Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in California | Wondering who can bring a wrongful death claim in California—and how long you have?
Charles Aramayo
Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in California
Losing someone to another person's negligence is devastating. In the days and weeks that follow, most families are not thinking about lawsuits. But California law gives eligible family members the right to hold the responsible party accountable—and that right has deadlines attached to it.
This article explains who can bring a wrongful death claim in California, what the claim can recover, and how long a family has to act.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of a deceased person's surviving family members. It is separate from any criminal case against the person responsible for the death. Criminal charges punish the wrongdoer; a wrongful death claim compensates the family for what they have lost.
The legal standard is negligence: the family must show that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach caused the death. In practice, wrongful death claims arise from car accidents, truck collisions, unsafe property conditions, dog attacks, and other situations where someone acted carelessly and someone else died as a result.
Who Has the Right to File in California?
California's wrongful death statute—Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60—specifies who has legal standing to bring a claim. Not everyone who loved the deceased may file; the right to sue belongs to a specific set of people.
Spouses and Domestic Partners
A surviving spouse or registered domestic partner is almost always the primary plaintiff in a wrongful death case. California community property rules also affect how damages are valued and distributed in these cases.
Children
The deceased's children—including biological and legally adopted children—have standing to sue. If an adult child died and their own children survived them, those grandchildren may also have standing in some circumstances.
Putative Spouses
California extends standing to a "putative spouse"—someone who had a good-faith belief that they were married to the deceased, even if the marriage was later found to be legally defective. This includes certain domestic partners.
Other Dependents
If a person was financially dependent on the deceased and cannot recover through the categories above, California allows that person to bring a claim. This can include stepchildren, parents, or siblings who can demonstrate financial dependence. The standard requires showing actual monetary dependence, not just emotional closeness.
Parents and Siblings (When No Other Heirs Exist)
If the deceased had no surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children, the parents may bring a wrongful death claim. Siblings may also be eligible in limited circumstances, typically when there are no surviving parents.
One important point: the right to file is not first-come, first-served, and multiple eligible heirs often join the same lawsuit. A single case typically represents all eligible plaintiffs together.
What Can a Wrongful Death Claim Recover?
California wrongful death damages compensate for the losses the surviving family members have actually suffered—not just the losses the deceased person experienced. Those are recovered through a separate legal mechanism called a "survival action," which is often filed alongside the wrongful death claim.
Economic Damages
Economic damages in a wrongful death case cover measurable financial losses:
- Lost financial support. The earnings and income the deceased would have contributed to the family over their expected working life, accounting for projected raises, promotions, and career trajectory.
- Lost household services. The value of domestic contributions the deceased made—childcare, household maintenance, transportation—that survivors must now pay for or go without.
- Funeral and burial expenses. Reasonable costs associated with the death itself.
- Loss of gifts and benefits. Things of economic value the family would have received—gifts, financial help with education, financial support during retirement.
Non-Economic Damages
California wrongful death law also allows recovery for non-economic losses:
- Loss of love, companionship, comfort, and support. The emotional and relational losses that surviving family members experience.
- Loss of moral support and guidance. Particularly significant in cases involving the death of a parent.
- Loss of society. The reduced quality of a survivor's life caused by the absence of the deceased.
One category that is not available under California's wrongful death statute is the emotional distress or grief of the surviving family members as a standalone category of damages. The focus of the law is on objective relational loss rather than subjective grief. This distinction matters when evaluating and presenting a case.
What Is a Survival Action, and How Is It Different?
A survival action allows the deceased person's estate to pursue claims the deceased would have had if they had survived. This includes the physical pain and suffering the person experienced before death, medical expenses incurred before death, and any property damage.
Where a wrongful death claim is brought by surviving family members for their own losses, a survival action is brought by the estate for the deceased's losses. The two are often filed together by the same attorney, but they are legally distinct and serve different purposes.
How Long Does a Family Have to File?
The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim in California is two years from the date of death. Missing this deadline almost always means losing the right to pursue the claim entirely.
However, there are important exceptions and accelerated deadlines:
Government Entities
If the death was caused by a government employee, a public bus, a dangerous highway condition, or any other government-related negligence, the rules change significantly. Families typically have only six months from the date of the incident to file a government tort claim. Missing that administrative claim deadline can permanently bar recovery—even when the underlying fault is clear.
Deaths Involving Minors
If the person who died was a minor, or if the surviving plaintiffs include minors, there are additional rules that can affect the limitations period. An attorney should evaluate these situations specifically.
Discovery Rule
In rare cases where the cause of death was not immediately apparent—certain toxic exposure cases, for example—the limitations period may run from the date the family discovered or reasonably should have discovered the connection between the negligence and the death.
Two years may feel like a long time when you are in grief. But evidence erodes quickly. Surveillance footage is overwritten. Witnesses move. Documents are lost. The earlier a family consults with an attorney, the more options they have.
Common Wrongful Death Scenarios
Car and Truck Accidents
Fatal car crashes are the most common source of wrongful death claims in California. Truck accidents—involving commercial vehicles, big rigs, and delivery vehicles—are especially significant because of the catastrophic injuries they cause and the multiple potentially liable parties: the driver, the trucking company, and sometimes the vehicle manufacturer or cargo loader.
Unsafe Property Conditions
When someone dies because a property owner failed to maintain safe conditions—a dangerous stairway, a negligently secured area, inadequate lighting in a parking structure—the estate and surviving family may have both a premises liability and wrongful death claim.
Dog Attacks and Animal-Related Deaths
California imposes strict liability on dog owners for bites and attacks. In severe cases, an attack that causes death can support a wrongful death claim. These cases are less common but do arise.
Hit-and-Run and Uninsured Drivers
If the at-fault driver fled the scene or had no insurance, the family's options may include the deceased's own uninsured motorist coverage, a direct lawsuit, or both. These cases require careful investigation and early evidence preservation.
What Families Often Get Wrong
Waiting to consult an attorney. The desire to get through the immediate grief before dealing with legal matters is understandable. But the most important evidence—vehicle data, surveillance footage, electronic logs in truck cases, witness memory—degrades fastest in the first weeks.
Assuming no case exists because there was no criminal charge. Civil and criminal cases use different standards of proof. The responsible party does not need to be charged with a crime for a wrongful death claim to succeed. Many successful wrongful death cases arise from facts that did not result in a criminal prosecution.
Accepting an early settlement from an insurer. Insurance companies sometimes contact grieving families quickly with settlement offers. An early offer is rarely a fair offer. It is an attempt to close the claim before the family understands the full value of what was lost.
Assuming only the most closely related family member can bring a claim. Multiple eligible heirs can bring a wrongful death claim together. A family should not assume only one person has standing without consulting an attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we file a wrongful death claim if the person was also at fault for the accident? Yes. California's comparative fault system applies to wrongful death cases. The family's recovery may be reduced by the deceased's percentage of fault, but the claim is not automatically barred.
What if the at-fault driver died in the same accident? You may still have a claim against the at-fault driver's estate and against their insurer. The analysis depends on the insurance policy terms and whether an estate is opened.
How long does a wrongful death case take? It depends on the complexity of the facts, the availability of insurance coverage, and whether the case settles or goes to trial. Some cases resolve within months of filing; others take years. Your attorney can give you a more specific estimate after reviewing the facts.
What if multiple family members disagree about whether to file? This is common. The law allows some eligible plaintiffs to file even if others prefer not to. Your attorney can walk through how California handles these situations and what options the family has.
Do we pay attorney fees if we don't win? Most personal injury and wrongful death attorneys—including Aramayo & Ho—work on a contingency fee basis, meaning no attorney fees unless the family recovers. You should confirm the fee structure with any attorney you consult.
Does the death have to have been recent for us to have a claim? California's two-year statute of limitations controls. If it has been less than two years since the date of death (or less than six months if a government entity may be involved), you still have options. Do not assume time has run without consulting an attorney.
Talk Directly With a Wrongful Death Attorney in Glendale
Aramayo & Ho handles wrongful death claims for families throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and across California. When you call or email, you speak directly with Charles Aramayo or Victor Ho—not a case manager.
We offer free consultations and represent wrongful death clients on contingency.
Call or text: (310) 684-2610 | Toll-free: (877) 354-7047 Email: office@aoh.law
Aramayo & Ho, APC — 201 North Brand, Glendale, California. Serving clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and across California.
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.