Losing a loved one because of someone else’s negligence or misconduct is one of the hardest things a family can go through. On top of the grief, families are often left with funeral bills, lost income, and a lot of confusing legal questions, starting with, “Do we even have the right to sue?”
California law answers that question with specific rules. Not everyone who loved the deceased has legal standing to bring a claim, and the compensation available depends on the type of case, who’s suing, and who’s at fault. Here’s what California law actually says.
What Counts as a Wrongful Death in California?
A wrongful death claim arises when a person dies because of another party’s negligent or wrongful conduct. Common examples include:
- Car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Defective products
- Workplace accidents
- Premises liability (unsafe property conditions)
- Criminal acts, such as assault
Importantly, a wrongful death lawsuit is a civil case, separate from any criminal prosecution. Family members can sue for wrongful death even if the at-fault party is never criminally charged or is acquitted, because civil cases use a lower burden of proof, “preponderance of the evidence,” rather than the criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in California?
This is where a lot of families get tripped up. California doesn’t allow just anyone connected to the deceased to file suit. Standing is governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60, which sets out a specific hierarchy of who may bring the claim:
- Surviving spouse or registered domestic partner
- Children of the decedent, and the children of any deceased child (grandchildren, stepping into their parent’s place)
- If there is no surviving spouse or issue, other heirs who would inherit under California’s intestate succession laws, such as parents or siblings
- Certain financially dependent individuals, even if not otherwise qualified above, including:
- A putative spouse (someone who reasonably but mistakenly believed they were legally married to the decedent)
- Children of a putative spouse, and stepchildren
- Parents, if dependent on the decedent
- Minors who lived in the decedent’s household for the 180 days before death and depended on the decedent for at least half of their financial support
A personal representative of the decedent’s estate may also bring the action on behalf of these individuals. Because the statute prioritizes categories in order, a surviving spouse or child generally takes precedence over more distant relatives, so it’s worth having an attorney confirm exactly where you fall in that hierarchy before assuming you do or don’t have a claim.
Wrongful Death Claims vs. Survival Actions
These two types of claims are often filed together but are legally distinct:
- A wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for their own losses resulting from the death.
- A survival action, under CCP Section 377.30, lets the decedent’s estate pursue the claims the decedent could have brought had they survived, such as pain and suffering between the injury and death, and medical bills. Unlike a wrongful death claim, a survival action can also include punitive damages.
What Compensation Looks Like
Under CCP Section 377.61, courts have broad authority to award damages that are “just” under the circumstances of the case, though they can’t duplicate amounts already recoverable through a survival action. In practice, wrongful death damages generally fall into two categories:
Economic damages, the financial losses that can be calculated with some precision:
- Loss of the financial support the decedent would have provided, including future lost earnings
- Loss of benefits, such as pension contributions or medical coverage
- The value of household services the decedent would have contributed (childcare, home maintenance, etc.)
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical expenses connected to the decedent’s final injury or illness
Non-economic damages, harder to quantify, but very real:
- Loss of the decedent’s love, companionship, comfort, care, and guidance
- Loss of consortium for a surviving spouse or partner
- Loss of the decedent’s training, guidance, and moral support for surviving children
One important note: California generally does not allow recovery specifically for the grief or emotional anguish of losing a loved one. Instead, damages focus on the tangible and relational losses described above: the support, companionship, and guidance the family has been deprived of.
Special Rules for Medical Malpractice Deaths
If the wrongful death resulted from medical negligence, California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) applies a cap to non-economic damages only. Economic damages remain uncapped. Since Assembly Bill 35 took effect on January 1, 2023, the wrongful death non-economic damages cap started at $500,000 and rises by $50,000 each year until it reaches $1,000,000 in 2033, after which it adjusts for inflation. Depending on how many separate categories of defendants are involved (individual providers, institutions, and unaffiliated providers or institutions), that cap can potentially “stack,” increasing the total available. You can read more from Governor Newsom’s official announcement on AB 35.
How Wrongful Death Connects to Personal Injury Law
Wrongful death is best understood as a branch of personal injury law. Both are built on the same core idea: someone breached a duty of care, and that breach caused harm, and both typically use the same negligence framework to establish fault. In fact, if the decedent had survived their injuries, they would have had a standard personal injury claim of their own. Wrongful death law essentially transfers a version of that right to the surviving family when the injury proves fatal.
That said, the two claims aren’t valued the same way. A personal injury case accounts for the injured person’s own pain, suffering, and future medical needs, losses that belong to them personally. A wrongful death case instead measures what the survivors lost: financial support, services, companionship, and guidance. Because a life cut short can sometimes be valued conservatively by a jury compared to a lifetime of ongoing pain and medical care, wrongful death claims are frequently combined with a survival action (covered above) to make sure both sets of losses, the decedent’s and the family’s, are captured.
Comparative Negligence: What If the Decedent Was Partly at Fault?
California follows a “pure comparative negligence” rule. If the decedent bears some responsibility for the accident that caused their death, for example, they were speeding when another driver ran a red light, the family’s recovery isn’t automatically barred. Instead, any damages awarded are reduced by the decedent’s percentage of fault. A jury that finds the decedent 20% responsible would reduce the total award by that same 20%, with the rest still recoverable from the at-fault party. This rule applies broadly across California personal injury and wrongful death cases, so it’s a common issue insurance companies raise to try to minimize a payout.
When a Minor Is Entitled to Settlement Funds
When a wrongful death settlement includes a minor beneficiary, a surviving child, for instance, California courts don’t let those funds simply get handed over to a parent or guardian. The case generally requires what’s called a “minor’s compromise,” where a judge reviews and approves the settlement terms specifically to protect the child’s interests. Funds awarded to a minor are typically placed in a blocked account or structured settlement until the child turns 18, rather than being immediately accessible. This is a step families aren’t always expecting, and it can add time to finalizing a settlement involving young children or grandchildren.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Under CCP Section 335.1, most wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death. There are important exceptions:
- Medical malpractice cases generally follow a separate, shorter deadline under CCP Section 340.5.
- Claims against a government entity (for example, a death caused by a city vehicle or a dangerous condition on public property) require a claim to be filed with the government agency within six months of the death, a much shorter window that’s easy to miss.
Missing these deadlines will generally bar the claim permanently, so it’s important not to wait to speak with an attorney.
Talk to a California Wrongful Death Attorney
Losing someone you love is never something the law can fully make right. But California’s wrongful death statutes exist to make sure families aren’t left carrying the financial burden of someone else’s negligence alone. If you’ve lost a loved one and aren’t sure whether you have standing to file a claim, or what compensation might be available, the team at Mesriani Law Group is here to help you understand your options.
Sources:
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60: Who may bring a wrongful death action
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61: Wrongful death damages
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.30: Survival actions
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1: Statute of limitations
- Governor Newsom’s office: AB 35 / MICRA modernization
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different, so consult a licensed California attorney about your specific situation.
