Lost a loved one in a Sacramento accident? A wrongful death lawyer can explain your family’s options

The Law Offices of J. Chrisp takes wrongful death cases from Sacramento. The phone is answered 24/7 at 877-J-CHRISP (877-524-7477).

The firm has recovered over $350 million for clients since 2010. The sections below cover its wrongful death results, who can file, how a wrongful death claim differs from a survival action, what a family can recover, how fault works, the deadlines and the Sacramento offices a family may need to contact.

Table of Contents

Who can file a wrongful death claim when a family member is killed in Sacramento?

Under California law, the surviving spouse or domestic partner and the children usually bring the claim, and in some families other relatives or dependents can (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60). The Law Offices of J. Chrisp takes cases from Sacramento, offers a free consultation and works on a contingency fee, and there is no fee unless we win.

Wrongful death results

Results the firm has obtained in wrongful death cases, as shown on chrisplaw.com and its case results page, include:

$4,000,000 Wrongful Death
$2,250,000 Wrongful Death
$2,250,000 Valley Fire Wrongful Death
$1,250,000 Wrongful Death

Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Who can file a wrongful death claim in California

Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 lists who may bring the claim. The decedent’s personal representative may also bring it on their behalf.

The surviving spouse or domestic partner, the children, and the grandchildren of any child who has died.
If there are no surviving children or grandchildren, the people who would inherit the person’s property under California’s intestate succession rules.
Whether or not they are in those groups, certain people who depended on the person who died: a putative spouse (someone who believed in good faith that a void or voidable marriage was valid), that spouse’s children, stepchildren and parents.
A minor who lived in the person’s household for the 180 days before the death and depended on the person for at least half of their support.

Wrongful death claims and survival actions

These are two different claims, and a family may have both.

A wrongful death claim belongs to the family members listed above. It compensates them for what they lost because of the death.

A survival action is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. It passes to their personal representative or, if there is none, to their successor in interest (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.30). Damages are generally limited to losses the person had before death, such as medical bills and lost earnings. Punitive damages the person could have recovered may also be available (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34).

For a few years, survival actions could also recover damages for the person’s pain, suffering or disfigurement. That rule (from SB 447) covered actions filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026. It has expired, and no extension was enacted, so for a survival action filed now those damages are generally not available. Section 377.34 states that it does not affect elder abuse claims under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Welfare and Institutions Code section 15600 and following).

What a family can recover

The California jury instruction on the death of an adult (CACI No. 3921) lists two kinds of damages.

Economic damages:

The financial support the person would have given the family.
The loss of gifts or benefits the family would have expected to receive.
Funeral and burial expenses.
The reasonable value of household services the person would have provided.

Non-economic damages:

The loss of the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support.

The instruction tells jurors not to award damages for the family’s grief, sorrow or mental anguish, or for the pain the person suffered before death. Those losses are real, but the wrongful death claim measures what the family lost in the relationship and in support.

How fault affects a wrongful death claim

California uses pure comparative fault (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975)). If the person who died was partly at fault, the family’s wrongful death recovery is reduced in proportion (Horwich v. Superior Court (1999)). It is not barred. When several defendants share fault, each pays non-economic damages only in proportion to its own share (Civil Code section 1431.2).

Deadlines for a Sacramento wrongful death claim

Deadline	What it controls	Source
6 months	Written claim for a death against a public entity, such as the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, SacRT or the state. It is due within six months after the claim arises (accrues).	Government Code section 911.2
6 months after notice	Lawsuit after the public entity personally delivers or mails written notice rejecting the claim	Government Code section 945.6
2 years	Lawsuit for a death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another	Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1

A late-claim application against a public entity is possible within limits (Government Code section 911.4). These deadlines can be hard to apply in a death case, so it helps to ask early.

Records and claims in Sacramento

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office is at 4800 Broadway, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95820. Its Reports and Certificates page lists the reports it provides and its fees.

If the death followed a crash on a city street, the Sacramento Police Department investigates. Its fatal collision reports are not sold online; families or their representatives request them by mail from Sacramento Police Department, Attn: Records Report Requests, 5770 Freeport Blvd., Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95822. The department releases traffic reports to authorized persons, such as the victim’s representative, as Vehicle Code section 20012 provides. Crashes on freeways and unincorporated county roads are investigated by the California Highway Patrol’s North Sacramento Area office (5109 Tyler Street) or South Sacramento Area office (6 Massie Court).

A claim against a public agency goes to that agency: the City of Sacramento’s Office of the City Clerk (915 I Street, 5th Floor), the Sacramento County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (700 H Street, Room 2450) or, for a SacRT bus or train, SacRT’s Clerk to the Board (1102 Q Street, Suite 3000). A lawsuit is generally filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento (Code of Civil Procedure section 395), at the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse, 720 9th Street.

Offices, service area and recognition

The firm does not have an office in Sacramento. It takes cases from Sacramento, and its core service area is Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties and the San Francisco Bay Area. Its offices are:

San Francisco: 1330 Bush Street, Suite 9D, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Santa Rosa: 3558 Round Barn Blvd, Suite 200, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.
Lower Lake (main office): 9667 Highway 29, Lower Lake, CA 95457.

The firm was named to Best Law Firms 2026 (Tier 1, Santa Rosa, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs). Founding attorney Jesse Chrisp has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2024 and selected to Super Lawyers from 2023 to 2026. In 2018, he was one of four finalists for San Francisco Trial Lawyer of the Year. He is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College. Spanish-speaking staff are available.

A client testimonial on chrisplaw.com reads: “I had an excellent experience working with Jesse Chrisp.” (Whitney Stevenson)

Frequently asked questions

Who can file if the person who died had no spouse, partner or children?

The people who would inherit under California’s intestate succession rules may bring the claim. Certain dependents may also file (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60).

Can our family recover for the pain our loved one went through before death?

Not in the wrongful death claim. In a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026, pain and suffering damages are generally not available, because the temporary rule in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34 expired. Losses such as medical bills and lost earnings before death may still be recovered.

How long do we have to file?

Most wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a public agency may be responsible, a written claim is generally due within six months (Government Code section 911.2).

How much does a wrongful death lawyer cost?

The consultation is free, and the Law Offices of J. Chrisp works on a contingency fee. There is no fee unless we win.

Does the Law Offices of J. Chrisp have an office in Sacramento?

No. The offices are in San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Lower Lake (main office). The firm takes cases from Sacramento, and the phone is answered 24/7 at 877-J-CHRISP (877-524-7477).

If you lost a family member because of someone else’s actions in Sacramento or elsewhere in Sacramento County, call the Law Offices of J. Chrisp 24/7 at 877-J-CHRISP (877-524-7477) for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.

Why choose the Law Offices of J. Chrisp?

The Law Offices of J. Chrisp is a Northern California personal injury law firm founded by attorney Jesse Chrisp, who was raised in Lake County. The firm represents injured people, with offices in Lower Lake (main office), Santa Rosa and San Francisco, and serves Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties and the San Francisco Bay Area. Consultations are free, the firm works on a contingency fee with no fee unless the firm wins, and the phone is answered 24/7 at 877-J-CHRISP (877-524-7477). The firm was named to Best Law Firms 2026 (Tier 1, Santa Rosa, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs). Jesse Chrisp has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2024 and selected to Super Lawyers from 2023 to 2026.