Supporting Bakersfield Families After a Wrongful Death

Bakersfield Wrongful Death Lawyer: Claims, Deadlines, and Next Steps

A wrongful death claim lets certain family members seek damages after a person dies because another party’s wrongful act or neglect caused the death. In California, the claim belongs to specific heirs, and it generally must be filed within two years (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1).

Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield. The firm represents accident victims and families in car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, and catastrophic injury cases. This page explains how a wrongful death lawyer approaches these claims, so you can decide what to do next.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Is and Who Can Bring One

A wrongful death claim is a lawsuit brought after a person dies because of another party’s wrongful act or neglect. The claim is brought for the family members the law names, not for the person who died.

Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60, the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children can bring the claim. If none of them survive, the people who would inherit the decedent’s property under intestate succession may bring it.

Other people may have the right to sue if they were dependent on the person who died: the putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, parents, or the legal guardians of the decedent if the parents are deceased. This can include parents, stepchildren, and a putative spouse, which is the surviving spouse of a void or voidable marriage whom the court finds to have believed in good faith that the marriage to the decedent was valid. A minor may also qualify if they lived in the decedent’s household for the previous 180 days and relied on that person for at least half of their support.

A separate survival claim covers the injuries the person suffered before death. A personal representative brings it under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.30, or, if there is none, a successor in interest does.

Accidents That Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim can follow many kinds of fatal accidents, not only highway crashes.

• Car crashes: drivers who are speeding, impaired, or distracted, including intersection crashes on local roads and highways.
• Truck and bus crashes: driver fatigue, poor maintenance, or questions about which company is responsible (Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II).
• Motorcycle and bicycle deaths: a rider or cyclist struck by a driver who failed to yield or did not see them.
• Pedestrian deaths: a driver must yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, and at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Pedestrians must still use due care, under Cal. Veh. Code § 21950.
• Dog bites and premises liability: fatal attacks, or deaths caused by dangerous conditions on property the owner controlled. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1714, everyone is responsible for injury caused by want of ordinary care or skill, except so far as the injured person has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself (pure comparative negligence).
• Catastrophic injuries: a person who later died from complications of the original injury.

Each death has its own facts. Those facts decide which claims apply.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Recover

A wrongful death claim seeks damages for the family’s losses. The court decides how any award is divided among the people entitled to bring the claim.

Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.61, damages may be awarded that are just under all the circumstances. They may not include the damages recoverable under the survival rules, which are covered in § 377.34.

Survival damages are limited. The decedent’s own losses before death can be pursued. Pain, suffering, or disfigurement generally cannot, except in an action granted a preference under Section 36 before January 1, 2022, or filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026.

Punitive damages are a separate question. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 3294, they require proof by clear and convincing evidence of oppression, fraud, or malice. Cal. Civ. Code § 3294 reads: “(b) An employer shall not be liable for damages pursuant to subdivision (a), based upon acts of an employee of the employer, unless the employer had advance knowledge of the unfitness of the employee and employed him or her with a conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others or authorized or ratified the wrongful conduct for which the damages are awarded or was personally guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice.”

No dollar amount can be predicted before the facts, evidence, and insurance are reviewed. Results differ with the facts of each case.

Deadlines and What to Do in the First Weeks

California generally gives two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit (California Courts Self-Help Guide). Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 sets that two-year period for an action for the death of an individual caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect. Other rules and exceptions can apply, so early review matters.

If a public agency may be responsible, the clock is much shorter. See Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2.

In the first weeks, families often do these things:

• Write down the police report number and the names of officers and witnesses.
• Save photos of the scene, the vehicle, or the property.
• Keep medical, funeral, and household expense records.
• List lost income and support the family relied on.
• Speak with a lawyer before giving any recorded statement to an insurer.

How Our Wrongful Death Process Works

The process starts with a first consultation that is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. From there, the case moves through review, investigation, filing, and resolution.

1. Consultation. You describe the death, the accident, and which family members may have a claim.
2. Review. The firm reviews the police report, the records, and your list of losses.
3. Investigation. The firm gathers reports, witness statements, and records from the other parties and their insurers.
4. Filing. A claim is filed or presented, with the deadlines above in mind.
5. Resolution. Settlement talks, mediation, or trial follow, based on what the facts and the law support.

The schedule varies with each case. Cases can take longer when fault is disputed or when a trial is needed.

Why Families in Bakersfield and the Central Valley Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers

Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, California, and works with families from Kern County. Our office is in Bakersfield, California, and people in Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano, and Tehachapi are welcome to contact us about an accident claim.

The firm handles every accident type listed on this page. A death caused by a car, commercial truck, bus, dog, or unsafe property can be reviewed here.

Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. The firm’s support staff help families with records, scheduling, and questions between meetings.

Our team explains each step in plain language. That way, you know what is happening and which decisions are yours to make.

Questions Families Ask Before Calling

Families usually ask who can sue, how long they have, and whether the case will reach a courtroom.

Talk With Us About Your Loss This Week

If a crash, fall, or dog attack took someone you love, your family may need to act quickly to protect its claim. Call Colvin Accident Lawyers, or send a message through the contact form. Tell us what happened and which family members depended on the person who died.

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site. Responsible lawyer: Donald Norman Colvin.