What areas in Los Angeles County do our wrongful death lawyers serve?
If your family lost a loved one anywhere in Los Angeles County, GoSuits is ready to help. While we are based in LA, our legal team serves families throughout the region, from the coastal South Bay communities to the busy streets of the San Fernando Valley and the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley.
We understand that fatal accidents happen everywhere: on the I-405 through Sepulveda Pass, on surface streets like Vermont Avenue and Western Avenue, in workplaces near the Port of Los Angeles, and in residential neighborhoods across the Westside and Mid-City. No matter where the loss occurred, we bring local knowledge and trial-tested skill to protect your family’s rights and pursue the compensation California law allows.
Los Angeles County is home to nearly 10 million people and consistently records one of the highest counts of traffic fatalities of any county in the country, according to California Highway Patrol Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) data. We know the unique risks across different parts of the county and tailor our approach accordingly.
Areas we commonly serve
- Central LA and Downtown: Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, Mid-City, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park
- Westside: Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood, West LA, Culver City, Mar Vista, Palms
- San Fernando Valley: Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Northridge, Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood
- San Gabriel Valley: Pasadena, El Monte, Alhambra, Monterey Park, Arcadia, Rosemead
- South Bay and Harbor: Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City
- Antelope Valley and North County: Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita
- Southeast LA: Norwalk, Bellflower, Pico Rivera, Whittier
Wherever you are in Los Angeles County, we are just a call away and ready to step in when your family needs guidance after a sudden loss.
What is a wrongful death claim under California law?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought by surviving family members when a person dies because of another party’s negligent, reckless, or intentional act. In California, the right to bring this claim is created by statute, specifically California Code of Civil Procedure §377.60. The wrongful death cause of action is separate from any criminal case the state may file, and it focuses on the financial and emotional losses the family has suffered.
California law also recognizes a related cause of action called a survival action under CCP §377.30. A survival action is brought by the deceased person’s estate and recovers the losses the decedent personally suffered between the time of injury and the time of death, such as medical bills and lost earnings during that period. A 2022 amendment to CCP §377.34 also allowed pain and suffering damages, but only in survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026; for actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, those damages are generally no longer recoverable. Many fatal-injury cases involve both a wrongful death claim by the heirs and a survival action by the estate, filed together.
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles?
Under CCP §377.60, only certain people have legal standing to file a wrongful death claim in California. The statute lists them in a clear hierarchy:
- The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, and children
- If there is no surviving issue (children or grandchildren), then the people who would inherit under California’s laws of intestate succession, including parents and siblings
- The decedent’s putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, parents, or legal guardians, if they were financially dependent on the decedent
- A minor who lived in the decedent’s household for at least 180 days and was dependent on the decedent for at least one-half of their support
California follows a “one action” rule for wrongful death. All eligible heirs must be joined in a single lawsuit, and the court then apportions any recovery among them based on each heir’s individual losses. We help families work through this hierarchy carefully so no eligible heir is excluded and no settlement is later challenged for failure to join all proper parties.
What damages can a Los Angeles family recover after a wrongful death?
California allows three broad categories of damages in fatal-injury litigation: economic damages and noneconomic damages in the wrongful death claim, and survival damages in the companion survival action.
Economic damages are the measurable financial losses the family suffered because of the death. These include the financial support the decedent would have contributed to the family during their working life, the loss of gifts or benefits the heirs would have expected to receive, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of household services the decedent provided, such as childcare, home maintenance, and caregiving. We work with forensic economists and life-care planners to project these losses across the decedent’s full work-life and life expectancy.
Noneconomic damages compensate for the human losses that are real but harder to put a number on: the loss of the decedent’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, and, where applicable, the loss of training and guidance a parent would have provided to a child. California does not impose a statutory cap on noneconomic damages in standard wrongful death cases.
Survival action damages under CCP §377.34 cover the losses the decedent personally sustained from the moment of injury until death, including medical expenses, lost wages during that period, and property damage. For survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, the statute also allowed recovery of the decedent’s pre-death pain, suffering, and disfigurement. That allowance was not extended, so for actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, those damages are generally not recoverable. Punitive damages may also be available in survival actions when the defendant’s conduct was malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent.
What is the deadline to file a wrongful death claim in California?
California sets a strict two-year deadline for wrongful death lawsuits, found in Code of Civil Procedure §335.1. The clock generally starts running on the date of death, not the date of the underlying accident. Missing this deadline almost always means the claim is barred forever, no matter how strong the underlying facts are.
Several situations can shorten or change this timeline. If a public entity is involved, such as a death caused by a Los Angeles Metro bus, an LADOT vehicle, or a hazardous condition on city or county property, the California Government Claims Act requires a written claim to be filed within six months under Government Code §911.2. Medical-event cases involving healthcare providers have their own complex timing rules. Because these deadlines move quickly, the safest step is to talk with a wrongful death attorney soon after the loss so evidence, witnesses, and statutory deadlines are all preserved.
Common types of wrongful death cases we handle in Los Angeles
Fatal incidents take many forms. The legal claim, the responsible parties, and the available insurance coverage often differ from one type of case to the next. These are the categories we see most often in LA.
Fatal car and freeway crashes
LA’s freeway system, the I-5, I-10, I-110, I-405, US-101, and SR-110, sees some of the highest-volume traffic in the country. Fatal multi-vehicle crashes, wrong-way collisions, and high-speed rear-end impacts are tragically common. We obtain CHP traffic collision reports, dashcam and surveillance footage, vehicle event data recorder downloads, and toxicology results to identify every responsible driver and every applicable insurance policy. Families dealing with non-fatal injuries from the same crashes can read more on our LA car accident team page.
Fatal truck and commercial vehicle crashes
Big-rig crashes on the I-5 through the Grapevine, the I-710 corridor near the Port of Los Angeles, and the I-15 toward the high desert often involve catastrophic injuries and complex multi-defendant liability. We move within days to send spoliation letters preserving the truck’s electronic logging device data, driver hours-of-service records, dispatch communications, and maintenance files. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations create powerful evidence in these cases. For the broader practice context, see our Los Angeles truck accident lawyers page.
Fatal motorcycle crashes
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, motorcyclist fatalities in California have stayed near record highs in recent years. LA’s lane-splitting traffic, blind intersections in the canyons, and high-speed merges on the I-405 and SR-134 make rider fatalities common. We work with reconstruction professionals to refute the unfair “rider was speeding” narrative insurers often default to. Surviving riders and families can also visit our Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys for related practice information.
Pedestrian, bicycle, and rideshare fatalities
LA’s high-injury network, identified by Vision Zero Los Angeles, concentrates pedestrian fatalities along corridors like Vermont, Western, Figueroa, and Sepulveda. Rideshare and delivery driver fatalities raise added questions about which insurance layer applies under California Public Utilities Commission rules and the 1 million dollar coverage requirement during active rides.
Workplace and construction fatalities
Falls from height, trench collapses, struck-by-equipment incidents, and electrocutions on LA construction sites are leading causes of worker deaths. While workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against the direct employer, third-party wrongful death claims against general contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners often run in parallel and provide the bulk of the recovery families receive.
Defective product and dangerous premises fatalities
Fatalities caused by defective vehicle components, unsafe consumer products, or hazardous conditions on commercial property bring claims under California’s strict products liability doctrine and premises liability law. We preserve the product, retain engineering professionals, and pursue every entity in the chain of distribution.
How fault and comparative negligence affect a Los Angeles wrongful death case
California uses a pure comparative negligence rule. If the decedent is found partially at fault for the incident that caused their death, the family’s recovery is reduced by that percentage, but it is never barred entirely. For example, if a jury awards 2 million dollars in damages and finds the decedent 25 percent at fault, the family recovers 1.5 million dollars. Insurance companies often push hard on comparative fault arguments in wrongful death cases because the decedent cannot tell their side. Our job is to rebuild the timeline using physical evidence, witness statements, traffic camera footage, and reconstruction analysis so the decedent’s voice is heard in the case.
Choosing the right wrongful death attorney in Los Angeles
Hiring a wrongful death attorney is one of the most consequential decisions a grieving family makes. You are not just looking for a lawyer who handles accident claims. You are looking for a firm that has tried catastrophic-injury and fatal-injury cases to verdict, that knows how to navigate the LA Superior Court system at Stanley Mosk and the Spring Street Courthouse, and that can stand up to the largest insurance defense firms in California.
Ask any firm you interview how often their attorneys try cases to verdict, how they structure the apportionment of recovery among heirs under California’s “one action” rule, and how they coordinate with probate counsel when a survival action requires opening an estate. Look for named recognition from independent groups like TopVerdict, National Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers as one factual data point among many. Ask whether they work on a contingency basis so your family pays nothing unless they recover. Trust your instinct on whether the attorney listens, explains the law in plain English, and treats your loss with the seriousness it deserves.
Understanding California’s wrongful death and survival statutes
California’s wrongful death framework is statutory, meaning the rules come directly from specific code sections rather than common-law tradition. The core authorities are Code of Civil Procedure §377.60 (who can sue for wrongful death), §377.61 (rules of damages and apportionment), §377.30 (who can bring a survival action), §377.34 (what the estate can recover), and §335.1 (the two-year statute of limitations). When a public entity is involved, Government Code §§810 through 996.6 add a separate set of pre-suit notice requirements.
California also follows a pure comparative negligence rule established by the Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. Damages are typically split into economic categories (calculable financial losses) and noneconomic categories (the human losses of love, companionship, and guidance). Punitive damages are available in survival actions under Civil Code §3294 when the defendant’s conduct was malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent, but California does not generally allow punitive damages in the wrongful death cause of action itself.
Understanding how these statutes interact matters because the right combination, wrongful death plus survival, plus the right pleading of comparative fault, plus correct timing under §335.1 or the Government Claims Act, is what determines the maximum compensation your family can recover. Early guidance from a firm that handles fatal-injury matters regularly helps make sure deadlines are met and every category of damages is properly preserved.
How GoSuits Los Angeles wrongful death lawyers can help you
Losing a family member is the kind of event no legal process can undo. What we can do is take the legal weight off your shoulders so you can grieve, support your family, and start to rebuild. From the moment you call us, we begin gathering CHP and LAPD reports, requesting coroner records from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, preserving vehicle and scene evidence with formal spoliation notices, and identifying every potentially responsible party and every layer of insurance coverage that may apply.
We work with medical providers who can review the decedent’s care on a lien when needed, with forensic economists who project the full economic loss across the decedent’s expected work-life, and with life-care planners who quantify the household contributions the family will now have to replace. If grief counseling or trauma-informed mental health support helps the surviving spouse, children, or parents, we coordinate referrals to local providers across LA County. From your first call through the day the settlement clears and is distributed among heirs, we handle rental car coordination if a vehicle is involved, arrange medical care on a lien with no upfront cost, and negotiate those liens down at the end so more of every dollar reaches the family the law was designed to protect.
What sets the GoSuits LA personal injury practice apart is our deep familiarity with the Los Angeles County legal system. We know how cases move through Stanley Mosk Courthouse, how to navigate Probate Division when a survival action requires opening an estate, and how to anticipate the standard delay tactics of the major insurance defense firms in California. You will receive regular case updates, secure digital access to your file, and a prompt response when you reach out. To start the process, you can schedule a free consultation with our team at any time, day or night. Many families also find it useful to learn about the broader scope of our Los Angeles personal injury team before making any decision.
We work on a contingency fee basis, which means your family pays nothing up front and owes a fee only if we recover compensation on your behalf. Our trial attorneys have tried cases to verdict in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and members of our team have been recognized by independent legal groups including TopVerdict, National Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers. That recognition is one data point among many, but it reflects a consistent commitment to serious case preparation and trial readiness, the qualities that matter most when an insurer decides to test you instead of paying fair value.
For more resources, explore our Knowledge Base, including our guide to how much most personal injury cases settle for.
