Wrongful Death Claims After a Fatal Vehicle Collision

Attorney Answer

I am sorry. As his surviving spouse you are the person California law puts first in line to bring a wrongful death claim, and the ordinary deadline is two years. That is the short version. Almost everything else — who else must be included, which insurance responds, and whether a shorter deadline applies — depends on facts this page does not have, and one of those possibilities is short enough that it is worth checking within days rather than months.

Who may sue is set by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60(a). It allows a wrongful death action to be brought by the decedent's surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and the issue of deceased children, and, if there is no surviving issue, by the persons who would be entitled to the decedent's property by intestate succession. A surviving spouse sits at the top of that list. California treats wrongful death as a single action rather than a set of separate suits, so other eligible family members are normally brought into the same case; the mechanics of that are for a lawyer to handle, not something to work out in advance.

The deadline is Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1: "Within two years: An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another." That section covers death, so it is the period that ordinarily governs.

On fault, the standard is Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) — responsibility for injury occasioned to another by a want of ordinary care. If a driver's insurer suggests your husband was partly responsible, understand what that does and does not mean. In Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978), the California Supreme Court reaffirmed California's pure comparative system: responsibility is assigned in proportion to each party's negligence, and a recovery is reduced only to the extent the injured person's own lack of reasonable care contributed. A share of blame reduces a claim. It does not end it.

One warning. If a government vehicle, a transit agency or a public entity was involved in any way, Cal. Gov't Code § 911.2(a) requires a claim to be presented to that entity within six months of when the cause of action accrues — far shorter than two years, and missing it can bar the claim entirely. If there is any possibility of that here, it is the first thing to tell a lawyer.

What you can do

1. Request the traffic collision report from the agency that investigated, and keep a copy of everything you receive.

2. Keep the records that prove the loss: medical and ambulance bills, funeral and burial expenses, and documents showing his income and benefits.

3. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver's insurer and do not sign anything they send — including a release or a medical authorization — until a lawyer has read it.

4. If any public entity or government vehicle may be involved, tell a local attorney immediately because of the six-month claim deadline in Cal. Gov't Code § 911.2(a).

5. Ask a local attorney which family members have to be part of the case, and about any insurance beyond the driver's own policy.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who practices in your area is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 generally allows two years for a wrongful death claim, and Cal. Gov't Code § 911.2(a) cuts that to a six-month claim presentation where a public entity is involved. Which applies, and when the clock started, depends on facts a page cannot see. Have a local attorney review the actual dates now rather than near the end of either period.