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Losing a loved one because of another person’s negligence changes every part of a family’s life. When the fatal incident happened in Santa Monica, the legal claim can involve urgent evidence from police agencies, medical providers, businesses, hotels, rideshare companies, property owners, public entities, and insurers before the family has had time to grieve. The Law Offices of Asher Hoffman represents families in Santa Monica wrongful death cases involving fatal car accidents, pedestrian and bicycle crashes, motorcycle collisions, rideshare incidents, truck accidents, dangerous property conditions, falls, negligent security, dog attacks, and other preventable deaths.
No civil claim can replace the person who was taken. A wrongful death case can hold the responsible party accountable and recover the financial support, services, companionship, care, guidance, and household contributions California law allows surviving family members to claim. Our firm handles these cases with urgency, direct attorney involvement, and careful attention to the human story behind the loss. Call (877) 792-4529 for a free consultation with a Santa Monica wrongful death lawyer. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Santa Monica is compact, busy, and unusually dense with visitors, commuters, pedestrians, cyclists, buses, scooters, delivery vehicles, rideshare drivers, hotel traffic, restaurants, apartment buildings, beach parking, and public spaces. Fatal incidents near the Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade, Ocean Avenue, Main Street, Montana Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard, Lincoln Boulevard, Pico Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard, Pacific Coast Highway, and the I-10 can involve several overlapping sources of evidence.
A fatal crash near the I-10 terminus may involve California Highway Patrol records, vehicle event data, traffic-signal timing, witness statements, nearby business video, and insurance coverage disputes. A pedestrian death near Downtown Santa Monica may require surveillance footage from hotels, restaurants, retail properties, parking structures, rideshare pickup zones, or city-controlled cameras. A fatal fall at a hotel, apartment complex, store, restaurant, or parking garage may turn on inspection records, maintenance logs, incident reports, cleaning schedules, and proof of prior complaints.
Families should not have to chase those records alone. We move quickly to identify every responsible party, preserve video and physical evidence, notify insurers, coordinate with investigating agencies, and protect the family’s right to bring both wrongful death and survival claims when the law permits.
Wrongful death cases can arise from many kinds of negligent conduct. In Santa Monica, our firm investigates fatal incidents involving:
Every case requires a fact-specific review. A family may have claims against a driver, vehicle owner, employer, rideshare company, property owner, commercial tenant, maintenance contractor, security company, government entity, manufacturer, or another party whose conduct contributed to the death.
California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 identifies who may bring a wrongful death claim. The right usually belongs first to the surviving spouse, domestic partner, and children of the person who died. If there is no surviving spouse, domestic partner, or child, the claim may belong to others who would inherit under California intestate succession rules, which can include parents or siblings depending on the family structure.
California law also allows certain financially dependent family members to bring claims in defined circumstances, including a putative spouse, children of a putative spouse, stepchildren, parents, and a minor who lived in the household for at least 180 days before the death and depended on the deceased for at least half of their support. Standing can become complicated when families are blended, when adult children live in different places, when a parent was dependent on the deceased, or when there are competing family claims. We help families identify the proper claimants early so the case is filed correctly.
A wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving family members and focuses on what they lost because of the death. A survival action belongs to the estate and is brought by the personal representative or successor in interest under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.30. A survival action can seek losses the deceased person suffered before death, including medical expenses, lost earnings before death, property damage, and in many cases pain, suffering, and disfigurement damages when permitted under current California law.
Many serious cases include both claims. For example, if a person was struck near Pacific Coast Highway, transported to a local emergency department, received treatment, and later died, the family may have a wrongful death claim and the estate may also have a survival claim. The distinction matters because damages, claimants, evidence, and settlement structure may differ.
Most California wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. That deadline is important, but it is not the only deadline families need to know.
If a public entity may be responsible, the family may need to present a government claim within six months. This can matter when the incident involved the City of Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, Caltrans, Big Blue Bus, Metro, a dangerous roadway condition, a public sidewalk, a city-controlled parking structure, a public employee, a public vehicle, or another government-controlled location. Missing the government-claim deadline can seriously damage or end the case even though the ordinary two-year deadline has not expired.
Evidence deadlines can be even shorter. Video may be overwritten within days or weeks. Vehicles may be repaired, sold, or destroyed. Rideshare app data, delivery records, maintenance logs, inspection reports, incident reports, and witness memories can disappear quickly. Early legal action helps preserve the proof before it is lost.
The evidence depends on how the death occurred. In a fatal traffic case, we may pursue police reports, CHP reports, 911 calls, body-camera footage, traffic-signal data, nearby video, black-box data, vehicle inspections, cell phone records, toxicology records, rideshare app records, delivery logs, photographs, roadway measurements, and witness statements. In a premises case, we may seek surveillance video, inspection records, maintenance logs, cleaning schedules, incident reports, lease documents, prior complaints, security policies, lighting records, and contractor agreements.
Medical and damages evidence is also central. We gather hospital records, emergency transport records, medical examiner or coroner records, employment records, tax records, benefit information, family photographs, testimony from relatives, and evidence of the care, support, guidance, household services, and companionship the person provided. A strong wrongful death case must show both liability and the full depth of the family’s loss.
California wrongful death damages may include the financial support the deceased would have contributed, the value of household services, funeral and burial expenses, loss of gifts or benefits, and the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, training, and guidance. The exact categories depend on the relationship between the claimant and the deceased.
Insurers often try to narrow the case to income records or argue that a family member’s grief is not compensable in the way the family understands it. We prepare these claims carefully, using records, witness testimony, financial analysis, and the lived reality of the family relationship to show what was taken.
Our firm handles the legal and insurance burden so the family can focus on each other. We investigate the incident, preserve evidence, identify defendants and insurance coverage, coordinate with probate counsel when needed, gather medical and damages records, work with reconstruction and damages experts when appropriate, negotiate with insurers, and file suit when a fair resolution is not offered.
We also understand that families need clear communication. You should know what is happening, why it matters, what decisions need to be made, and what the next step is. Our clients have direct access to their attorney and a team that treats a wrongful death case with the seriousness it deserves.
As soon as your family is ready. Early investigation can preserve video, vehicle evidence, witness statements, rideshare data, maintenance records, and government-claim rights that may disappear quickly.
No. A wrongful death case is a civil claim. It can proceed even if no criminal charges are filed, and the civil standard of proof is different from the criminal standard.
California wrongful death claims generally need to account for all eligible heirs. We help identify the proper claimants and work to avoid procedural problems that can delay or complicate the case.
A six-month government-claim deadline may apply if a public entity may be responsible. Those cases should be reviewed immediately so the claim is preserved correctly.
The consultation is free. We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
I can’t say enough about how grateful I am for the team that helped me after my motorcycle accident. From day one, they treated me with respect and compassion, while also fighting aggressively on my behalf. The process of dealing with insurance companies and medical bills was overwhelming, but they walked me through every step, […]
My boyfriend and I were getting the runaround from an at-fault driver and their insurance after my very first car accident in Los Angeles back in February, so I decided to find a lawyer to help us out with the process. Working with Asher Hoffman made all the difference. He was communicative, patient, and always […]
Asher is absolutely amazing! After my car accident, I was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do, but he made the whole process so much easier. He’s very attentive, caring, and really goes above and beyond for his clients. I always felt supported and confident knowing he was handling my case. He not only got […]
I hope you never need a lawyer due to a car accident, but if you do, Asher Hoffman is the best! I had never been in a car accident this serious before and was rattled, stressed, and scared to say the least, suffering injuries and the total loss of my car. From our first meeting […]
I am so grateful to have had Asher Hoffman as my accident attorney. From the very beginning, he was professional, compassionate, and dedicated to my case. Asher always took the time to explain every step of the process in a way that was easy to understand, and he made sure I felt supported throughout. His […]
