Helping Families秋 Answer Hard Questions After a Loss

Wrongful death premises liability California claims arise when a person dies because of a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. In plain terms, a property owner or the person in control of the property may be responsible when they fail to keep it reasonably safe. This page explains who may be responsible, who can bring a claim, the two-year filing deadline, and what families can expect (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, California, and represents accident victims and their families.

What a Fatal Premises Liability Claim Is and Who It Affects

A fatal premises liability claim asks whether a dangerous condition on property caused someone’s death.

Wrongful death is the claim that eligible family members bring for their losses after a death. It applies when another person’s wrongful act or neglect caused the death.

This page is written for families dealing with a sudden loss. They want to know whether the death could have been prevented, who may be responsible, and how much time they have. Property owners and landlords have duties that may be examined in a premises liability claim. This page describes the claim from the side of families and injury victims.

Who Owes a Duty of Care on a Property

The owner or the person in control of the property must use reasonable care to keep it safe. California law says everyone must use ordinary care in managing their property, and a failure to do so can make them responsible for injuries to others (Civil Code § 1714).

Control matters. Owners, landlords, tenants, and property managers may each hold some duty. The answer depends on the facts of each case.

Dangerous conditions tied to fatal incidents often include:

• Unfenced pools, drop-offs, and deep water
• Worn or broken stairs, railings, and balconies
• Icy, cracked, or broken walkways
• Poor lighting in parking lots, hallways, and entrances
• Defective structures or unsafe repairs

For the broader framework, see our wrongful death overview.

Who Can Bring the Claim and What the Claim Covers

Certain family members and dependents may bring a wrongful death claim in California. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, the decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children may bring it, or, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession may bring it. Dependent stepchildren, parents, and certain others may also qualify. The decedent’s personal representative may file on their behalf.

A wrongful death cause of action under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 may be asserted by the persons it lists. The damages rule (damages that may be just under all the circumstances, excluding those recoverable under § 377.34) is in Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61. The court decides how any award is divided among the people entitled to it (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61).

Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.2 defines “economic damages” as objectively verifiable monetary losses and “non-economic damages” as subjective, non-monetary losses such as pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Economic damages are objectively verifiable costs, such as medical expenses, loss of earnings, and burial costs. Non-economic damages are subjective losses, such as emotional distress and loss of society and companionship (Civil Code § 1431.2).

A separate survival action belongs to the decedent’s estate. It covers losses the decedent suffered before death. For most filings, pain, suffering, and disfigurement damages are not recoverable in a survival action; the statute’s exception covers only actions granted a preference before January 1, 2022, or filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, a window that closed on January 1, 2026 and does not apply to a new claim (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34). 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. For an example of how eligibility is decided, see our passenger killed in a crash guide.

Deadlines Under California Law

The main deadline is two years. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 says an action for assault, battery, or injury to, or the death of, a person caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect has a two-year limit, though other deadlines or tolling rules may also apply.

Waiting can cost a family its claim. Except as otherwise provided by statute, a cause of action for or against a person is not lost because that person dies; it survives, but it remains subject to the applicable time limit (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.20).

Evidence does not wait. Surveillance video can be overwritten, a broken railing can be repaired, and witnesses can move away. Early action helps preserve what matters. Don’t assume a date on your own. Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers for a free, confidential consultation, with no obligation to continue, so our team can review how the filing timeline applies to the facts of your loved one’s death.

Proving Negligence and Common Defenses

The owner owed a duty, breached it, that breach caused the death, and the family suffered damages.

Notice is often the key issue.

Evidence that often matters includes:

• Inspection and maintenance records
• Prior complaints and incident reports
• Photographs and video
• Repair invoices and contractor records
• Witness statements

Defendants often raise common arguments. They may say the hazard was open and obvious. They may say they had no notice. They may argue the person who died was partly at fault, or that the person’s status on the property limits what the owner owed.

Fault can be shared. Each defendant also pays non-economic damages only for its own share of fault (Civil Code § 1431.2).

What to Expect After You Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers

Contacting the firm starts with a conversation about what happened. The general path looks like this:

1. Initial consultation. Your first consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation to continue.
2. Review of the facts. The team reviews the incident, the property’s condition, and the deadline.
3. Preservation and investigation. Requests for records, footage, and physical evidence can be time-sensitive, so they often start early.
4. Evaluation of parties. The team looks at which owners, landlords, managers, or contractors the facts may support.
5. Claim and, if needed, court. Claims may be negotiated and, if needed, filed in the appropriate court. Timelines vary by case and cannot be predicted in advance.

Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, and its service areas include Kern County, Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano, and Tehachapi.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are short answers to questions about these claims.

Talk With Colvin Accident Lawyers About a Fatal Premises Accident

If you are looking into a death on someone else’s property, you may be doing it in the middle of a loss you never expected. You might be researching for a family member while facing decisions you did not choose, such as whether to pursue a claim and when to act. Those answers depend on the facts, and the two-year deadline makes early attention important (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). When you are ready, contact Colvin Accident Lawyers or call Colvin to talk through your situation.

Donald Norman Colvin, Colvin Accident Lawyers, [street address], Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site.