Wrongful Death Claims
Bakersfield · Kern County, California
These are the hardest files we handle. The legal work is familiar; what is not familiar, to the family, is any of it — and that is where a lawyer who has done this many times before makes the difference.
The claim belongs to the family
A California wrongful death claim is brought by specific surviving family members — generally the spouse or domestic partner, the children, and in some circumstances other dependents or heirs. Determining who holds the claim is the first step, and getting it right at the outset prevents serious problems later.
Two claims often exist at once
Alongside the family’s wrongful death claim, there may be a survival claim belonging to the estate for what the decedent endured before death. They are separate claims with different damages, and they are frequently pursued together.
What the law allows a family to recover
California permits recovery for financial support the decedent would have provided, funeral and burial costs, and the loss of that person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, and guidance. No figure restores any of it. The obligation is to present the loss honestly and completely.
Handled at the family’s pace
We do not run these cases on a call-center schedule. Families need the facts explained once, plainly, by the lawyer actually handling the matter — and in Spanish when that is the language the family speaks at home.
A California wrongful death action generally must be filed within two years of the death. If a public entity may be responsible, a written claim is typically required within six months. Families are urged to have the matter reviewed early, even while other arrangements are still being made.