Sacramento Wrongful Death Lawyer

Losing someone because of another person’s carelessness is one of the worst things a family can go through. Before the shock has settled, you may already be dealing with a funeral to plan, medical bills to pay, and insurance adjusters calling with questions you’re not prepared to answer. If someone else’s negligence caused your loved one’s death, our Sacramento wrongful death lawyers will give your family the right to hold them accountable — and to recover compensation for what you’ve lost.

J&Y Law has represented families across Sacramento and throughout California in wrongful death cases. Our attorneys manage every part of the case — gathering evidence, dealing with insurers, and taking cases to trial when necessary. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win.

Why Sacramento Families Choose J&Y Law

Most personal injury firms say they handle wrongful death. Fewer have the verdicts and settlements to prove it. J&Y Law does.

Results That Show Dedication to Our Clients

J&Y Law has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients across California. In 2023, the firm earned the No. 1 settlement ranking in California for electrical injury and scooter accidents, placed in the Top 10 for premises liability statewide, and ranked in the Top 100 personal injury settlements in the United States — all verified by TopVerdict.com, an independent verdict and settlement database.

We Routinely Outperform Insurance Offers

Insurance companies make low initial offers because families are grieving and often don’t know what a case is worth. In one case, the insurer offered $250,000 — we recovered $6.5 million. In another, the insurer made no offer — we recovered $6 million. We don’t settle for what’s convenient. We settle for what’s fair.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.

No Upfront Cost. No Risk.

Wrongful death cases are taken on a contingency fee. You pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover money for your family. The initial consultation is free.

Sacramento Is Part of Our Core Practice

J&Y Law has a Sacramento office at 500 Capitol Mall. Our attorneys know Sacramento County Superior Court, the local defense firms that regularly appear there, and the insurance carriers most active in Central Valley claims. We are not a Southern California firm that handles Sacramento cases by exception — it is a market we actively work alongside our Sacramento personal injury practice.

Named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2025

J&Y Law attorneys have been named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2025, a peer-reviewed designation for attorneys who demonstrate early-career excellence as selected by peers in the legal community.

What to Do After a Wrongful Death Case

You are probably reading this in a very difficult moment. Here is what matters most in the days ahead:

• Call J&Y Law for a free consultation. We can tell you quickly whether you have a case and what it may be worth. You don’t need to have documents ready — just call.
• Preserve everything. Don’t delete texts, emails, photos, or voicemails related to the accident or your loved one’s death. Don’t sign anything from an insurance company without speaking to an attorney first.
• Document your losses. Keep records of funeral and burial costs, medical bills from the final hospitalization, and any income your family has lost since the death.
• Watch the deadline. California gives families two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit (California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). Cases involving government agencies require a claim filed within six months. Do not wait.

What Your Family Can Recover

California law (CCP § 377.61) allows surviving family members to recover two categories of losses:

Economic Damages

• The income and financial support your loved one would have provided over their lifetime
• The value of household services they contributed — childcare, cooking, home maintenance
• The benefits they would have provided, such as health insurance or a pension
• Funeral and burial costs

Non-Economic Damages

• Loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, and affection
• Loss of guidance, training, and moral support — especially significant when a parent dies and leaves minor children
• Loss of consortium for a surviving spouse

Your attorney may also bring a survival action under CCP § 377.30 on behalf of your loved one’s estate alongside the wrongful death claim. A survival action recovers the economic losses the deceased person personally incurred before they died — primarily pre-death medical bills and lost earnings between the date of the injury and the date of death. As of January 1, 2026, California no longer allows recovery of pre-death pain and suffering in survival actions; the temporary expansion created by Senate Bill 447 expired at the end of 2025 after a legislative attempt to extend it (SB 29) failed. In some cases, a survival action may also pursue punitive damages where the defendant’s conduct meets the standard under California Civil Code § 3294 (malice, oppression, or fraud).

Non-economic damages have no cap in most California wrongful death cases. The exception is medical malpractice, where California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), as updated by Assembly Bill 35 (signed May 2022), caps non-economic damages based on when the case resolves. For a wrongful death case resolved in 2026, the cap is $650,000. The cap increases by $50,000 each year, reaching $1 million in 2033, after which it adjusts by 2% annually for inflation. There is no cap on economic damages in medical malpractice cases.

Who Has the Right to File in California

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, the following people can bring a wrongful death claim:

• The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner
• The deceased’s children (biological and adopted)
• The issue of deceased children (grandchildren, if a child has also died)
• If there is no surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children: parents, siblings, or anyone who would inherit under California’s intestate succession rules
• Stepchildren, putative spouses, and parents who were financially dependent on the deceased for at least 50% of their support

If you are unsure whether you qualify, call us. Eligibility under § 377.60 can be complicated, especially in blended families or cases involving domestic partnerships.

The Deadline to File — And Why It Cannot Be Ignored

California’s wrongful death statute of limitations is two years from the date of death (CCP § 335.1). If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you will lose the right to any compensation regardless of how strong your claim is.

There are three exceptions families in Sacramento should know:

• Medical malpractice: The statute of limitations under CCP § 340.5 is three years from the date of the negligent act, or one year from when the plaintiff discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the malpractice — whichever comes first.
• Government entities: If the death involved a government agency or employee — a city bus, a state-owned vehicle, a public facility — you must file a government tort claim under the California Government Claims Act (Government Code § 911.2) within six months of the date of death. Missing this step bars the lawsuit entirely.
• Minors: If a surviving claimant is a minor, the statute of limitations may be tolled (paused) until the child turns 18 in some circumstances. An attorney should advise on this based on the specific facts.

Two years sounds like a long time. It is not. Building a wrongful death case takes months — gathering medical records, accident reports, witness statements, and expert opinions. Starting early protects your case.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Sacramento

Sacramento’s position as a junction of major interstate and state freight corridors — I-5, Highway 50, and Highway 99 — makes it one of California’s busier hubs for commercial and commuter traffic. J&Y Law handles wrongful death cases arising from:

• Car accidents — including rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, and DUI fatalities across Sacramento County
• Commercial truck and delivery vehicle accidents — cargo carriers, tankers, and last-mile delivery vehicles operating through the Central Valley
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities
• Drunk driving accidents — including cases involving repeat offenders where punitive damages may apply through a survival action
• Construction site fatalities
• Nursing home neglect and elder abuse — understaffing, medication errors, and preventable falls that lead to death
• Defective products and premises liability — including falls, fires, and structural failures on commercial or residential property
• Medical malpractice — surgical errors, anesthesia failures, and failure to timely diagnose a serious condition

How We Build Your Case

Wrongful death cases require fast, thorough investigation. Evidence disappears. Witnesses move on. Surveillance footage gets overwritten. From the moment you retain J&Y Law, we move immediately to:

• Preserve and obtain police and accident reports, medical records, and autopsy reports
• Send spoliation letters to defendants and insurers to prevent destruction of evidence
• Retain accident reconstructionists, medical experts, and economists to document liability and calculate lifetime losses
• Identify all liable parties — which in commercial vehicle cases and premises liability cases can include multiple defendants beyond the immediate wrongdoer
• Engage directly with insurance companies so your family is not pressured into a low early settlement

If a fair settlement cannot be reached, we take the case to trial. We have done it before, and defendants know it. That matters at the negotiating table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to prove the other person acted intentionally?

No. Wrongful death claims are based on negligence, not intent. You need to show that the defendant had a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach caused your loved one’s death. The civil burden of proof is “preponderance of the evidence” — meaning it is more likely than not that the defendant was at fault. This is a lower standard than the criminal bar of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Can we still file a civil case if there is a criminal investigation?

Yes. Civil and criminal cases run on separate tracks. A criminal conviction strengthens your civil case because it establishes fault, but it is not required. The O.J. Simpson case is the most widely known example: Simpson was acquitted criminally in 1995 but found liable for wrongful death in civil court in 1997. Civil liability requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence — a lower threshold than the criminal standard.

What if my loved one was partly at fault?

California follows pure comparative fault, established by the California Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). Your family can still recover damages even if your loved one was partially responsible — your award is reduced proportionally. If the jury finds your loved one was 20% at fault and total damages are $1 million, your family recovers $800,000.

How long does a wrongful death case take?

There is no single answer. Cases with clear liability and cooperative insurers can settle in 6 to 12 months. Cases involving multiple defendants, disputed liability, or trial can take two years or longer. We will give you a realistic timeline once we review your case.

Can punitive damages be recovered?

Punitive damages are generally not available in wrongful death claims under California law. They may be available in a related survival action (CCP § 377.30) if the defendant’s conduct meets the standard set by California Civil Code § 3294 — meaning it was malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent. A criminal conviction is not required to pursue punitive damages in civil court, but evidence of criminal conduct is powerful supporting evidence. Your attorney can advise whether the facts of your case support a punitive damages claim.

What does it cost to hire J&Y Law?

Nothing upfront. We take wrongful death cases on a contingency fee. You pay only if we recover money for you. The initial consultation is free.

Talk to a Sacramento Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

Grieving families should not be negotiating with insurance companies. That job belongs to us. J&Y Law has handled wrongful death cases across Sacramento and California for years — and we have the settlements and courtroom record to show for it.

Call (877) 735-7035 for a free, no-obligation consultation. You can also reach us through our online contact form. There is no cost unless we win your case.

J&Y Law — 500 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA. Serving Sacramento County and all of California.