Orange County Wrongful Death Lawyer
Lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence in Orange County? Nothing can undo that loss, but a wrongful death claim can hold the responsible party accountable and give your family financial stability. We help families understand who can bring the claim, meet California’s deadlines, and prove what happened.
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Last updated: October 2026 · Reviewed by Faud Haghighi, Esq., Founder & Lead Trial Attorney
How Can an Orange County Wrongful Death Lawyer Help Your Family?
An Orange County wrongful death lawyer helps the family of someone killed by another’s negligence identify who may bring the claim, prove what happened, and recover compensation for lost financial support, funeral costs, and the loss of love, companionship, and guidance, while meeting California’s strict deadlines.
No legal claim can make up for losing someone you love. What a wrongful death case can do is hold the responsible party accountable and give the family financial stability after the loss of income, care, and support. The Law Offices of Faud Haghighi represents families throughout Orange County and Southern California from offices in Aliso Viejo and Tustin. Faud Haghighi handles each case personally, so the family works directly with the attorney preparing the case.
| Wrongful death claims at a glance | What it means for your family |
|---|---|
| Who can file | Generally the spouse or domestic partner and children, or, if none, the heirs; certain dependents may also qualify. |
| Two related claims | The family’s wrongful death claim and the estate’s survival action are often filed together. |
| One case together | Eligible family members generally bring a single joint action, so all heirs should be identified early. |
| Deadlines | Generally two years from the death, but only six months for a written claim if a public agency is responsible. |
| Criminal case | Separate; the family’s civil case can proceed whether or not charges are filed. |
| Fees | Free, confidential consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you. |
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought by certain family members when a person dies because of someone else’s wrongful act or negligence (Code Civ. Proc. §377.60). Common causes include car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian crashes, drunk-driving crashes, unsafe property conditions, defective products, and workplace incidents caused by someone other than the employer.
The family’s claim is separate from any criminal case. A criminal prosecution can punish the person responsible, but it does not compensate the family, and a civil case can go forward whether or not criminal charges are filed. The civil case also uses a lower standard of proof than a criminal case.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in California?
The closest family members, or the personal representative of the estate on their behalf: generally the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, children, and the children of a deceased child. If there are none, the people who would inherit under California’s intestate succession law may bring the claim.
| Who may bring the claim | When |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children | Always eligible under §377.60(a) |
| Those who would inherit by intestate succession (for example, parents or siblings) | If the person who died left no surviving spouse, partner, or descendants |
| Putative spouse, children of a putative spouse, stepchildren, and parents | If they were financially dependent on the person who died (§377.60(b)) |
| A minor who lived in the household | If the minor lived there for the previous 180 days and depended on the person for at least half of their support (§377.60(c)) |
California generally requires the eligible family members to join in one wrongful death action rather than filing separate lawsuits, so it helps to identify all heirs early.
What Compensation Can a Family Recover?
The family can recover the financial support and household services they lost, funeral and burial costs, and the loss of the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, protection, affection, society, and moral support. California does not allow damages for the family’s grief or sorrow itself.
- Economic losses: the financial support the person would have contributed, gifts or benefits the family would have received, the value of household services, and funeral and burial expenses.
- Non-economic losses: the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support; for a spouse, the loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations; and for children, the loss of training and guidance.
Punitive damages are generally not available in the wrongful death claim itself, except where the death resulted from a homicide for which the defendant was convicted of a felony (Civ. Code §3294(d)).
There is no reliable “average wrongful death settlement.” Value depends on facts such as the person’s age, health, earnings, and role in the household, the closeness of each family member’s relationship with them, the strength of the evidence of fault, and the insurance available.
What Is a Survival Action?
A survival action is a separate claim that belongs to the person who died and is brought by the estate’s personal representative or successor in interest. It recovers the losses the person suffered before death, such as medical bills and lost earnings, and can include punitive damages (Code Civ. Proc. §377.34).
For survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, California law generally does not allow recovery for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement the person experienced before death. A temporary exception covered survival actions filed from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025. Survival and wrongful death claims are often filed together, and deciding how to bring both is one of the first strategic questions in a fatal case.
How Is Fault Proven in a Wrongful Death Case?
The family must show the defendant was negligent or acted wrongfully and that this caused the death, using the same kinds of evidence as an injury case: police and coroner reports, scene evidence, video, witnesses, and expert analysis. If the person who died was partly at fault, California’s comparative negligence rule reduces the family’s recovery by that share; for example, if the family’s losses are valued at $600,000 and the person who died is found 20% at fault, the family recovers $480,000. When the cause of death is disputed, medical experts and accident reconstruction can be decisive. Read more about why expert witnesses matter.
How Are Fatal Accidents Handled in Orange County?
In Orange County, the Sheriff-Coroner investigates many accidental deaths, and the police or CHP investigates fatal crashes; both reports are often central evidence in the family’s civil case. Fatal crashes frequently happen on high-speed freeways and toll roads, on wide arterials where pedestrians cross, and on winding roads such as Ortega Highway. Wrongful death lawsuits are filed in the Orange County Superior Court, whose Central Justice Center in Santa Ana hears civil cases from every city in the county. Read more about what to expect at the Orange County Superior Court.
If a dangerous road, sidewalk, or other public property contributed to the death, a written claim to the public agency is generally due within six months. Learn more about dangerous conditions of public property.
How Long Does a Family Have to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
Generally two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit, but only six months to present a written claim if a public agency is responsible.
| Situation | Deadline | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Wrongful death lawsuit | 2 years from the date of death | CCP §335.1 |
| Claim against a city, the county, the state, or another public agency | Written claim within 6 months | Gov. Code §911.2 |
| Missed the 6-month government claim deadline | Late-claim application, no more than 1 year after the claim accrued | Gov. Code §911.4 |
| Lawsuit after a government claim is rejected | 6 months from the written rejection | Gov. Code §945.6 |
This page explains California law in general terms as of October 2026. Laws change and exceptions apply, so it is not legal advice about your situation.
Evidence such as video, vehicle data, and witness memories fades quickly, so families are usually best served by getting advice well before these deadlines.
How Does Faud Haghighi Help Families After a Fatal Injury?
Fatal cases are often the most contested and the highest-stakes, which is the kind of case Faud Haghighi’s practice centers on. He has practiced law in California since 2012, has resolved cases against insurance carriers and large corporate defendants, and prepares each case as if it will go to trial. He handles each case personally, coordinates the wrongful death and survival claims, and works with the experts needed to prove both fault and the family’s losses.
We represent families throughout Orange County and Southern California, including Irvine, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, and Aliso Viejo. Many fatal cases begin as car, truck, or pedestrian crashes; if your loved one survived for a time with life-changing injuries, see catastrophic injury claims.
Lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence? Call (949) 313-7656 or request a free, confidential consultation. There is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
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Faud Haghighi, Esq.
Founder & Lead Trial Attorney
An Orange County trial attorney representing people injured by someone else's negligence — in car and truck crashes, slip-and-falls, premises accidents, and other serious-injury cases. Faud builds each case with the right medical and liability experts, preserves the evidence early, and prepares every file for trial — and you work directly with him, start to finish.
CA State Bar since 2012 · Aliso Viejo & Tustin
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Orange County Wrongful Death FAQs
Generally the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, children, and children of a deceased child, or if there are none, the people who would inherit by intestate succession. Dependent stepchildren, parents, and putative spouses, and certain dependent minors in the household, may also qualify (CCP §377.60).
Yes, if the adult child left no spouse, domestic partner, or children, because parents would then inherit by intestate succession. Parents can also sue if they were financially dependent on their child, even when there is a surviving spouse or children.
Lost financial support and gifts, the value of household services, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, protection, affection, society, and moral support. California does not compensate grief or sorrow itself.
A wrongful death claim compensates the family for its own losses. A survival action belongs to the person who died and recovers their losses before death, such as medical bills and lost earnings, and can include punitive damages. The two are often filed together.
For survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, generally no; California law limits survival damages to losses such as medical bills and lost earnings, plus any punitive damages. A temporary exception allowed pain and suffering in survival actions filed from 2022 through 2025.
Generally two years from the date of death (CCP §335.1). If a public agency is responsible, a written claim generally must be presented within six months (Gov. Code §911.2). Talk to a lawyer early, because evidence fades long before those deadlines.
No. The civil wrongful death case is separate and can move forward whether or not criminal charges are filed, though the timing sometimes interacts. A criminal conviction can help prove the civil case, but it isn’t required.
Generally no. California treats wrongful death as a single joint action, so eligible family members usually must bring one case together, and the recovery is divided among them. Identifying every heir early helps avoid problems later.
The family can still recover. Under California’s comparative negligence rule, the recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the person who died, but it is not eliminated.
Generally not in the wrongful death claim itself, unless the death resulted from a homicide for which the defendant was convicted of a felony (Civ. Code §3294(d)). Punitive damages may be available in the separate survival action if the legal standard is met.
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for your family, and the consultation is free.
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How We Handle Your Family's Wrongful Death Case
From your first call to the final resolution, here’s what working with the Law Offices of Faud Haghighi looks like — a clear, six-step path built to take the pressure off you and pursue the full recovery you’re owed. There’s no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
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