What we handle
- Fatal motor vehicle and motorcycle collisions
- Trucking fatalities
- Pedestrian and bicycle deaths
- Fatal falls and premises incidents
- Deaths from nursing home neglect
- Fatal dog attacks
- Deaths caused by dangerous conditions of public property
Who can bring a claim
California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 specifies who has standing, and it's more restrictive than people assume.
The primary category is the surviving spouse or domestic partner, the decedent's children, and the issue of deceased children. If there is no surviving person in that line, standing passes to those who would be entitled to the decedent's property by intestate succession.
Beyond that, the statute also reaches a putative spouse and their children in defined circumstances, stepchildren and parents who were financially dependent on the decedent, and in certain cases a minor who lived in the household and depended on the decedent for at least half of their support.
The dependency requirement is what surprises families. Parents of an adult child who wasn't supporting them may have no standing, even when the loss is devastating. Siblings generally have no claim unless they'd inherit under intestate succession.
The one action rule
California requires that a wrongful death claim be brought as a single action joining all eligible heirs. There aren't separate lawsuits by each family member.
Practically, heirs who don't want to participate are still typically named so the action is complete. Where family relationships are strained — and they often are — this has to be handled carefully at the outset. It's one of the more common sources of friction in these cases and one of the reasons to involve a lawyer early.
What damages are available
Section 377.61 governs, and the categories divide into two groups.
Financial losses
The financial support the decedent would have contributed to the family, the loss of gifts or benefits the heirs would have expected, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of household services the decedent would have provided.
Non-financial losses
The loss of the decedent's love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support.
What is not recoverable in a wrongful death action
Two things are not recoverable in a California wrongful death action: the decedent's own pain and suffering before death, which belongs to a survival action rather than the wrongful death claim, and the survivors' grief, sorrow, and mental anguish as such. That second distinction is genuinely difficult to explain to families, because the line between loss of companionship and grief doesn't track how loss is actually experienced.
Punitive damages are generally not recoverable in a wrongful death claim, though they may be available through a survival action in appropriate cases.
The survival action, and what changed in 2026
A survival action is separate from wrongful death. It belongs to the decedent's estate and carries forward the claims the decedent could have brought had they lived — medical expenses incurred before death, lost earnings, and property damage.
This is where California law changed.
From January 1, 2022 through the end of 2025, a temporary amendment under SB 447 allowed the estate to also recover the decedent's pre-death pain, suffering, and disfigurement. It was structured as a four-year pilot with a legislative review. The extension bill, SB 29, stalled in committee and was ordered inactive in September 2025.
Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34 reverted on January 1, 2026. For survival actions filed on or after that date, a decedent's pain, suffering, and disfigurement are no longer recoverable — regardless of when the injury or death occurred. Actions filed by December 31, 2025 preserve those damages.
The practical effect is that case values in this category are lower than they were in 2025, particularly where a decedent suffered for a period before dying. It also means that much of the material published online about California survival damages is now out of date.
The Elder Abuse Act's enhanced remedies operate separately and remain available where that statutory standard is met, which is why elder abuse claims have become correspondingly more important in this area.
Deadlines
Generally two years from the date of death, which may be later than the date of injury. Medical negligence cases run on a shorter and more complicated clock. If a public entity is involved, a six-month administrative claim deadline applies.
If a criminal case is pending against the person responsible, the civil claim proceeds independently. Waiting for the criminal case to conclude can run out the civil clock.
How we work these cases
We handle the investigation, the records, the insurance, and the procedural requirements so the family isn't managing it. We keep communication to whoever the family designates rather than contacting everyone. And we're direct about what a claim can and can't do, including when the answer is that it isn't worth pursuing.
There's no cost to talk, and no fee unless we recover.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Primarily the surviving spouse or domestic partner, children, and the issue of deceased children. Beyond that, those who would inherit by intestate succession, and certain financially dependent parents and stepchildren.
WHAT WE GO AFTER
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of financial support
- Loss of household services
- Loss of love, companionship, and moral support
- Medical expenses and lost earnings before death through a survival action
- Punitive damages through a survival action in appropriate cases
No fee unless we recover · (844) 84-BUDDY