EMS records. Video footage may be overwritten on a schedule, so acting early may help preserve it.

Under Cal. Evid. Code § 669, a person who violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity can be presumed to have failed to use due care if the violation proximately caused death or injury to person or property, the harm was of the kind the rule was designed to prevent, and the injured person was in the class the rule protects. The driver can rebut that presumption by showing they acted as a prudent person would while trying to follow the law.

California also uses comparative fault.

Keep the parent’s medical records, the vehicle if it still exists, and any insurer letters. Do not give a recorded statement to an insurer before talking with a lawyer.

What a Family May Recover in a Wrongful Death Claim

Families can seek economic losses and non-economic losses. Economic losses are objectively verifiable money losses. They include medical expenses, lost earnings, and burial costs, as defined in Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.2.

Non-economic losses are subjective. They include loss of society and companionship. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.2, in a personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death action based on comparative fault, each defendant pays non-economic damages only in proportion to its percentage of fault.

Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.61, damages may be awarded that, under all the circumstances of the case, may be just. They may not include the survival-action damages described in § 377.34.

Survival damages are narrower. Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.34, survival damages cover losses the parent suffered before death. They do not include pain, suffering, or disfigurement unless the action was granted a preference under Code of Civil Procedure Section 36 before January 1, 2022, or was filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026. That exception does not apply to actions filed on or after January 1, 2026.

Every case turns on its own evidence, insurance coverage, and applicable law. No one can promise a specific amount in advance.

Deadlines That Control the Claim and How the Process Works

Most California wrongful death claims must be filed within two years. Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1, the two-year period covers an action for the death of a person caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect.

A claim against a public entity has a shorter first step. Under Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2, a claim for death must be presented not later than six months after the cause of action accrues. This can matter when a county or city road defect or a public vehicle may have played a role.

The process usually follows these steps:

• A free, confidential consultation to review the crash and the family’s questions.
• Gathering police, coroner, medical, and vehicle records.
• Investigating the crash and preserving evidence.
• Handling communication with insurers.
• Negotiating, and filing suit if needed.

Timelines vary by case. During the consultation, the firm describes the likely sequence for the specific matter and does not promise speed or results.

Wrongful Death Claims at Colvin Accident Lawyers

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury firm based in Bakersfield, California. The firm represents accident victims and families in wrongful death, car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, and catastrophic injury cases.

Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. Our team includes support staff who help with records and keep families informed about their case.

The firm is based in Bakersfield, California. It also accepts inquiries from families in Kern County, including Tehachapi, and in Fresno, Visalia, Delano, Lancaster, and Palmdale.

The consultation covers the crash facts, the family’s questions, the deadlines that may apply, and the next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the parent’s own driving matter?