Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published · Reviewed
In this guide
This page is for a family in the first weeks after someone they love was struck and killed while walking, at the scene or later in the hospital. It covers the death side of the case: who can bring the claim, what it can include, how fault is weighed, who investigates and who pays. How drivers and pedestrians share the road is explained in depth on our Los Angeles pedestrian accident page, and the rest of the wrongful death process is on our wrongful death overview.
Pedestrian deaths in Los Angeles
- 315people killed in traffic crashes in the City of Los Angeles in 2024SWITRS via UC Berkeley TIMS, data as of September 15, 2026; 2025 provisional
- 162of those 315 people were pedestriansSWITRS via UC Berkeley TIMS, data as of September 15, 2026; 2025 provisional
162 of the City of Los Angeles's 315 traffic deaths in 2024 were pedestrians (SWITRS via UC Berkeley TIMS, data as of September 15, 2026; 2025 provisional). That is more than half. The figures come from the TIMS crash summary published by UC Berkeley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center, which is built from the CHP's statewide crash records. A count like this says nothing about who was at fault in any one death. That is decided by the evidence in each case. Year-by-year counts for every California city, from the federal FARS data, are in our fatal crash facts by city tool.
Family members who can file
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. Every heir must be part of the one case, and the court divides any award. Our page on who can file explains each category, including when parents, brothers and sisters, or a partner can bring the claim.
Damages in a pedestrian death
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.
The source is the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition), CACI Nos. 3921 and 3922. When the person who died was a child, a different instruction applies, and our page on the death of a child explains it. Our page on damages and how they are divided goes through each loss and the evidence that shows it.
The estate's separate claim
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. 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. 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)). 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 page on survival actions explains the rule in full.
Fault when a pedestrian dies
A driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing in any marked crosswalk, or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and must use all due care and slow down as needed to keep that pedestrian safe (Vehicle Code section 21950). A pedestrian crossing anywhere else must yield to vehicles so close that they are an immediate hazard, but that rule does not relieve the driver of the duty to use due care for the safety of any pedestrian on the road (Vehicle Code section 21954).
Right of way and its limits
A pedestrian's right of way in a crosswalk is strong but not absolute. A pedestrian may not suddenly step off a curb into the path of a vehicle so close that it is an immediate hazard (Vehicle Code section 21950(b)). Crossing between two signal-controlled intersections outside a crosswalk still breaks a traffic rule (Vehicle Code section 21955). Since 2023, an officer may not stop a pedestrian for it unless a reasonably careful person would see an immediate danger of a collision, and neither the pedestrian nor the driver is excused from using due care. Our pages on crosswalk accidents and parking lot and driveway accidents cover turning drivers, signals and the other rules in detail.
Shared fault and the award
California divides fault by percentage. If the defense proves that the person who died was partly at fault, the family's damages are reduced by that share; the claim is not barred (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804; CACI No. 407). To do that, the defense must prove two things: that the person was negligent, and that this negligence was a substantial factor in causing the death. The California Supreme Court has said fault is shared among those responsible, "including the decedent, whether it be for personal injury or wrongful death" (Horwich v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 272, 285).
When more than one party is at fault, each defendant pays the noneconomic damages, such as the loss of companionship, only in proportion to its own share of fault (Civil Code section 1431.2). That matters when a driver and a public agency responsible for the street are both in the case.
Arguments the family may hear
A collision report is the investigating officer's account. In a lawsuit, the defense must prove any fault it assigns to the person who died. The table lists arguments a family may hear after a pedestrian dies, and the rule that answers each one.
| What the other side may argue | The rule that applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The person was outside a crosswalk | A pedestrian outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles that are an immediate hazard, and the driver must still use due care for any pedestrian on the road | Vehicle Code section 21954 |
| The person stepped off the curb suddenly | That rule covers a vehicle so close that it was an immediate hazard, and the defense must prove those facts | Vehicle Code section 21950(b); CACI No. 407 |
| The person crossed mid block between signals | It is still a traffic rule violation, and neither the pedestrian nor the driver is excused from due care | Vehicle Code section 21955 |
| The driver never saw the person | Drivers must keep a lookout for pedestrians and control the speed and movement of their vehicles | CACI No. 700 |
| The police report blames the person who died | The report is the officer's account, and in a lawsuit the defense must prove any fault it assigns | CACI No. 407 |
| The person who died was partly at fault | The family's damages are reduced by that share, and the claim is not barred | Li v. Yellow Cab Co.; CACI No. 407 |
Police investigation and the report
The agency depends on where the crash happened. LAPD investigates crashes on City of Los Angeles streets, the CHP investigates crashes on freeways and state highways, and elsewhere in the county it may be a city police department, a Sheriff's station or the CHP. If you are not sure which agency investigated, the CHP says your local police department or any CHP office can help identify it. Separately from the police, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, formerly called the Coroner, may have its own case file and report on the death.
| Agency | How the report is requested | What the agency says |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Police Department | By mail only when the crash involved a fatality, with a $19 check or money order | Allow at least 45 days from the date of the collision |
| California Highway Patrol | Form CHP 190, in person or by mail to an Area office, with a copy of photo ID or a notarized form | The form has a box for a family member, and the CHP can provide only reports it investigated |
| Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department | Through the Traffic Bureau of the station that handled the crash | Collision records are released to involved parties |
Records the family will need
Our documents checklist lists every record a family needs after a death, including the death certificate, the Medical Examiner's report and the collision report, with who holds each one, the fee and the timing. The family or its lawyer can ask for the collision report. Each agency explains its process on its request page: LAPD, the CHP and the Sheriff's Department.
Roads and public vehicles
Some pedestrian deaths involve a public agency: a city truck, a Metro bus, a county vehicle, or a crossing, signal or street that a city, the county or the State controls. A public entity can be responsible for a death caused by its employee's driving (Vehicle Code section 17001), or by a dangerous condition of its property that its employee created or that it knew about in time to fix (Government Code section 835). If a public entity may be responsible, a written claim is due within six months after the claim accrues, usually the date of death (Government Code section 911.2), and the lawsuit deadline then follows Government Code section 945.6. The claim goes to the public entity whose employee, vehicle or property was involved. Our page on claims against a city or county explains where each claim goes.
Insurance after a pedestrian death
Usually, all of the family's claims for one person's death share the at-fault driver's per-person limit. If the person who died was covered under an auto policy, as the policyholder, a spouse, or a relative living in the same household, the family can bring the wrongful death claim under that policy's uninsured motorist coverage. A relative's own policy pays only if the person who died was covered under it. Being on foot does not by itself rule that coverage out, because the statute's definition reaches household relatives in a vehicle "or otherwise" (Insurance Code section 11580.2(b)). Our page on insurance after a fatal crash explains who pays.
Deadlines for the claim
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.
Our page on the statute of limitations explains each deadline and when it starts.
Situations that change the claim
- A child was killed. A different jury instruction applies when the person who died was a minor. Our page on the death of a child explains the parents' claim, and our child pedestrian accidents page covers school zones and the darting out argument.
- The driver fled. Our page on a fatal hit-and-run covers the police report, the family's own uninsured motorist coverage and victim compensation, and our hit and run pedestrian accidents page covers the search for the driver.
- The driver was drunk or high. Our page on fatal drunk driving crashes explains when punitive damages may be sought and how restitution works.
- The driver was arrested or charged. You do not have to wait for the criminal case. Our page on the criminal case and the civil claim explains how the two run side by side.
- No one was in the driver's seat. Our page on pedestrians hit by self-driving cars explains who may be responsible when a robotaxi is involved.
- The person was working. Someone struck while working on or near a road may leave the family both a workers' compensation death benefit and a claim against the driver. Our page on fatal workplace and construction deaths explains both.
Next steps for the family
None of this has to be decided in the first days. Our first 48 hours checklist covers the few things that cannot wait, and the documents checklist shows where each record comes from. Words such as heir and survival action are defined in our wrongful death glossary. How a wrongful death case works follows a case from the first call to distribution, and the statutes behind these pages are collected on our California wrongful death law page.
We can explain how fault and insurance apply to what happened. No fee unless we recover. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no case costs.
Sources cited
- Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026 edition), CACI Nos. 405, 407, 700, 710, 3921 and 3922: courts.ca.gov
- Vehicle Code section 21950, pedestrians in crosswalks: California Legislative Information
- Vehicle Code section 21954, pedestrians outside a crosswalk: California Legislative Information
- Vehicle Code section 21955, crossing between signalized intersections: California Legislative Information
- Civil Code section 1431.2, several liability for noneconomic damages: California Legislative Information
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804: CourtListener
- Horwich v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 272: CourtListener
- Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, who can bring a wrongful death claim: California Legislative Information
- Code of Civil Procedure section 377.34, survival damages: California Legislative Information
- Government Code section 835, dangerous condition of public property: California Legislative Information
- Government Code section 911.2, the six month claim: California Legislative Information
- Government Code section 945.6, the lawsuit after a claim: California Legislative Information
- UC Berkeley SafeTREC, TIMS SWITRS summary, data as of September 15, 2026: tims.berkeley.edu
- Los Angeles Police Department, traffic collision reports: lapdonline.org
- California Highway Patrol, collision report request (CHP 190): chp.ca.gov
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, record requests: lasd.org