Wrongful Death Attorney in West Covina, CA

There is no version of this page that makes what happened to your family better. What a wrongful death case can do is hold the responsible party accountable, secure the financial future of the people who depended on the person you lost, and answer the questions nobody else is going to answer.

Djougourian Law Corp handles wrongful death matters for families across the San Gabriel Valley, arising from freeway and arterial collisions, commercial truck crashes, construction and work zone fatalities, falls, and premises failures.

California’s Wrongful Death Framework

California recognizes two related but distinct claims.

Wrongful death, under Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60, belongs to surviving family members and compensates them for their own losses.

A survival action, under Code of Civil Procedure Sections 377.30 and 377.34, belongs to the decedent’s estate and recovers losses the decedent sustained before death, including medical expenses and lost earnings.

The two are typically brought together.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim

Section 377.60 sets the order of standing:

The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, and the surviving children
If there is no surviving issue, those entitled to the decedent’s property by intestate succession, generally parents or siblings
Putative spouses and their children, stepchildren, children of a putative spouse and parents, where they were dependent on the decedent
A minor who resided in the decedent’s household for at least 180 days and was dependent on the decedent for at least half of their support

Sorting out who has standing early avoids serious procedural problems later, particularly in blended and multigenerational households, which are common in West Covina.

Damages

Economic. The financial support the decedent would have provided over their expected working life and lifetime, the value of household services they performed, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of gifts and benefits the survivors would have expected.

Non-economic. Loss of the decedent’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support, and for a spouse, loss of intimacy. For children, loss of a parent’s training and guidance.

California does not permit recovery for the survivors’ own grief as a separate item, and does not permit punitive damages in a wrongful death claim itself, though punitive damages may be available in a survival action in appropriate cases.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death in West Covina

Freeway collisions on I-10 and SR-60, where impact energy is highest. NHTSA projected 39,345 traffic deaths nationally in 2024.

Intersection crashes on Azusa Avenue, Amar Road, Vincent Avenue and Sunset Avenue, where broadside impacts are frequently fatal.

Impaired driving, which accounts for close to a third of U.S. traffic deaths per NHTSA.

Commercial truck crashes, where the large majority of those killed are not occupants of the truck.

Pedestrian and bicycle collisions.

Construction and work zone fatalities, with construction recording more fatal work injuries than any other private sector industry per BLS.

Falls, particularly from height and among older adults.

Premises failures, including inadequate security and dangerous property conditions.

Medical negligence.

What Handling These Cases Well Requires

Immediate investigation. Vehicles are repaired or salvaged, scenes are cleared and video is overwritten within weeks. The West Covina Police Department Traffic Unit investigates all fatal collisions within the city, and the CHP handles freeway fatalities. Obtaining and, where necessary, challenging those investigations takes work that has to start while the family is still in the earliest part of grief, which is precisely why it should not be the family doing it.

Coordinating with any criminal case. A prosecution runs on its own track, and a conviction is not required for civil liability.

Establishing standing and probate, including opening an estate where a survival action is brought.

Economic proof. Economists calculate lifetime support, including projected earnings growth, benefits and the value of household services.

Insurance investigation. Personal, commercial, umbrella and excess coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do we have?

Generally two years from the date of death under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. Claims against a public entity require a written claim within six months under Government Code Section 911.2. Medical negligence claims have their own shorter deadlines.

Do we have to wait for the criminal case?

No. The civil case proceeds independently and has a lower burden of proof.

What if our family member was partly at fault?

Recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, not eliminated.

What if there is no will or estate?

The wrongful death claim belongs to the survivors directly. A survival action requires a personal representative, and we can help open the estate.

What if the death happened at work?

Workers’ compensation death benefits are available, and a third-party claim against a non-employer defendant may provide substantially more.

How long does a case take?

Most resolve after investigation and negotiation. Contested cases with serious damages commonly take two to three years.

Contact a West Covina Wrongful Death Attorney

We will handle the case so your family can handle everything else. Call 818-530-0000 or contact us when you are ready. There is no cost to talk with us and no fee unless we recover.