Losing a family member because of someone else’s negligence changes much more than the weeks immediately following the death. Families may suddenly be managing funeral arrangements, household responsibilities, and a loss of income at the same time. Legal questions may also arise before you have had time to process what happened. Whether the loss followed a crash on Highway 101 or another preventable incident, the effects can reach every part of family life.
A wrongful death claim cannot undo that loss, but it can provide accountability and address its financial impact. At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, our Redwood City wrongful death lawyers represent families throughout San Mateo County and the Peninsula. You work directly with experienced attorneys who take the time to understand your family, your loss, and what the case requires.
What Qualifies as a Wrongful Death Claim in California
A wrongful death claim may arise when another party is legally responsible for causing someone’s death. In many cases, that means showing the person or business owed a duty of care and failed to meet it. The family must also connect that conduct to the death and the losses that followed.
Negligence is one common basis for a wrongful death claim, but it is not the only one. A claim may also involve reckless or intentional conduct. Depending on the circumstances, responsibility may extend beyond one individual to a business, employer, property owner, manufacturer, or public entity.
The wrongful death claim belongs to eligible surviving family members rather than the person who died. It addresses losses the family experiences because of the death. These may include lost financial support, household contributions, guidance, companionship, and other benefits the deceased provided.
California also limits who can bring a wrongful death claim. Determining who has that right is an important early step, particularly when several surviving family members may have an interest in the case.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Redwood City
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60 sets a strict order of who may bring a wrongful death claim in Redwood City. A surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and grandchildren of a deceased child hold first priority. If none of those relatives exist, the right passes to whoever would inherit under intestate succession, typically parents and then siblings.
Eligible heirs generally must bring a single joint action rather than separate lawsuits, with any recovery divided by agreement or court order. This is where families most often need legal guidance. Coordinating multiple heirs, some of whom may disagree about how to proceed, requires an attorney who can manage the family dynamic as carefully as the legal filing.
“Let me just start by saying that no one ever wants to be in a position that they need a lawyer. However, if you are, Ilya and his team are who you want to represent you!”
Wrongful Death vs. Survival Actions: What Each Claim Covers
Many people assume one lawsuit covers every loss connected to a death, and that assumption can cost Redwood City families real compensation. California treats a wrongful death lawsuit and a survival action as two separate legal claims, each recovering for a different kind of loss.
- A wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for their own losses: lost financial support, lost companionship, guidance, and the value of household services the decedent would have provided.
- A survival action is brought by the decedent's estate, not the family directly. It recovers for what the decedent personally experienced between injury and death, including medical bills and any conscious pain suffered before passing.
A wrongful death attorney who does not pursue both claims where they apply leaves recoverable damages on the table. We evaluate every case for both, then decide how to structure the filing based on what maximizes the family's total recovery.
Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Redwood City
A wrongful death can result from many types of preventable accidents. In Redwood City, that may include a serious crash on El Camino Real or Highway 101. It can also involve an unsafe property, a workplace accident, or a dangerous product.
Motor vehicle crashes remain one important source of fatal injuries. Speeding, impaired driving, distraction, and other unsafe behaviors can have devastating consequences. Redwood City has also experienced fatal collisions along major routes such as El Camino Real.
Other wrongful death cases may involve:
- Dangerous conditions at businesses, apartment complexes, or other properties
- Workplace accidents involving equipment, vehicles, falls, or hazardous conditions
- Defective or dangerous consumer and industrial products
- Commercial truck and delivery vehicle collisions
- Pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle accidents
- Other negligent conduct that causes a fatal injury
The circumstances surrounding the death determine where responsibility may fall. Some cases involve one negligent person, while others involve businesses, employers, manufacturers, or public entities. Identifying each responsible party is an important part of building a wrongful death claim.
Compensation secured on behalf of a victim who sustained fatal injuries in a motor vehicle accident.
What Compensation Covers in a Redwood City Wrongful Death Claim
The financial impact of a death can extend years into the future. A wrongful death lawyer helps identify those losses and gather the evidence needed to support them. Depending on the circumstances, compensation may address:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Financial support the deceased would have provided
- Lost household services and other contributions
- Loss of companionship, comfort, guidance, and moral support
- Loss of the training and guidance a parent would have provided to a child
Some of these losses are easier to document than others. Future financial support may depend on earnings, benefits, career trajectory, age, and other individual factors. Our attorneys may work with forensic economists and other professionals to develop projections based on the facts of the case.
Other losses require a close understanding of the role the person held within the family. Childcare, home maintenance, caregiving, and other contributions may have significant value even when no paycheck was attached to them. We work with families to document those contributions and show what the loss means financially and personally.
Handling Insurance Issues in a Wrongful Death Claim
A wrongful death claim can involve difficult questions about liability and the value of long-term losses. An insurer may dispute how the death occurred or argue that the deceased shared responsibility. Future income, household contributions, and other losses may also become points of disagreement.
At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, families work directly with attorneys who know their case and what the loss has meant. We handle insurer communications and build the evidence needed to support each part of the claim. That may include financial records, medical evidence, witness testimony, and analysis from qualified experts.
We do not measure a family's loss by the first settlement offer placed in front of them. Our attorneys evaluate what the evidence supports and prepare the case for the possibility of trial. If a fair resolution is available without litigation, we pursue it. If more is required, we are prepared to keep fighting for the family we represent.
Protecting a Wrongful Death Claim After a Fatal Accident
California generally gives eligible family members two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Some cases have much shorter deadlines. When a government entity may be responsible, an administrative claim may be required within six months.
Deadlines are only one reason early legal involvement can matter. Evidence may become harder to obtain as time passes. Surveillance footage can be erased, witnesses become harder to locate, and damaged vehicles may be repaired or released.
Our attorneys can identify the applicable deadlines and determine which evidence needs to be preserved. We can also obtain reports, communicate with insurers, and document the financial losses connected to the death. Families should keep funeral expenses and other relevant records, but they should not have to investigate the case themselves.
Before giving a recorded statement or accepting a settlement, speak with our Redwood City wrongful death attorneys about your claim. At Galine, Frye, Fitting, & Frangos, we can take over the legal work while you focus on the people and responsibilities that need you most.
Why Choose Our Redwood City Wrongful Death Attorneys
When your family has suffered an unexpected loss, you deserve an attorney who understands what is at stake. At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, families are not treated as case numbers. We prioritize direct attorney-client relationships and remain personally involved as a case develops.
Our firm brings more than 75 years of combined experience to serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. We investigate each claim with the possibility of trial in mind, even when a fair resolution can be reached earlier. That preparation allows us to build the case thoroughly without assuming where it will ultimately end.
Just as important, we take the time to understand the person your family lost. Their role cannot be reduced to an income figure or a list of expenses. We look at what they contributed to their family and what their absence will mean in the years ahead.
Families who work with GFFF have experienced attorneys fighting for them while they focus on one another. We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, with no attorney fees paid upfront. Our multilingual team can also assist families in Spanish, Greek, and Chinese when needed.
“I cannot say enough good things about GFF&F. They have a great staff and are true professionals.”
Let Our Redwood City Wrongful Death Lawyers Handle What Comes Next
No legal claim can replace the person your family lost. It can provide accountability and address the financial consequences of a preventable death. More importantly, your family should not have to manage a legal case while adjusting to a loss that has changed daily life.
There may still be difficult decisions to make in the weeks and months ahead. Our attorneys can take responsibility for investigating what happened, preserving evidence, and building the claim. We handle the legal demands while you focus on your family and the responsibilities that cannot be put aside.
If you lost someone because of another party’s negligence, contact Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos. Your first conversation is free, with no obligation to move forward. Talk directly with our team about what happened and what comes next.