Sacramento is more than just California’s capital—it’s a city with layers. From government buildings and healthcare centers to busy freeways and older neighborhoods, it’s a place where life moves fast and unpredictably. That complexity carries over into its legal system too.
While wrongful death lawsuits here follow California state laws, there are local specifics that matter—like how Sacramento courts operate, how quickly cases are processed, and what resources exist for grieving families.
For example, California gives you just two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. That might sound like a lot of time, but in legal terms, it’s not. The process takes time, from gathering records and evidence to identifying who’s responsible and who’s allowed to file the claim.
And because so many wrongful death cases in Sacramento stem from car accidents, medical malpractice, or dangerous property conditions, knowing the city’s common accident spots and legal expectations and working with legal experts from Jacoby & Meyers wrongful death lawyers is important.
Who Can File the Lawsuit?
California is pretty specific about who can file a wrongful death claim. It’s usually the people closest to the person who passed away, like a spouse, domestic partner, or children. If none of those people are around, others who were financially dependent on the person may also be able to file.
Sometimes, the person bringing the claim is the official “personal representative” of the deceased person’s estate. That means they’re in charge of handling legal matters for the person who passed. In other cases, it might be a parent, stepchild, or even someone who was considered a putative spouse, i.e., basically someone who thought they were married to the deceased.
What Kind of Compensation Can You Get?
In legal terms, this is called damages. In wrongful death cases, there are two main types: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are the money you’ve actually lost, for example, the cost of your loved one’s medical treatment, funeral expenses, and any lost income they would’ve earned. It can also include things like the value of services the person used to provide, like childcare, if they were the primary caregiver at home.
Non-economic damages cover the more emotional things like the pain of losing companionship, love, and emotional support. These are harder to measure, but they’re just as important.
Sometimes, the court might also award punitive damages, especially if the person who caused the death acted in an especially reckless or harmful way. This isn’t about compensating you. It’s about punishing the wrongdoer and sending a message to others not to act the same way.
What If the Victim were a Child or an Elderly Person?
The law gets a little more complicated here. When a child dies, the financial value of the loss isn’t just about what they earned because they weren’t working yet. So, the court looks at things like the child’s age, health, and what their future earning potential might have been.
They also consider the parents’ relationship with the child and how much emotional and financial support is expected in the future.
With elderly victims, the court usually assumes they’re no longer earning money, especially if they’re retired. That means the award might be smaller, not because their life mattered less, but because the law is focused on financial loss.
Still, the family can be compensated for the loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional suffering.
Can You File a Survival Action Too?
In addition to a wrongful death claim, California also allows a survival action. This is a separate claim that’s filed on behalf of the person who passed, sort of like what they would have sued for if they had survived the incident, like pain and suffering or lost wages from the time of injury to the time of death.
Survival actions are a little more complex, but in many cases, families choose to file both a wrongful death claim and a survival action together. A good lawyer can help you figure out whether this makes sense for your situation.
