Wrongful Death Lawsuit Lawsuit in California

California Wrongful Death Statute: California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 governs wrongful death claims. The action may be brought by the decedent's surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children. If none survive, the claim passes to anyone entitled to the decedent's property under intestate succession, including dependent parents and siblings. The claim belongs to the heirs directly—not to the estate—and a personal representative may also bring the action on their behalf.

Statute of Limitations: Under CCP § 335.1, wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death. Survival actions under CCP § 377.30 (for the decedent's own pre-death pain, suffering, and economic losses) are also governed by the two-year period, but the clock runs from the date of injury or discovery—not necessarily the date of death. Both deadlines must be tracked separately.

Recoverable Damages: California wrongful death damages include loss of financial support, loss of gifts or benefits the decedent would have provided, funeral and burial expenses, the reasonable value of household services, and loss of companionship, comfort, affection, society, and moral support. California expressly prohibits punitive damages in wrongful death actions (CCP § 377.61). Grief and mental anguish of survivors are not separate line items, but survival claims brought alongside wrongful death can recover the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering.

Venue and Procedural Notes: Wrongful death and survival claims are frequently filed together in the same California Superior Court action. California applies pure comparative fault, reducing damages by the decedent's percentage of fault. In mass tort cases with an underlying federal MDL (e.g., defective products causing death), California state court wrongful death claims may proceed concurrently with federal MDL proceedings.