California’s wrongful death law allows surviving family members or the estate to sue for damages when a person dies as the result of someone else’s wrongful act – whether the act was negligent, reckless, or intentional. The law is outlined in the statute Code of Civil Procedure 377.60.
A settlement or verdict may pay out damages for:
- Burial and funeral expenses for the decedent,
- Amounts the deceased would have earned as income,
- pain and suffering and disfigurement of the decedent,
- Compensation for the loss of the deceased’s companionship and support.
These cases are similar to a cause of action for “loss of consortium” under California law. Loss of consortium applies when a spouse or registered domestic partner is deprived of the companionship and intimacy of a living partner due to someone’s wrongful act.
A wrongful death suit is frequently coupled with a California “survival” cause of action under CCP 377.30. Survival causes of actions are brought on behalf of the victim’s estate to compensate for losses suffered by the victim (as opposed to the family) from the wrongful act.
Note that punitive damages are not available in a wrongful death lawsuit in California. The only way to get punitive damages from wrongdoers is through a survival cause of action.
Below, our California personal injury lawyers will discuss:
- 1. Who has standing to sue for wrongful death in California?
- 2. When is a wrongdoer liable for the death?
- 3. What damages can be recovered?
- 4. How is a “survival” action different?
- 5. What is the statute of limitations?
California’s wrongful death statute is Code of Civil Procedure 377.60.
1. Who has standing to sue for wrongful death in California?
California Code of Civil Procedure 377.60 allows the following family members (or their personal representatives) to bring a lawsuit:
- Surviving spouses,
- Domestic partners,1
- Children,
- Grandchildren (if the deceased person’s children are also deceased),
- Other minor children (such as stepchildren) who were dependent on the deceased for at least 50% of their financial support, and
- Anyone else who would be entitled to the deceased’s property under California’s laws on intestate succession.
For more discussion, see our page on Who can sue for wrongful death?
2. When is a wrongdoer liable for the death?
Survivors in the state of California can bring a wrongful death action for any type of claim based on
- negligence,
- gross negligence,
- recklessness or
- an intentional wrongful act.
Wrongful acts that are a cause of death can include (without limitation):
- Car accidents (including being hit by a DUI driver),
- Pedestrian “knock-downs”,
- “Slip-and-fall” accidents,
- Drowning,
- Assault and battery,
- Murder or manslaughter,
- Elder abuse or neglect,
- Child abuse or neglect, and
- Medical malpractice.
Heirs can also sue in “strict liability” if their loved one was killed by a dog bite or mauling or defective product in California, even if the defendant was not negligent.2
Note that a person could be found liable for wrongful death even if he/she was acquitted in a related criminal case.
3. What damages can be recovered?
California wrongful death damages may include monetary support, the medical, burial and funeral expenses of the victim, the value of household services the victim would have given had they lived, and the loss of any gifts or other benefits that the victim was expected to have provided to family.
Settlements are typically paid out either as a lump sum (all at once) or as part of a structured settlement with payments being made over time. Such compensatory damages can include both economic and non-economic losses. We discuss each of these monetary damages in detail, below.
The period for which such damages are recoverable is the shorter of:
- The deceased individual’s life expectancy at the time of the wrongful act, or
- The life expectancy of the plaintiff at the time of the wrongful act.3
“Life expectancy is a question of fact for the jury,” explains Los Angeles wrongful death attorney Neil Shouse, “taking into account all relevant factors including health, lifestyle and occupation.”4
3.1. Economic damages
“Economic damages” in California can include (without limitation):
- The financial support the deceased would have contributed to the family during their lifetimes;
- The loss of gifts or benefits the heirs could have expected to receive from the deceased;
- Funeral and burial expenses;5 and
- The reasonable value of household services the deceased would have provided.6
3.2. “Non-economic” damages
“Non-economic damages” can include, without limitation, compensation for the loss of the deceased’s:
- Society and companionship,
- Protection,
- Affection,
- Moral support,
- Training and guidance, and
- Sexual relations.
As of 2022, plaintiffs can also get damages for the decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement.7
There is no fixed standard for deciding the amount of noneconomic damages in a California wrongful death case. A jury can award any amount that is reasonable based on the evidence and common sense.
Oddly, noneconomic damages may not include amounts for the heir’s grief, sorrow or pain and suffering caused by their loved one’s death.8
3.3. Can heirs get punitive damages?
No. An heir cannot generally recover punitive damages in wrongful death cases under California law.9 (The exception is if the deceased was killed as the result of felony homicide for which the defendant has been convicted).10
Punitive damages may be available, however, through a “survival action” on behalf of the decedent’s estate.11
Two years is the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in California.
4. How is a “survival” action different?
California wrongful death lawsuits are sometimes combined with a so-called “survival action” under California Code of Civil Procedure 377.30.
While a wrongful death lawsuit compensates the deceased person’s surviving family members for their losses, a survival lawsuit lets the heirs sue on behalf of the deceased’s estate.
A survival legal action can compensate the deceased person’s estate for two types of losses:
- Claims unrelated to the death and which the deceased had the right to sue for as of the date of death, and/or
- Claims for the injury that caused the death, provided the person survived those injuries for at least some period of time (no matter how short).
Survival actions are complicated and we discuss them in detail in a separate article. But one important difference is that a survival action can include an award for punitive damages.
Note additionally that these two actions can be, and often are, tried together when they arise out of the same underlying wrongful act.
Example: Martin’s wife, Emma, goes into the hospital for a routine procedure. But the anesthesiologist makes an error and Emma ends up in a coma. One month later, she passes away.
Martin brings two lawsuits against the hospital: a wrongful death action for Martin’s loss of Emma’s income and companionship, and a medical malpractice action, which “survives” Emma’s death.
5. What is the statute of limitations?
The California wrongful death statute of limitations and survival actions is two years.
In a wrongful death case, the two-year time period to sue the responsible party “accrues” (starts running) on the date of death.
For survival actions, the estate has a two-year time limit to sue from the later of:
- The date of an injury, or
- Six months after death.
Legal references:
-
- A “domestic partner” is a person who, at the time of the decedent’s death, was a registered domestic partner in accordance with California Family Code 297(b). In some cases, the putative spouse can sue as well. See also A.S. v. Miller (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Apr. 12, 2019), 245 Cal. Rptr. 3d 872, 34 Cal. App. 5th 284. See also A.G. v. County of Los Angeles (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Oct. 1, 2018), 239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 162, 28 Cal. App. 5th 373.
- See, e.g., Barrett v. Superior Court (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 1176.
- See California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) 3921.
- Allen v. Toledo (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 415.
- Vander Lind v. Superior Court (1983) 146 Cal.App.3d 358.
- See California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) 3921, note 3.
- Same. See also Allen v. Toledo, note 4. California Senate Bill No. 447 (2021).
- Krouse v. Graham (1977) 19 Cal.3d 59.
- See notes to CACI 3921, note 3.
- California Civil Code 3294(d). See also Romo v. Ford Motor Co. (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 738.
- California Code of Civil Procedure 377.34.
- California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. See also Marteney v. Elementis Chems. Inc. (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Oct. 5, 2018), 240 Cal. Rptr. 3d 1, 28 Cal. App. 5th 862.