California law determines who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in California, and it limits who can file a wrongful death action to categories of people starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children.
Personal representatives of decedents’ estates can also file a wrongful death suit on behalf of a deceased person’s family members.
Eligibility rules differ from who can inherit assets under a will. This often surprises families.
Over 10 people are killed in traffic accidents on California roads every day, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety, leaving families to navigate this process constantly.
Call our experienced wrongful death lawyers today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence. We help families in California pursue compensation and accountability with compassion, and we will charge you no legal fee until we win your case.
Table of Contents
- Family Members Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California
- The Personal Representative’s Role in a California Wrongful Death Case
- What Is the Difference Between a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and a Survival Action in California?
- What Damages Are Recoverable in a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
- How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
- Talk to an Attorney About Your Wrongful Death Case
Family Members Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California
The family members who can file a lawsuit seeking wrongful death damages in California may include surviving spouses or domestic partners, surviving children, parents, siblings and other relatives, and putative spouses, putative children and dependent stepchildren.
Surviving Spouse or Domestic Partner
The surviving spouse or domestic partner has standing to file under California’s wrongful death law, alongside any surviving children.
Registered domestic partners hold the same standing as a decedent’s surviving spouse under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60.
Surviving Children
Surviving children can file regardless if a spouse or domestic partner also files under California’s wrongful death statute. This includes biological as well as legally adopted children.
Surviving grandchildren can file a lawsuit if the decedent’s children are deceased.
Parents
If there’s no surviving issue, the right to file passes to intestate heirs, which can include parents and, in some cases, siblings. If a parent was financially dependent on the decedent, they may qualify to file a wrongful death lawsuit regardless of whether a spouse or children survive.
Both parents can file jointly. Alternatively, a single parent can file if the other is deceased.
Siblings and Other Relatives
Siblings and other relatives don’t have automatic standing to file a wrongful death lawsuit in California.
However, when there’s no surviving issue and no surviving parent, siblings may qualify as intestate heirs. This can occur alongside a surviving spouse in some circumstances.
Putative Spouses, Putative Children, Legal Guardians and Dependent Stepchildren
Financial dependents like putative spouses, putative children and stepchildren could also have a right to file a lawsuit, should they meet certain criteria.
Putative spouses might qualify when they believe in good faith that they were legally married to the decedent.
Children of putative spouses, stepchildren and parents might also qualify if they were dependent upon the decedent.
Stepchildren and other minors who depended upon a decedent for at least half of their financial support and lived in the decedent’s household for at least 180 days before the death might also qualify. This dependency exception is fact-specific and narrow.
Legal guardians of decedents may also qualify to file wrongful death lawsuits in circumstances where the decedent’s parents are deceased and the guardian was dependent financially on the decedent.
The Personal Representative’s Role in a California Wrongful Death Case
A personal representative of a deceased’s estate is allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of eligible heirs under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60.
The decedent’s personal representative is usually appointed via a probate proceeding when one is not named by a will.
When a wrongful death lawsuit is filed through a personal representative, this consolidates multiple heirs’ claims into a single lawsuit.
Personal representatives who file this way are distinct from successors in interest who pursue survival actions for estates’ own damages under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.30.
What Is the Difference Between a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and a Survival Action in California?
Wrongful death lawsuits compensate surviving family members for their losses, whereas survival actions compensate decedents’ estates for damages suffered by the decedent prior to death.
Wrongful death damages compensate for survivors’ losses of financial support, companionship and household services.
Survival action damages, on the other hand, address decedents’ pre-death medical expenses and lost income.
A wrongful death claim and a survival action can be filed together in the same lawsuit. It is often necessary to file both in order to fully account for the losses of a family after a victim’s death.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
Economic damages, such as lost income, lost household services, funeral and burial expenses, and non-economic damages, such as compensation for loss of companionship, comfort, guidance and support, can be recovered in a wrongful death claim.
Punitive damages following a death caused by a wrongful act may be available in rare, specific circumstances involving a survival action rather than through the wrongful death claim.
It should be noted that California does not allow for recovery for emotional distress or grief in a wrongful death lawsuit.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
California’s statute of limitations regarding most wrongful death lawsuits is two years. This two-year period, established by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1, begins at the date of death. Missing this deadline typically bars a wrongful death claim, regardless of the underlying facts’ strength.
However, there are exceptions to this two-year time limit. Some exceptions shorten it and some lengthen it. For example, there is a six-month deadline regarding claims against government entities, such as claims involving public roadways or government-operated vehicles. Also, medical malpractice wrongful death claims have different deadlines.
You can help preserve evidence and protect the filing deadline by speaking with an experienced wrongful death lawyer promptly.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Wrongful Death Case
Call our experienced wrongful death attorneys today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you lost a loved one because of the negligence of someone else.
While we can’t turn back the clock on your loved one’s death, we can help you seek justice by fighting to recover the compensation you’re entitled to.
Call us today for a free consultation.
