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Reviewed by David Gammill, California trial attorney · Last reviewed: September 24, 2026
When a death in Hermosa Beach is caused by another person’s negligence, California law gives specified family members a wrongful death claim, and it gives the estate a separate survival claim. Both carry deadlines. Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers is a South Bay trial firm that represents families in Hermosa Beach and across the South Bay in these cases. The firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients across verdicts and settlements. Its results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict; every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
There is no rush to decide anything today; when it would help, you can request a free case evaluation and we will walk through your options at your pace.
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought by the family of a person who died because someone else was negligent, reckless, or acted intentionally. Negligence means a failure to use reasonable care, such as a driver who was speeding or a property owner who ignored a hazard. The claim belongs to the survivors, not to the person who died, and it compensates them for what they lost: the financial support the person would have provided, the value of household services, and the loss of the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, and guidance. It is separate from any criminal case, and it does not depend on one being filed.
California limits who may bring a wrongful death claim. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, the claim belongs first to the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the children, and the children of any child who died before the decedent. If none of those people survive, the claim passes to whoever would inherit under California’s intestate succession rules, which usually means parents or siblings. The statute also lets certain other people file: a putative spouse and that spouse’s children, stepchildren, and parents, if they were financially dependent on the decedent, and a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the prior 180 days and depended on the decedent for at least half of their support.
All eligible heirs generally join one lawsuit rather than filing separately, and the recovery is divided among them. Sorting out who qualifies is one of the first things we do. Our guide to California wrongful death lawsuits and their filing deadline covers the rules in more depth.
A death usually gives rise to two separate claims. The wrongful death claim compensates the family for its own losses. The survival action is different: it is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived, and it is brought by the estate through its personal representative or successor in interest. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34, the survival action recovers the decedent’s own economic losses before death, such as medical bills and lost wages, and it can recover punitive damages where the conduct qualifies.
One rule changed at the start of this year. For survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, the decedent’s own pain and suffering is no longer recoverable, because the temporary window that allowed it under SB 447 closed without extension. It affects how the two claims are valued when the person lived for a time after the injury. Punitive damages, governed by Civil Code § 3294, survive in the survival action where the evidence shows malice, oppression, or fraud, which in a crash case most often means a drunk or grossly reckless driver; they are never guaranteed.
No public dataset the firm relies on breaks out deaths for a city the size of Hermosa Beach, and this page does not state a count. What the record does show is who investigates and where the case goes. Hermosa Beach runs its own municipal police force, and a fatal crash on city streets is investigated by the Hermosa Beach Police Department, 540 Pier Avenue, which writes the collision report. Pacific Coast Highway is the city’s only through arterial and there is no freeway inside the city. A fatal crash on PCH can point at Caltrans, because PCH is State Route 1 and part of the state highway system. A roadway-condition or design claim against a public entity is possible under Government Code § 835, carries its own six-month claim deadline, and may meet an immunity the public entity may raise, which is why the investigation into a roadway death starts early.
The general deadline is two years from the death. If the person was injured on one date and died on a later one, the wrongful death clock runs from the date of death, not the date of the crash. Our plain-English guide to CCP § 335.1, California’s two-year statute of limitations, covers the rule and its narrow exceptions. Courts rarely excuse a missed deadline.
Government cases move much faster. If a public entity may share responsibility, a written claim must be presented to that entity within six months, before any lawsuit can be filed. In Hermosa Beach that entity is the City of Hermosa Beach for city streets, signals, and a City vehicle; Caltrans for Pacific Coast Highway; and the County of Los Angeles only where a county-run facility is involved. If the entity rejects the claim, the lawsuit must be filed within six months of the rejection notice. Our guide to the California government claim deadline walks through the sequence.
Where the case is heard. Most Hermosa Beach wrongful death lawsuits are filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Southwest District, at either the Torrance Courthouse or the Inglewood Courthouse.
The family must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused the death and what the family lost as a result. The evidence is gathered early: the police collision report, scene photographs, vehicle data and event data recorders, maintenance and roadway records, phone records, and witness statements. Experts often carry the case: an accident reconstructionist to explain how the crash happened, medical witnesses on the cause of death, and an economist to calculate the support and services the family will go without over a lifetime. A Hermosa Beach Police Department fatal investigation and any criminal prosecution run separately from the civil claim; the civil case can proceed whether or not charges are filed, and it uses a lower standard of proof.
The firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients across verdicts and settlements. Separately, its results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict in a roadway-danger case against a public entity, returned by a jury after a $10,000 pre-trial offer; every case is different, and that result does not predict the outcome of any Hermosa Beach case. What it shows is that the firm prepares wrongful death cases to be tried.
Our office is on Del Amo Boulevard in Torrance, and our attorneys bring more than 40 years of combined legal experience to every case we take.
We work on a contingency fee: nothing upfront, no hourly bills, and a fee only out of the recovery, under a written contingency fee agreement that complies with California law.
An initial consultation can be held by Zoom video, and we meet families at home or at the hospital when travel is the last thing anyone needs. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 310-750-4149, and nothing about your case moves faster than you want it to.
Two years from the date of death for most claims. If a public entity such as the City of Hermosa Beach or Caltrans may be responsible, a written claim is due to that entity within six months, and the lawsuit deadline then runs from the entity’s response.
The surviving spouse or domestic partner, the children, and the children of a child who died earlier. If none survive, the people who would inherit under intestate succession may file, and certain financially dependent stepchildren, parents, putative spouses, and household minors also qualify under CCP § 377.60.
The claim survives. California follows a pure comparative negligence rule: the recovery is reduced by the decedent’s percentage of fault, never eliminated by it. Insurers exaggerate that share for exactly that reason, and we push back with evidence.
No. A wrongful death claim is a civil case with its own standard of proof, and it proceeds whether or not the district attorney files charges. An acquittal does not end the civil claim.
The wrongful death claim compensates the family for its own losses. The survival action, brought by the estate, recovers the losses the person suffered before death, and can include punitive damages. For survival actions filed on or after January 1, 2026, the decedent’s pain and suffering is not recoverable, because the temporary window that allowed it closed without extension.
Nothing upfront. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, set in a written agreement, and there is no fee if there is no recovery. Our page on what a personal injury lawyer costs explains how the percentage and case expenses work.
We represent families in Hermosa Beach and throughout the South Bay, including Torrance, Gardena, Inglewood, Carson, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Lomita, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. For other Hermosa Beach injury cases, see our Hermosa Beach personal injury attorney page. Families elsewhere in the South Bay can also start with our Torrance wrongful death page.
When you are ready, we will listen, explain the deadlines that apply to your family, and tell you honestly what a claim would involve. The conversation is free and confidential, and there is no obligation. Call 310-750-4149 any time, or send us a message through our contact page and we will reach out at a time that works for you. There are no upfront legal fees; a fee is collected only if we win.
This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice for any specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes are fact-specific; consult a licensed California attorney about your own circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
