San Diego Wrongful Death Lawyer

A wrongful death claim is the civil action a family brings after someone dies because of another person’s negligence or misconduct. It cannot undo the loss. It can hold the responsible party accountable and replace the income, support and services the family has lost.

Mackie Injury Lawyers handles fatal accident claims throughout San Diego County — from the courthouse on Union Street to the North County and South County divisions. We investigate the cause, deal with the insurers and, where the offer does not reflect the loss, try the case.

Who can file a wrongful death claim in California

California sets out who may bring a wrongful death action in Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60. The first in line are the deceased person’s:

• Surviving spouse or registered domestic partner
• Children, and the issue of any child who has died

If there is no surviving spouse, partner or child, the claim passes to the heirs who would inherit the estate under California’s intestacy rules. Parents can also qualify in some circumstances, particularly where they were financially dependent on the deceased. A personal representative may bring the action on the family’s behalf.

Where several people qualify, they share a single claim, and the court can divide the recovery between them. That makes it important to identify every beneficiary at the start rather than after a settlement is on the table.

What California law allows a family to recover

Code of Civil Procedure § 377.61 governs the damages. They generally cover:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• The financial support the family would reasonably have received
• The value of household services and contributions the deceased provided
• Loss of companionship, comfort, care and society
• Loss of guidance and training, where a parent has died

California does not permit a separate award for the family’s grief, and it does not permit damages for the deceased person’s own pain and suffering in a wrongful death action. Those limits are why the financial and relational losses have to be documented carefully, with employment records, tax returns, witness statements and, where appropriate, expert testimony.

The two-year deadline — and the six-month exception

Under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, a wrongful death action must be filed within two years of the date of death. If the death was caused by a public entity or a public employee — a city vehicle, a defective road, a transit agency — a written government claim generally has to be presented within six months under Government Code § 911.2 before a lawsuit can be filed. That deadline catches families by surprise and is difficult to undo. If a public entity may be involved, the claim should be assessed immediately.

California’s comparative fault rule

California applies pure comparative negligence. If the deceased was partly at fault, the family’s recovery is reduced by that percentage rather than barred outright. The practical effect is that the fight is usually about proportion: the insurer will try to push a large share of fault onto the deceased, and the evidence has to be strong enough to resist it.

Where San Diego cases are filed

Fatal claims are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego. Depending on where the death occurred, the case may be heard at the Central Courthouse at 1100 Union Street in downtown San Diego, the North County Division at 325 South Melrose Drive in Vista, or the South County Division at 500 Third Avenue in Chula Vista.

Fatal accidents we handle in San Diego

• Fatal car and truck crashes on I-5, I-8, I-15, I-805, SR-94 and SR-163
• Motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities
• Fatal crashes involving commercial trucks, rideshare vehicles and delivery vans
• Drowning, boating and water-related deaths
• Fatal workplace incidents, including construction and maritime work
• Nursing home neglect and medical negligence

What to do in the first days

1. Obtain the death certificate and the coroner’s report.
2. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer, including your own.
3. Preserve the vehicle, phone, dash camera and GPS data.
4. Photograph the scene and identify witnesses early.
5. Have the government-claim question assessed before the six-month window closes.

How we handle the case

We begin with liability and causation: what happened, who was responsible, and what evidence will prove it. From there we build the loss picture — income, benefits, household contributions and the family relationships the statute recognises — and we bring in reconstruction and economic experts where the case needs them. The family gets a clear explanation of each step and a direct line to the lawyer handling the file.

There is no fee unless we recover compensation. The initial consultation is free.

Related: San Diego personal injury · San Diego car accidents · wrongful death overview