Reviewed by Adrianos Facchetti, Esq. California State Bar No. 243213. This page was reviewed for California personal injury accuracy, legal clarity, and usefulness for families considering a wrongful death claim after a fatal accident in Van Nuys or nearby San Fernando Valley communities. You can verify Adrianos Facchetti’s license through the California State Bar attorney search.
Lost a Loved One in Van Nuys? Start With What the Law Allows
A wrongful death claim may be available when someone dies because of another person’s negligence, recklessness, or a wrongful act. In California, eligible family members can seek compensation for funeral costs, lost financial support, loss of companionship, and other losses recognized under state law.
A lawyer familiar with these cases can help determine who may be legally responsible, what evidence needs to be preserved, whether insurance coverage applies, and what deadlines protect your family’s right to file. This matters throughout the San Fernando Valley, including areas around Van Nuys Boulevard, Victory Boulevard, Sherman Way, Sepulveda Boulevard, and the stretches of 101 and 405 freeway access that carry heavy traffic through the area.
A Van Nuys personal injury lawyer can also review whether the same incident supports related claims, including insurance disputes or property negligence, depending on how the death occurred.
What Counts as a Wrongful Death Claim in California?
A wrongful death claim is a civil claim brought by eligible survivors after a death caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, or wrongful act. Negligence generally means someone failed to act with reasonable care. Recklessness involves a disregard for a known risk. A wrongful act can include intentional conduct that causes a fatal injury.
This is separate from any criminal case tied to the same incident. A criminal case is handled by the government and focuses on punishing unlawful conduct. A wrongful death claim is a different legal process, typically brought by the family or other eligible survivors, and it focuses on compensating the people left behind for their losses.
Both processes can happen at the same time, and one doesn’t have to finish before the other begins.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
California law identifies specific people who may have the right to bring a wrongful death claim under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60.
This generally includes:
- A surviving spouse or domestic partner
- Surviving children
- In some situations, other heirs or dependent relatives, depending on the specific family circumstances
Eligibility isn’t always straightforward. Blended families, dependent relatives who weren’t married to the deceased, unmarried partners, estranged family members, or disagreements among potential heirs can all complicate who actually has the right to file and how a claim should be structured. If your family situation doesn’t fit neatly into the spouse-and-children category, that’s a question worth reviewing directly rather than assuming one way or the other.
Common Accidents That Can Lead to Wrongful Death in Van Nuys
Fatal accidents in Van Nuys and the surrounding San Fernando Valley happen in a range of settings, often tied to the area’s mix of busy boulevards, freeway access, and commercial and residential traffic.
- Car accidents, particularly at intersections along heavily traveled corridors
- Pedestrian crashes, including crosswalk and sidewalk collisions
- Truck and delivery vehicle collisions
- Motorcycle crashes
- Bicycle accidents
- Rideshare-related crashes
- Unsafe property conditions, including negligent security or hazardous premises
- Workplace or construction incidents
- Defective products
- Medical negligence, in cases involving a preventable error during treatment
If the fatal incident involved a passenger vehicle, our Van Nuys car accident lawyer resource explains how those claims are typically investigated. Commercial vehicle deaths often involve separate employer and insurance questions that our Van Nuys truck accident lawyer resource addresses in more detail. For someone struck while walking, our Van Nuys pedestrian accident lawyer resource covers the specific issues that come up in those cases, and fatal rider crashes are addressed through our Van Nuys motorcycle accident lawyer resource. Cyclists killed in traffic collisions have their own set of considerations, which our Van Nuys bicycle accident lawyer resource explains.
What Families Need to Prove
Most wrongful death claims come down to four basic elements, and understanding them in plain terms helps families know what a case actually requires.
Duty of care: The at-fault party had some legal obligation to act safely, whether that’s a driver following traffic laws, a property owner maintaining safe conditions, or a company properly training its employees.
Breach of duty: The at-fault party failed to meet that obligation through a specific unsafe action or a failure to act.
Causation: That failure directly caused the death, not just a contributing factor unrelated to what actually happened.
Damages: The family experienced real, provable losses as a result, whether financial, emotional, or both.
Every wrongful death claim depends on how well these four pieces can be supported with actual evidence, not just an account of what seems obvious after the fact.
Evidence That Can Help Establish Accountability
Building a wrongful death claim depends heavily on documentation, and much of it needs to be gathered quickly before it disappears.
- Police report or traffic collision report
- Incident report, if the death occurred on a property or at a workplace
- Witness contact information
- Surveillance footage from nearby businesses or properties
- Dashcam footage
- Photos and videos from the scene
- Medical records from the final treatment received
- The death certificate
- The autopsy report, if one was conducted
- Correspondence with insurance companies
- Vehicle damage evidence, including photos and repair estimates
- Employment and income records showing the deceased’s earnings
- Records showing household contributions, such as childcare or home maintenance the deceased provided
- Business or property records, if unsafe conditions on a property contributed to the death
- Commercial vehicle or employer records, if a working driver was involved
Some of this evidence has a short shelf life. Surveillance footage often gets overwritten within days or weeks. Vehicles get repaired or scrapped. Physical scene conditions change or get corrected. Witness memories fade the longer time passes. The sooner this evidence gets identified and preserved, the more complete the record will be if the case moves forward.
What Compensation May Cover After a Wrongful Death
California law allows several categories of compensation in a wrongful death claim, though what actually applies depends on the specific facts of each case. These may include:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical bills related to the final injury
- Loss of the financial support the deceased would have provided
- Loss of household services the deceased contributed
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of guidance, care, comfort, and support
- Loss of gifts or benefits the deceased regularly provided, where applicable
- Survival-action damages, if applicable
A survival action is different from a wrongful death claim, though the two sometimes arise from the same incident. A wrongful death claim focuses on what the family lost. A survival action may involve claims the deceased person could have brought themselves, such as pain and medical expenses between the time of injury and death, and it generally belongs to the deceased’s estate rather than directly to individual family members.
There’s no set formula or average value that applies across cases. What a specific claim is worth depends on the facts, the evidence, and the losses involved.
California Deadlines Families Should Know
Many California wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years, under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. That said, the exact timeline can vary depending on the specific facts of the case.
If a government entity, public property, a public vehicle, or a public employee was involved in the death, the deadline can be significantly shorter. California claims against government agencies often require a formal claim to be filed within six months under California Government Code Section 911.2, well before the standard two-year window would otherwise apply.
Even when the deadline seems far away, evidence should be preserved as early as possible. Surveillance footage, physical scene conditions, and witness memories don’t wait for a filing deadline. Every family’s situation is different, and it’s worth confirming the specific deadline that applies to your case rather than assuming the standard two-year rule covers every circumstance.
How Attorney Adrianos Facchetti Reviews Wrongful Death Claims
When a family reaches out after losing someone, the review starts with understanding exactly how the death happened and who may be legally responsible. That often means looking beyond the most obvious party, since more than one person or company can share liability depending on the circumstances.
The review also looks closely at what evidence already exists and what still needs to be gathered before it’s lost. This includes checking what insurance coverage may be available, whether a company, public agency, individual driver, property owner, or manufacturer may be involved, and whether commercial or employer policies apply in addition to personal coverage.
Understanding the financial and personal impact of the loss matters just as much. That includes what financial support the deceased provided to the family, what household services and day-to-day contributions are now missing, and whether a survival action may apply alongside the wrongful death claim. Throughout this process, we also make sure the applicable deadlines are identified and protected early, particularly in cases that may involve a government entity. For broader context on how these cases work across Los Angeles County, our Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer resource covers additional detail that may apply depending on where the incident occurred.
Talk Through a Van Nuys Wrongful Death Claim
If your family is trying to understand what happened and what options exist after losing someone in Van Nuys, we’re here to talk through it at your own pace. This conversation costs nothing, and there’s no obligation to move forward afterward.
The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti offers a free consultation, with no upfront cost and no fee unless we recover compensation for your family. We won’t promise a specific outcome before understanding what happened, but we can help you understand what your options actually look like. Reach out through our website when your family is ready.
FAQs About Van Nuys Wrongful Death Claims
Who can file a wrongful death claim in California?
Generally a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children of the deceased. Other relatives or dependents may be eligible depending on the specific family circumstances under California law.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in California?
Many claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. If a government entity or public property was involved, that deadline can be much shorter, sometimes as little as six months.
What is the difference between wrongful death and a survival action?
A wrongful death claim covers the family’s own losses, including lost financial support and companionship. A survival action involves claims the deceased person could have brought themselves, such as pain and medical costs before death, and generally belongs to their estate.
Can a wrongful death claim be filed if there is also a criminal case?
Yes. A wrongful death claim is a separate civil matter from any criminal prosecution. The two cases can proceed independently, and one doesn’t need to finish before the other begins.
What compensation can a family recover after wrongful death?
Depending on the facts, this may include funeral and burial costs, medical bills tied to the final injury, lost financial support, loss of household services, and loss of companionship and guidance.
How do you prove negligence in a wrongful death case?
Generally by showing the at-fault party owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach directly caused the death, resulting in real, provable losses for the family.
What evidence is important in a Van Nuys wrongful death claim?
Police or incident reports, surveillance and dashcam footage, witness information, medical and autopsy records, the death certificate, and financial records showing the deceased’s income and household contributions.
How much does it cost to hire a Van Nuys wrongful death lawyer?
The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti works on a contingency basis, meaning there’s no upfront cost and no fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
