What Justice Kruger’s 2025 Ruling Says About Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California?

TL;DR

Who can file a wrongful death claim in California? Usually, the answer starts with a spouse, domestic partner, child, or certain heirs. But California law also covers some dependents and other family members, so the details matter.

Losing someone changes a family overnight. Suddenly, ordinary questions give way to harder ones. Who is responsible? Who can bring a wrongful death claim? And who can speak for the family?

Who can file a wrongful death claim in California? California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 gives the starting answer, but it is not simply “the closest relative.” One small fact can change the result.

Section 377.60 lists a surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, children, and certain descendants. If there are no surviving descendants, the law can reach people who would inherit under California’s intestate succession rules.

What about parents, stepchildren, or a partner whose marriage was not legally valid? They may qualify in certain cases. The law also covers some financially dependent people, including a putative spouse, the putative spouse’s children, stepchildren, or parents.

A minor may qualify if the minor lived in the decedent’s household for the 180 days before death and depended on the decedent for at least half of the minor’s support.

The decedent’s personal representative can also assert the claim for people who have the right to bring it. Wrongful death and survival actions remain different claims.

Why? Because families rarely fit into neat boxes.

In Ceja v. Rudolph & Sletten, the California Supreme Court considered a putative spouse who said she honestly believed her marriage was valid. The court focused on her genuine good-faith belief, rather than whether a reasonable person would have made the same mistake.

So, a relationship label may not tell the whole story.

The California wrongful death statute answers two big questions: who may assert the claim and what losses may be compensated.

Section 377.61 allows damages that may be just under the circumstances. Depending on the facts, losses can include financial support, household services, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of companionship, care, guidance, and other relationship benefits.

What about medical bills from before death? Those may belong in a survival action because they concern losses suffered by the decedent before death.

In Holland v. Silverscreen Healthcare, Inc. (2025), the Supreme Court described wrongful death as an independent statutory claim belonging to heirs, not simply the decedent’s claim passed down after death.

Holland v. Silverscreen Healthcare, Inc. (2025)

This was the case authored by Justice Kruger. This is the key recent California Supreme Court case directly addressing wrongful death under §377.60. In this case, parents sued a skilled nursing facility after their son died, alleging neglect. The Supreme Court held that their wrongful death claim remained a section 377.60 claim and said the medical-malpractice arbitration exception does not automatically cover every wrongful death claim against a health care provider. 

[Read more about this case: Holland v. Silverscreen Healthcare, Inc. (2025)]

Gutierrez v. Tostado (2025).

An ambulance struck another driver. The Supreme Court held that MICRA’s special deadline did not apply because the duty was owed to the public generally, not as a professional medical duty to a patient. The point for families is simple: courts examine the real nature of a claim, not just its label.

[Read more: Gutierrez v. Tostado (2025).]

Downey v. City of Riverside (2024).

The Supreme Court considered emotional distress after a person witnessed a relative’s injury. It held that the plaintiff needed awareness of the injury-producing event, not necessarily awareness of who caused it. Downey was not a section 377.60 standing case, but it shows how courts separate different claims arising from one tragedy.

[Read more: Downey v. City of Riverside (2024)]. 

What does wrongful death compensation in California cover?

It depends on the facts and evidence. California law may allow compensation for financial support, household services, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of companionship, care, guidance, and other relationship benefits.

But there is a line. Damages belonging to the person who died before death generally fall under a survival action.

In Corder v. Corder, the Supreme Court explained that eligible heirs have individual interests, but the wrongful death action itself is joint, single, and indivisible.

Was there a spouse? Children? A dependent parent? A stepchild? A putative spouse? A minor living in the home?

Those facts can change the analysis.

A wrongful death lawyer in Los Angeles can explain how California’s rules may apply to a particular family structure and set of facts. Blair & Ramirez LLP represents families in Los Angeles and offers consultations to discuss legal options and possible next steps.

• Section 377.60 controls who may bring a California wrongful death claim.
• Spouses, domestic partners, children, and certain relatives or dependents may qualify.
• Wrongful death damages differ from damages pursued through a survival action.
• Recent Supreme Court decisions show why the legal theory and facts matter.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in California? Section 377.60 gives the framework, but the real answer can depend on family relationships, dependency, and the facts surrounding the death.

If your family is trying to understand its legal options, Blair & Ramirez LLP offers a free consultation to discuss the situation and possible next steps. Contact us today to learn more.