Wrongful Death

Losing a family member because someone else was careless is a devastation no settlement can undo. But California law recognizes that the loss is also financial and practical: the income your loved one earned, the care they provided, the future your family planned together. A wrongful death claim exists to make the responsible party — not your family — bear those costs. Miracle Law APC represents grieving families across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire with the urgency and care these cases demand.

What Counts as Wrongful Death in California

A wrongful death claim arises when a person dies because of another party’s negligence or wrongful act. Common examples we handle include:

• Fatal car accidents caused by speeding, impaired, or distracted drivers
• Truck accidents involving commercial carriers and their corporate insurers
• Motorcycle accidents where a driver failed to see or yield to a rider
• Fatal falls and other unsafe-property incidents
• Workplace fatalities and third-party claims connected to job-site deaths
• Medical negligence, including fatal birth injuries

The scale of the problem is sobering: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 40,901 traffic deaths nationwide in 2023, and California consistently records around 4,000 roadway fatalities per year according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Behind every number is a family facing exactly what yours is facing now.

Who Can File, and What Can Be Recovered

California’s wrongful death statute (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60) gives the right to sue to the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children first, then to other heirs and certain financial dependents. Damages generally fall into two categories:

Economic losses

Funeral and burial costs, the financial support the deceased would have contributed over their expected lifetime, and the value of household services — childcare, home maintenance, caregiving — that now must be replaced.

Non-economic losses

The loss of your loved one’s love, companionship, comfort, care, guidance, and moral support. Juries take these losses seriously, and so do we. Insurers, on the other hand, routinely undervalue them — which is one of the main reasons families with experienced counsel recover more.

A related survival action (filed by the estate) can also recover damages the deceased sustained between the injury and death, and punitive damages in egregious cases such as DUI fatalities.

Deadlines Move Faster Than Grief

Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death under CCP § 335.1. If a government entity shares responsibility — a city vehicle, a dangerous road design, a public facility — your family may need to file a formal government claim within six months. Evidence disappears even faster: vehicle data, surveillance footage, and witness memories degrade within weeks. The sooner an attorney begins preserving evidence, the stronger your case.

How Miracle Law Handles Wrongful Death Cases

1. We take over all insurance contact. Adjusters often approach families quickly, sounding sympathetic while positioning for a low settlement. Once we’re retained, they talk to us.
2. We investigate thoroughly. Accident reconstruction, black-box data, employment records, and expert economists who can quantify a lifetime of lost support.
3. We build the full human story. A wrongful death case is about who your loved one was — not just what they earned.
4. We prepare every case for trial. Insurers pay full value when they know your lawyers will actually try the case.

How long does a wrongful death case take?

Every case is different. Some resolve in months when liability is clear and policy limits are modest; cases against trucking companies, hospitals, or public entities can take a year or longer, especially if trial becomes necessary. What we can promise is momentum: your case will never sit in a drawer, and you’ll always know what’s happening and why. We also help families manage practical pressures in the meantime — coordinating with creditors, probate counsel, and benefit providers so a slow insurer can’t starve you into a cheap settlement.

Our results include a $5 million wrongful death recovery. Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes, but they tell insurance companies we don’t accept discounted settlements for grieving families. You can review more of our work on our results page.

Talk to Us Before You Talk to the Insurance Company

Founder Tamar Miot is a former insurance defense attorney — she spent years on the insurers’ side and knows exactly how they evaluate and minimize fatal-accident claims. Now she uses that knowledge for families like yours.

The consultation is free, we come to you if travel is difficult, and there is no fee unless we win. Call (888) 843-5290 or contact us online any time, day or night. Hablamos Español.