Los Angeles Wrongful Death Lawyer

Los Angeles Wrongful Death Attorneys Representing Families Throughout Los Angeles County

At the Law Offices of Asher Hoffman, we represent Los Angeles families who have lost a loved one due to the negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of another person or company. Wrongful death cases are among the most complex and emotionally demanding matters in personal injury law. No attorney can restore what your family has lost. What skilled legal representation can do is hold the responsible party accountable and secure the financial recovery that California law provides to surviving family members.

Founding attorney Asher Hoffman has spent more than a decade representing seriously injured Californians and their families. He understands that a wrongful death case is not just a legal matter. It is a family’s fight for recognition of what was taken from them. Our firm handles every wrongful death case with that weight in mind: direct attorney access, honest strategy, and the willingness to take a case to trial when insurers refuse to offer fair value.

If your family lost a loved one in a fatal car accident, truck crash, construction accident, pedestrian fatality, motorcycle accident, or any incident caused by another’s negligence in Los Angeles or anywhere in Los Angeles County, contact us for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for your family.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim Under California Law?

California’s wrongful death statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, allows certain surviving family members to bring a civil claim against the party whose negligence, recklessness, or wrongful act caused the death of their loved one. A wrongful death claim is entirely separate from any criminal proceedings arising out of the same incident. A criminal conviction is not required for a wrongful death case to succeed.

Under CCP section 377.60, the following persons may bring a wrongful death claim:

• The surviving spouse or domestic partner.
• The surviving children of the deceased.
• If no surviving spouse or children, the surviving parents, siblings, or other persons who would inherit under California’s intestate succession laws.
• A putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents who were financially dependent on the deceased may also have standing in defined circumstances.

A closely related claim, the survival action under CCP section 377.30, allows the personal representative of the deceased’s estate to recover for pain and suffering, medical expenses, and economic losses the deceased incurred before death. In serious cases, both a wrongful death claim and a survival action are filed together.

Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations in California

California law gives surviving family members two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). Missing that deadline almost always means permanently losing the right to recover. However, certain circumstances can shorten or toll the limitations period. Claims against a government entity, such as the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, the California Department of Transportation, or a public transit agency like LACMTA, require a government tort claim within six months of the date of death. Do not wait. Evidence disappears, witnesses become harder to locate, and the legal clock runs regardless of where you are in the grieving process.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles metropolitan area’s size, traffic density, and industrial activity produce a wide range of fatal incidents that give rise to wrongful death claims:

• Fatal car accidents — freeway crashes on the 405, 5, 10, 101, and 110, and high-speed arterial collisions throughout the city and county. See our Los Angeles car accident page for more detail on how we handle vehicle-collision cases.
• Fatal truck accidents — commercial carrier crashes involving 18-wheelers, box trucks, and delivery vehicles. These cases often involve federal motor carrier regulations, hours-of-service violations, and corporate defendants with aggressive defense teams. See our Los Angeles truck accident page.
• Fatal motorcycle accidents — Los Angeles roads are particularly dangerous for motorcyclists. Lane-splitting and visibility failures contribute to an outsized number of fatalities. See our Los Angeles motorcycle accident page.
• Fatal pedestrian accidents — Los Angeles has some of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in California, particularly along Figueroa, Vermont, Western, Avalon, and similar high-volume corridors. See our Los Angeles pedestrian accident page.
• Construction site deaths — falls, struck-by incidents, and equipment failures on job sites governed by Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA standards.
• Slip and fall and premises liability deaths — including fatal falls from heights, pool drownings, and stairway collapses on negligently maintained property. See our Los Angeles slip and fall page.
• Dog attack fatalities — California Civil Code section 3342 imposes strict liability on dog owners. See our Los Angeles dog bite page.
• Medical malpractice deaths — surgical errors, anesthesia failures, and diagnostic errors at Los Angeles hospitals and medical facilities.
• Uber, Lyft, and rideshare fatalities — commercial driving incidents involving TNC platforms, which carry distinct insurance requirements under California PUC regulations.

Damages Available in a California Wrongful Death Case

Under CCP section 377.61, the measure of damages in a wrongful death case is the “financial support, services, training, advice, and counsel” that the deceased would have provided to surviving family members, as well as non-economic losses. Specifically, surviving family members may recover:

• Loss of financial support — the income the deceased would have earned and contributed to the family over their remaining working life, reduced to present value.
• Loss of household services — the economic value of domestic services (childcare, cooking, home maintenance) the deceased regularly provided.
• Loss of companionship, comfort, and society — non-economic damages for the loss of the relationship, love, guidance, and companionship that family members no longer have.
• Loss of training and guidance for minor children — the parental influence and mentorship the deceased would have provided.
• Funeral and burial expenses.

Note: California wrongful death law does not allow recovery for grief, emotional distress, or pre-death pain and suffering of the deceased in the wrongful death claim itself. Those losses may be addressed through a companion survival action under CCP section 377.30. Additionally, unlike medical malpractice cases, there is no MICRA cap on wrongful death damages in non-malpractice personal injury cases.

California applies its pure comparative negligence doctrine (established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804) to wrongful death cases. If the deceased bore some share of fault for the incident, the family’s recovery is reduced proportionately — but not eliminated.

Los Angeles Courts Handling Wrongful Death Cases

Wrongful death cases in Los Angeles County are typically filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The appropriate courthouse depends on where the incident occurred and the residence of the parties. The primary civil venues include:

• Stanley Mosk Courthouse (111 N Hill St, Los Angeles) — the main Central District courthouse for civil litigation.
• Spring Street Courthouse (312 N Spring St, Los Angeles) — federal court for cases meeting diversity jurisdiction thresholds, often involving out-of-state corporate defendants.
• Compton Courthouse and Long Beach Courthouse — for incidents in South Bay and South LA communities.

When the defendant is a government entity, the matter proceeds through the Government Claims Act process before litigation can begin.

Hospitals and Trauma Centers Serving Los Angeles Wrongful Death Cases

When a loved one dies in a Los Angeles incident, medical records from treating facilities are central to building the case timeline. Major trauma centers and hospitals frequently involved in serious-injury and fatal incident cases in Los Angeles County include:

• LAC+USC Medical Center (Level I trauma center, 2051 Marengo St, Los Angeles)
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (8700 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles)
• Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Level I trauma center, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles)
• Keck Hospital of USC (1500 San Pablo St, Los Angeles)
• Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Level I trauma center, 1000 W Carson St, Torrance)

Coroner’s records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner are often critical evidence in wrongful death cases. Our firm is experienced in obtaining and analyzing these records.

Why Wrongful Death Cases Require Experienced Representation

Wrongful death claims involve layered legal, economic, and procedural complexity that distinguishes them from standard personal injury matters. The defendants in these cases are typically insurance companies, large corporations, government agencies, or medical institutions with full-time legal defense teams. Several factors make skilled representation essential:

• Apportionment among claimants. Where multiple family members have standing, California law requires a single wrongful death action. Disputes among family members over the distribution of any recovery add internal complexity that must be managed carefully.
• Economic modeling. Proving the financial value of what the deceased would have earned and contributed over a lifetime requires forensic economic experts, vocational analysis, and actuarial data — not a spreadsheet.
• Liability investigation. Fatal incidents require rapid evidence preservation: accident reconstruction, drone photography, black-box data, cell phone records, Cal/OSHA and CHP investigation files, autopsy reports, and witness statements. Evidence degrades and disappears quickly after a fatal incident.
• Insurance coverage analysis. Many wrongful death cases involve stacked coverage — primary liability, umbrella, excess, UIM, and possibly commercial or premises coverage. Identifying every available policy layer directly affects the recovery available to the family.

Why Families Choose the Law Offices of Asher Hoffman

• Direct attorney contact. Your family speaks with Asher Hoffman and our team directly, not routed through a call center or junior case manager.
• Trial-ready approach. We prepare every case as though it will go before a Los Angeles jury. That preparation shifts settlement dynamics in our clients’ favor.
• No upfront fees. We handle wrongful death cases on a pure contingency basis. You owe nothing unless we recover compensation for your family.
• Candid communication. We tell families the honest truth about case value, likely timelines, and litigation risk. We do not inflate expectations to sign clients.
• Southern California offices. We are based at 4929 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 410, Los Angeles, CA 90010, and serve families throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death Claims in Los Angeles

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in California?
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, surviving spouses, domestic partners, and children have priority standing. If none survive, parents and siblings may have standing. Financial dependents may also qualify in some cases. A single wrongful death action must typically be filed by and for all eligible family members together.

How long do we have to file a wrongful death case in Los Angeles?
California’s statute of limitations for wrongful death is two years from the date of death (CCP section 335.1). For government-entity defendants, a tort claim must be filed within six months of the date of death. Missing either deadline is usually fatal to the claim. Contact an attorney immediately.

Can we file a wrongful death claim if there was also a criminal case?
Yes. A wrongful death civil case is independent of any criminal prosecution. A criminal acquittal does not bar a civil recovery. The civil burden of proof — a preponderance of the evidence — is lower than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

What if our loved one was partly at fault?
California’s pure comparative negligence rule allows recovery even if the deceased was partially at fault. The recovery is reduced by the deceased’s percentage of fault, but is not eliminated unless fault is determined to be 100 percent.

How much is our Los Angeles wrongful death case worth?
Case value depends on the deceased’s age, income, and family relationships; the nature and severity of the surviving family members’ losses; the strength of the liability evidence; and the available insurance coverage. We provide an honest assessment during your free consultation. There is no universal formula, and any attorney who quotes a number before reviewing the facts should be treated with skepticism.

How long does a wrongful death case take in Los Angeles?
Wrongful death cases involving insurance companies with incentives to settle may resolve in less than a year. Complex cases involving government entities, large corporations, or disputed liability may take two to four years through trial. We keep families informed at every stage.

Contact Our Los Angeles Wrongful Death Attorneys Today

Losing a loved one due to someone else’s negligence is a devastating experience. The legal process cannot undo that loss. But it can hold the responsible party accountable and provide the financial security your family needs to move forward.

If your family lost a loved one in a fatal accident or incident anywhere in Los Angeles or Los Angeles County, contact the Law Offices of Asher Hoffman today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will listen to your family’s story, explain your legal rights honestly, and fight for the recovery your family deserves.

Call (877) 792-4529 or reach out online to get started. There is no fee unless we win.

Fatal Bicycle Crashes in Los Angeles

Cyclist fatalities on LA streets continue to climb, particularly on Figueroa, Venice Boulevard, and PCH. When a family loses a loved one in a bicycle crash, the wrongful death case usually involves uninsured motorist coverage, possible LADOT or City of Los Angeles liability for road defects, and sometimes rideshare or delivery driver issues. Our Los Angeles bicycle accident lawyer page covers the liability framework that applies to fatal cycling crashes in LA County.