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

The Law Offices of J. Chrisp helps families in San Francisco who have lost a loved one because of someone else’s carelessness. The firm has an office in San Francisco at 1330 Bush Street, Suite 9D. 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 explain who can bring a claim, how a wrongful death claim differs from a survival action, the damages a family can recover, how fault is handled, the deadlines and the San Francisco offices a family may deal with.

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Our family lost someone in a crash in San Francisco. Can we talk with a lawyer for free about a wrongful death claim?

Yes. The Law Offices of J. Chrisp will talk with your family for free, and there is no pressure to decide anything during that first conversation. The firm 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 listed on chrisplaw.com, 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

California law sets out who may bring a wrongful death claim. The claim can be brought by these family members, or by the personal representative of the person who died on their behalf (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60):

The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the children, and the children of any child who has died.
If there are no surviving children or grandchildren, the people who would inherit from the person who died under California’s inheritance rules (intestate succession).
Certain people who were financially dependent on the person who died: a putative spouse (someone who believed in good faith that a marriage was valid), that spouse’s children, stepchildren, and parents.
A minor who lived in the home for the 180 days before the death and depended on the person who died for at least half of their support.

Wrongful death claim or survival action: what is the difference?

There can be two separate claims after a death.

The wrongful death claim belongs to the family. It is for the family’s own losses from the death.

The survival action is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. It passes to their successor in interest, and it is brought by the personal representative of the estate or, if there is none, by the successor in interest (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.30).

The damages in a survival action are limited to the losses the person suffered or incurred before death, and can include penalties or punitive damages they could have recovered. As a general rule, they do not include damages for pain, suffering or disfigurement (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34).

A temporary exception, added by Senate Bill 447, allowed pain, suffering and disfigurement damages in survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2022 and before January 1, 2026, and in cases granted a trial preference before January 1, 2022. That window has closed. Under the current statute, a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026 cannot include those damages. The family’s own wrongful death claim is not affected by this rule.

Damages a family can recover

California’s jury instruction for 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.
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 jury may not award damages for the family’s grief, sorrow or mental anguish, or for the pain and suffering of the person who died, in the wrongful death claim.

How fault is decided in a wrongful death case

California uses pure comparative fault, set out by the California Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). If the person who died was partly at fault, the wrongful death award is reduced in proportion to that share, as the California Supreme Court explained in Horwich v. Superior Court (1999). It is not barred.

When more than one party is at fault, each defendant pays non-economic damages only in proportion to its own share of fault (Civil Code section 1431.2).

Deadlines for a San Francisco wrongful death claim

Deadline	What it controls	Source
6 months	Written claim for a death against the City and County of San Francisco, including Muni, or another public entity such as the state. It is due within six months after the claim arises (accrues). A late-claim application is possible within limits.	Government Code section 911.2; section 911.4
6 months after notice	Lawsuit against the public entity after it delivers or mails a written rejection of the claim	Government Code section 945.6
2 years	Wrongful death and most personal injury lawsuits	Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1

These lawsuit deadlines run from when the claim arises (accrues) (Code of Civil Procedure section 312). If a public entity may be involved, the six-month claim deadline comes first.

San Francisco offices a family may deal with

The investigation. The San Francisco Police Department handles crashes on city streets. Under its vehicle crash policy (Department General Order 9.02), officers must notify the department’s Traffic Collision Investigation Unit right away when a crash causes a death or serious injury. Crashes on the freeways through the city, such as I-80, I-280 and the freeway sections of US 101, are handled by the California Highway Patrol’s San Francisco Area office at 455 Eighth Street. Copies of SFPD reports are requested from the Report Management Section, 1245 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158.

The Medical Examiner. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 1 Newhall Street, San Francisco, CA 94124, investigates deaths under its jurisdiction to find the cause and manner of death. Families can request death certificates and certified forensic autopsy reports from the office, and it explains how to collect the person’s belongings.

Claims against the city. A claim against the City and County of San Francisco goes to the Controller’s Office Claims Division, 1390 Market Street, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102, on the city’s “Claim form for injury, property damage, or loss.” The city lists six months for death claims. The form must be mailed or delivered by hand.

The court. Subject to exceptions, the superior court in the county where the injury occurred is a proper court for the lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure section 395). In San Francisco, civil cases are filed with the Civil Clerk’s Office at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street, Room 103, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Offices, service area and recognition

The firm serves the San Francisco Bay Area and Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties. Its offices are:

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

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. He was selected to Northern California Rising Stars from 2013 to 2021, an honor awarded to only 2.5% of attorneys in the state. In 2018, he was one of four finalists for San Francisco Trial Lawyer of the Year. He has represented thousands of injured clients and holds the record for the highest personal injury verdict in Lake County. Spanish-speaking staff are available.

Frequently asked questions

Who can bring a claim if the person who died was not married and had no children?

The people who would inherit from them under California’s inheritance rules (intestate succession) may be able to bring the claim. Certain dependents may also qualify (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60).

Can our claim include the pain our loved one went through before they died?

Not in a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026. Those damages were allowed only in survival actions filed from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2025, or granted a trial preference before 2022.

What if our loved one was partly at fault?

The family can still recover. The award is reduced by the share of fault of the person who died.

Does it cost anything to talk with the firm?

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

How can our family reach the firm in San Francisco?

The San Francisco office is at 1330 Bush Street, Suite 9D, San Francisco, CA 94109. The firm answers the phone 24/7 at 877-J-CHRISP (877-524-7477).

If you lost a family member because of someone else’s actions in San Francisco, 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.