California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 identifies who has the legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit when someone dies because of another person’s or entity’s wrongful act or negligence. The statute sets out three groups of eligible claimants: close family members in a defined order of priority, certain people who were financially dependent on the decedent, and some minors who lived in the decedent’s household. A companion statute, CCP 377.61, governs what the court can award. Both operate under strict filing deadlines that, once missed, end the claim.
Who Is Eligible to Sue
CCP 377.60 arranges claimants in a hierarchy. The decedent’s personal representative can file on behalf of any eligible person, but the right to recover belongs to the people listed in the statute.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.60 – Wrongful Death
The Primary Tier
The first group of eligible claimants is the decedent’s surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, their children, and the children of any deceased children. If no one in that group survives, eligibility opens to whoever would inherit from the decedent under California’s intestate succession rules. In most families, that means parents first, then siblings. Where the parents would have qualified but have themselves died, the decedent’s legal guardians can take their place.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.60 – Wrongful Death
Financial Dependents
A second category covers people who were financially dependent on the decedent, whether or not they fit the primary tier. It includes a putative spouse (someone who genuinely believed they were legally married to the decedent even though the marriage was void or voidable), children of a putative spouse, stepchildren, and parents.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.60 – Wrongful Death A claimant in this category has to prove actual financial dependence on the decedent at the time of death.
Dependent Minors in the Household
The statute creates a separate route for a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for at least 180 days before the death and relied on the decedent for half or more of their financial support.1California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.60 – Wrongful Death This covers a child who had no formal legal tie to the decedent but was effectively being raised by them. The minor does not need to qualify under either of the other categories.
The Deadline to File
Three different limitation periods can apply, depending on who caused the death. Missing any of them typically ends the claim.
Two Years for Most Cases
Under CCP 335.1, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of death.2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 335.1 This covers most situations: motor vehicle collisions, workplace incidents, defective products. The clock begins on the date of death, not the date of the underlying wrongful act. Limited exceptions exist. If a claimant is a minor, the limitations period may be tolled until they turn 18. A discovery rule can apply where the connection between the death and the defendant’s conduct was not immediately apparent, in which case the clock starts when the claimant discovered or reasonably should have discovered that connection.3California Courts. Deadlines to Sue Someone
Medical Malpractice: Three Years or One Year, Whichever Comes First
When a healthcare provider’s negligence caused the death, CCP 340.5 governs. The lawsuit must be filed within three years from the date of injury or within one year of when the claimant discovered (or should have discovered) the injury, whichever expires first. The only exceptions that extend the three-year outer limit are fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign object left in the patient’s body.4California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 340.5
Six Months for Government Defendants
If a government employee or public entity caused the death, a written claim must be presented to that entity within six months of the date of death before any lawsuit can be filed.5California Legislative Information. California Government Code 911.2 No suit for money damages can proceed against a government entity until the entity has acted on the claim or the claim is deemed rejected. This is the deadline families most often miss. Six months passes quickly during grief, and courts will not excuse a late filing simply because the claimant did not know about the rule.
What Can Be Recovered Under CCP 377.61
CCP 377.61 lets the court award whatever damages are “just” under the circumstances of the case.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.61 Outside of medical malpractice, California does not cap noneconomic damages in wrongful death cases.
Economic Losses
Economic damages represent the financial contributions the decedent would have made had they lived: projected future earnings, lost employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions, the value of household services the decedent performed, and funeral and burial costs. Calculating these figures normally requires expert testimony from economists or vocational specialists who project the decedent’s earnings over their remaining working life.
Loss of Companionship and Support
Noneconomic damages compensate for losses without a market value: companionship, emotional support, guidance, and the comfort of the relationship. Each eligible claimant’s noneconomic damages are assessed individually. A surviving spouse’s loss-of-companionship claim is evaluated separately from a child’s loss of parental guidance.
No Punitive Damages
CCP 377.61 bars a wrongful death award from including any damages recoverable under CCP 377.34, the survival action statute.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.61 Punitive damages fall within the survival action framework, so they cannot be included in a wrongful death claim. If the defendant’s conduct was egregious enough to warrant punishment, that remedy is available only through a separate survival action.
The MICRA Cap on Medical Malpractice Cases
When the death resulted from medical malpractice, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, as amended by AB 35, caps noneconomic damages. For wrongful death cases, the cap started at $500,000 in 2023 and rises by $50,000 each year until it reaches its final level in 2033. For a case resolved in 2026, the applicable cap is $650,000. Economic damages such as lost earnings remain uncapped.
Why Many Families Also File a Survival Action
A wrongful death claim and a survival action are legally distinct, and treating them as the same leaves money on the table.
The wrongful death claim belongs to the survivors and compensates them for what they lost. The survival action belongs to the decedent’s estate. Under CCP 377.30, any cause of action the decedent could have brought while alive passes to their personal representative or successor in interest.7California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.30 The damages recoverable are the losses the decedent personally suffered before death: medical expenses, lost wages between injury and death, and punitive damages where the defendant’s conduct involved malice, oppression, or fraud.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.34 – Survival Actions
One recent change matters. From 2022 through 2025, survival actions could also recover damages for the decedent’s pre-death pain, suffering, and disfigurement. That provision expired on January 1, 2026. Survival actions filed in 2026 or later revert to the traditional rule that excludes those damages, unless the legislature extends the authorization.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 377.34 – Survival Actions
Filing both claims matters because wrongful death cannot include punitive damages and a survival action cannot include the survivors’ lost companionship. Only together do they capture the full compensation available.
Comparative Fault Reduces, But Does Not Bar, Recovery
California uses pure comparative fault, and the rule applies in wrongful death cases. If the decedent was partly responsible for the incident that caused their death, the family’s damages are reduced by the decedent’s percentage of fault. On a $1 million award where the decedent was found 30% at fault, the recovery would be $700,000. Unlike some states, California does not bar recovery even where the decedent bore the majority of the fault.
How the Money Is Treated After Settlement
Federal Taxes
Most wrongful death settlement proceeds are not subject to federal income tax. Under 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(2), damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness are excluded from gross income, whether paid as a lump sum or in periodic payments.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness That covers compensatory damages for lost financial support, loss of companionship, funeral costs, and the decedent’s pre-death medical expenses and pain. Two things are taxable: punitive damages must be reported as income on your federal return regardless of the underlying physical injury, and interest that accrues on a settlement between the award and payment is taxable as ordinary income.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 4345 – Settlements Taxability
Families receiving Supplemental Security Income should know that a lump-sum settlement counts as a resource. SSI’s resource limit in 2026 is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.11Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet A settlement that pushes countable resources above those thresholds can disqualify a recipient. A special needs trust set up before the funds are disbursed is the standard tool for preserving eligibility while still receiving compensation.
Medicare Reimbursement
If Medicare paid for medical treatment related to the injury that caused the death, federal law may require reimbursement out of the settlement. Medicare’s right of recovery depends on whether the settlement includes medical expenses. Where the settlement is based entirely on a wrongful death theory and no medical expenses were claimed or released, Medicare has no recovery rights against the payment. Keep the court pleadings and any amendments showing the basis of the claim; the government can request them if the characterization is disputed. When a settlement covers both wrongful death and medical expenses, Medicare’s recovery right applies and must be satisfied before the remaining funds are distributed.12Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Secondary Payer Manual – Wrongful Death Statutes
Attorney Fees and Costs
Wrongful death attorneys in California almost always work on contingency, collecting a percentage of the recovery rather than billing hourly. Fees typically run from 25% to 40% of the settlement or verdict, often rising at each stage of litigation. Costs are separate: filing fees (which vary by county), expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, medical record retrieval, deposition transcripts, and court reporter fees. In a contingency arrangement, the attorney usually advances these costs and deducts them from the recovery, but the terms differ by contract. Read the fee agreement carefully, especially whether costs are deducted before or after the attorney’s percentage is calculated, because that single detail can shift thousands of dollars.