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Reviewed by David Gammill, California trial attorney · Last reviewed: September 24, 2026
When a death in Redondo 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 Redondo 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. The claim belongs to the survivors, not to the person who died, and it compensates them for what they lost: financial support, household services, and the person’s love, companionship, comfort, care, and guidance. It does not depend on a criminal case 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 financially dependent people file: a putative spouse and that spouse’s children, stepchildren, parents, and a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the prior 180 days and relied on the decedent for at least half of their support.
All eligible heirs generally join one lawsuit, 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 the estate brings it. 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. 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.
Redondo Beach keeps its own count. In a December 2025 report on its street network, the City’s Public Works Department counted, for the five years 2020 through 2024, one pedestrian killed and seven people killed in vehicle-only crashes on city streets, alongside 14 serious pedestrian injuries, 55 serious vehicle-only injuries, and six serious cyclist injuries with no cyclist deaths. These are small numbers over five years, and the report does not break them out by year or by street. The state’s picture adds one angle worth knowing: in 2022 the Office of Traffic Safety’s crash rankings counted 78 people hurt or killed in alcohol-involved crashes in Redondo Beach, the worst of 104 cities its size that year. That matters to a family because a drinking driver is the most common way the punitive-damages door opens in a survival action.
Who investigates depends on the road. A fatal crash on Redondo Beach streets is investigated by the Redondo Beach Police Department and its Traffic Division, 401 Diamond Street, which writes the collision report. No freeway runs through the city; Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1, is the state-highway arterial, and 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 City’s capital records, such as its completed left-turn changes where Anita and Herondo meet PCH, are the kind of record a public entity keeps and a wrongful death case reads.
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 Redondo Beach that entity is the City of Redondo 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 Redondo 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 event data, roadway and maintenance records, phone records, and witness statements. Experts often carry the case: an accident reconstructionist, medical witnesses on the cause of death, and an economist to calculate what the family will go without over a lifetime. A Redondo 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 Redondo 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 Redondo 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. A death caused by a drinking driver is the usual example: the civil claim goes forward on its own evidence, and an acquittal does not end it.
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 Redondo Beach and throughout the South Bay, including Torrance, Gardena, Inglewood, Carson, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Lomita, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. For other Redondo Beach injury cases, see our Redondo 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 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.
