Attorney Michael Rehm — (800) 978-0754

California law provides a specific cause of action for families who lose someone to another person's negligence. That cause of action — wrongful death — is separate from a survival action, has its own standing rules, and produces different categories of recoverable damages. The distinction between what heirs can recover and what a decedent's estate can recover matters in every wrongful death case and determines how a case is structured from the outset.

Attorney Michael Rehm handles wrongful death cases throughout Oakland and Alameda County arising from traffic crashes, commercial vehicle accidents, premises liability, and other negligent conduct.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in California

A wrongful death action in California is governed by Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60. The persons entitled to bring the action include: the decedent's surviving spouse or domestic partner; the decedent's surviving children; and, if there are no surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children, the persons who would be entitled to the decedent's property by intestate succession — including parents and siblings. Putative spouses and stepchildren who were dependent on the decedent may also have standing in specific circumstances under § 377.60(b).

All wrongful death claimants must join in a single action. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61. A wrongful death plaintiff who fails to join all claimants risks having the action dismissed or consolidated with a later-filed action by omitted claimants.

Wrongful Death Damages

California wrongful death damages are recoverable by the heirs, not the estate. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61. The categories of recoverable damages include:

• The financial support the decedent would have provided to the plaintiffs during the decedent's life expectancy (lost financial support)
• The loss of gifts or benefits the plaintiffs would have expected to receive from the decedent
• Funeral and burial expenses
• The reasonable value of household services the decedent would have provided
• The loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support (loss of consortium)
• The loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations (for surviving spouses)
• The loss of training and guidance the decedent would have provided to children

Wrongful death damages in California do not include the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering, which belongs to the survival action, not the wrongful death action. They also do not include punitive damages against a public entity. The measure of wrongful death damages is what the plaintiffs lost — not what the decedent suffered.

Jury Instruction CACI 3921 sets out the elements of wrongful death damages. Future financial support is typically calculated by an economist using the decedent's earning history, life expectancy tables, and projected contributions to the household. Loss of consortium and guidance are noneconomic losses that are harder to quantify but may constitute the largest component of a wrongful death award.

The Survival Action

A survival action is distinct from a wrongful death action. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.30. A survival action is brought by the decedent's estate — through a personal representative — and recovers damages the decedent could have recovered had they survived. That includes the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering, pre-death lost earnings, and medical expenses incurred before death. Survival action damages flow to the estate and are subject to probate; wrongful death damages flow directly to the heirs and are not part of the estate.

Both causes of action can — and typically should — be brought in the same lawsuit when the same negligent act caused both the pre-death injury and the death.

Wrongful Death Claims Involving Government Entities

When a death results from the negligence of a City of Oakland vehicle, an AC Transit bus, a BART train, or another government entity's operation, the Government Claims Act requires a written claim be filed within six months of the date of death. Government Code § 911.2. The six-month deadline for wrongful death claims runs from the date of death, not the date of the underlying accident if those differ. Failing to present a timely claim bars the wrongful death lawsuit. Government Code § 945.4. Punitive damages are not available against public entities in California.

Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death

The statute of limitations for a wrongful death action in California is two years from the date of death. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. This is a separate limitations period from the two-year personal injury statute — the wrongful death limitations period runs from the date of death regardless of when the underlying accident occurred. Missing this deadline can potentially bar the wrongful death claim entirely. Tolling may apply in limited circumstances.

Oakland Wrongful Death Context

The City of Oakland recorded 30 traffic fatalities in 2024, 33 in 2023, and 36 in 2022. City of Oakland, Monitoring Traffic Deaths in Oakland, oaklandca.gov. Pedestrians and bicyclists account for a disproportionate share of those deaths. When a traffic death occurs on a named High Injury Network corridor — particularly International Boulevard, MacArthur Boulevard, Bancroft Avenue, or Foothill Boulevard — the city's published identification of that corridor as high-injury is part of the factual record relevant to any claim against the city involving that location.

Where Oakland Wrongful Death Cases Are Filed

Oakland wrongful death lawsuits are filed in Alameda County Superior Court, René C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Alameda County's Direct Calendar system assigns each case to a single judge for all purposes including trial under Local Rule 3.120.

Related Pages

• Oakland Personal Injury Attorney
• Oakland Car Accident Attorney
• Oakland Truck Accident Attorney
• Oakland Pedestrian Accident Attorney
• Oakland Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Attorney Michael Rehm handles wrongful death cases throughout Oakland and Alameda County on a contingency fee basis. No fee without a recovery. Call (800) 978-0754 to arrange a free consultation.

The information on this page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts. The law can change — statutes are amended, cases are decided, and regulations are revised; nothing on this page should be relied upon as a statement of current law without verification. Deadlines and legal bars discussed on this page are general guides — whether a particular deadline applies, has run, or is subject to tolling, and whether a particular doctrine bars or limits recovery in your case, requires individual analysis. Contact Attorney Michael Rehm to discuss the specific facts of your situation.