Wrongful death after a fatal attackAnswers for your family, when you are ready.

We are so sorry for your loss. This page is for families after someone was killed in an attack at an apartment building, a hotel, a parking garage, a bar or a store. You can read it at your own pace, and nothing on it asks you to describe what happened. It explains the family's claim, the estate's claim, the rules for property owners and the deadline. The Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer page covers every family's claim in full, and the Los Angeles negligent security lawyer page covers the rules for owners.

Deaths caused by an attack

A death caused by a criminal attack can lead to a wrongful death claim against a property owner, even though someone else committed the crime. California's wrongful death statute covers "the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another" (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60). The attacker's act is one cause. An owner's neglect, such as a gate left broken, a garage left dark or written threats that were ignored, can be another. The family's claim against the owner, landlord, manager, business or security company rests on that neglect, and on the same rules that apply when a person survives an attack.

Family and estate claims

A death in an attack can lead to two civil claims, one for the family and one for the estate. In California, only the people named in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 can bring a wrongful death claim. They can file it themselves, or the personal representative of the estate can file it on their behalf. A survival action is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. It is brought by the personal representative of the estate or, if there is none, by the successor in interest. Our guide to who can file a wrongful death claim goes through each family relationship.

The 2026 survival rule

Except in qualifying elder or dependent adult abuse cases, a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026 cannot recover damages for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement the person experienced before death. Those damages remain available only in actions filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, or granted a trial preference before January 1, 2022 (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34(b)). The estate can still recover the losses the person sustained or incurred before death, such as medical expenses and lost earnings, and any penalties or punitive damages the person could have recovered.

Senate Bill 29 (2025), which would have extended the window, was never brought to a vote on the Assembly floor and did not pass by August 31, 2026, the last day for bills to pass in the 2025 to 2026 session. Law checked November 8, 2026. In qualifying elder or dependent adult abuse cases, a separate statute can still allow recovery of the person's pain and suffering before death, subject to strict proof requirements and, for abuse or neglect claims, a statutory cap. Our guide to survival actions explains what the estate can still recover.

Negligent security rules

California's jury instruction on crime on property, CACI No. 1005 (2026 edition), says that a landlord or the owner of a business open to the public "must use reasonable care to protect" tenants, guests or patrons "from another person's criminal conduct on" the property "if the [owner/landlord] can reasonably anticipate that conduct." Whether that duty exists is decided by the judge; whether the steps the owner took were "adequate and reasonable under the circumstances" is decided by the jury.

The same rule applies when the attack was fatal. A family's claim against an owner turns on what the owner knew before the attack and what it did about it, in the same way as a claim by a person who survived.

Causation in a fatal attack

The family must also show that the missing security more likely than not would have prevented the attack or the death. In Saelzler v. Advanced Group 400 (2001) 25 Cal.4th 763, the California Supreme Court required "nonspeculative evidence, some actual causal link" between the harm and the owner's failure to provide adequate security. Written complaints about a specific person, camera footage, entry records and the police investigation are the kind of evidence that can show that link. Our guide to how to prove a negligent security case explains the proof in more detail.

The attacker's share of fault

In California, a jury can assign part of the fault to the attacker. Each defendant pays only its own share of noneconomic damages, such as pain and emotional distress (Civil Code section 1431.2), and a Court of Appeal has applied that rule to a bar whose patron was assaulted by a third person (Weidenfeller v. Star & Garter (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 1). Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost earnings, are not divided this way.

Section 1431.2 applies to any action for "wrongful death," and it lists "loss of society and companionship" among noneconomic damages. In a family's claim against a property owner, the owner's share of that loss can be limited to its own percentage of fault, while economic losses, such as lost financial support and burial costs, are not divided this way. Our guide to when the attacker is mostly at fault explains how a jury assigns those shares.

The family's damages

California's jury instruction for the death of an adult, CACI No. 3921, sets out what a wrongful death claim can include. The economic losses are the financial support the person who died would have contributed, the gifts or benefits the family would have expected, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of the household services that person would have provided. The noneconomic losses are the loss of that person's love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support, and, where the facts fit, the loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations and the loss of training and guidance. CACI No. 3921 tells the jury not to consider a family member's grief, sorrow, or mental anguish. The law compensates the relationship that was lost, not the pain of losing it. The jury usually returns one amount for all the heirs. The court decides how an award is divided, and it can divide a settlement when the heirs do not agree. What a family recovers depends on its own evidence, and no result is guaranteed.

Our guide to wrongful death damages and how they are divided explains each loss.

Deadline from the date of death

Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a city, a county, the State, a school district, a transit agency or another public entity may be responsible, the family must first present a written claim to that entity within six months after the claim accrues, which is usually the date of death (Government Code section 911.2). The lawsuit against the entity then has its own deadline: six months after a written rejection notice is delivered or mailed, or two years from the date the claim accrued if no written notice is given (Government Code section 945.6). Some cases have different periods, including a death caused by a health care provider's professional negligence (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5) and a claim against the United States (28 U.S.C. section 2401(b)). The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer.

Deaths days or weeks later

When a person dies days or weeks after an attack, the family's two years usually run from the death, not the attack. In Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383, the California Supreme Court held that "at least as a usual matter, the date of accrual of a cause of action for wrongful death is the date of death." Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). The estate's survival claim keeps the person's own deadline, or six months after the death if that is later (Code of Civil Procedure section 366.1), so a lawyer should count both dates. Our guides to the wrongful death statute of limitations and to negligent security deadlines explain each date, and the deadline calculator can help you count.

The criminal case and the family

The family's claim does not wait for an arrest or a verdict. No California statute pauses the civil deadline while charges are pending, and a criminal case can last longer than two years. If the attacker is convicted of a felony, the judgment can be used in the civil case to prove what the attacker did (Evidence Code section 1300), and the family can also sue the person convicted within one year after judgment, when that ends later (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3). For restitution, Penal Code section 1202.4(k) counts "The immediate surviving family of the actual victim" as victims. Our guide to the criminal case, CalVCB and your civil claim explains each step, and the wrongful death guide to the criminal case and civil claim covers the family's rights in court.

Victim compensation for families

The California Victim Compensation Board, called CalVCB, can help a family after a homicide. Family members can qualify as derivative victims, a group that CalVCB's eligibility page says includes a spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, grandparent, domestic partner and roommate. As of November 11, 2026, CalVCB says it may pay up to $12,818, under most circumstances, for the funeral, burial or memorial service, after other sources of payment. It also lists mental health services, support loss for dependents and crime scene clean-up.

CalVCB is a payor of last resort, and it says the most it can reimburse a victim for is $70,000. It must be told within 30 days after a lawsuit is filed, and it is repaid from a later settlement or award for the same expenses (Government Code section 13963). The application is due within seven years of the crime, or a later date CalVCB's rules allow.

Records and first steps

You do not need to gather anything before you talk with a lawyer. Some evidence about the property can disappear, though. How long a business keeps camera footage, guard logs or entry records varies, so a written request to preserve them should go out early, and a lawyer can send one. Our negligent security evidence checklist lists the records that matter after an attack, and the wrongful death documents checklist covers the death certificate, the Medical Examiner's report and the other records a family needs.

Sources cited

• Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, who can bring a wrongful death claim: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34, survival damages: california.public.law
• Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition), CACI Nos. 1005 and 3921: courts.ca.gov
• Saelzler v. Advanced Group 400 (2001) 25 Cal.4th 763: CourtListener
• Civil Code section 1431.2, several liability for noneconomic damages: california.public.law
• Weidenfeller v. Star & Garter (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 1: CourtListener
• Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, the two-year period: california.public.law
• Government Code section 911.2, the six month claim: california.public.law
• Government Code section 945.6, the lawsuit against a public entity: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, professional negligence of a health care provider: california.public.law
• 28 U.S.C. section 2401, United States Code, 2024 edition: govinfo.gov
• Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383: CourtListener
• Code of Civil Procedure section 366.1, the estate's deadline: california.public.law
• Evidence Code section 1300, felony judgments in civil cases: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3, the year after a felony judgment: california.public.law
• Penal Code section 1202.4, restitution: california.public.law
• California Victim Compensation Board, who is eligible: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, what is covered: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, funeral and burial benefits: victims.ca.gov
• Government Code section 13963, notice and repayment: california.public.law