Westlake Village Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

To keep the civil court system running smoothly while prioritizing fair outcomes for both plaintiffs filing lawsuits and defendants facing them, California state law imposes deadlines for filing civil claims through “statutes of limitations.” If you try to file suit after the deadline set by the applicable statute of limitations has passed, the court will dismiss your case as “time-barred,” and you will not be able to file that particular claim successfully at any point after that.

Like all other types of civil litigation, wrongful death cases are subject to a statute of limitations that sets a time limit on how long you can wait to file suit against the person or people responsible for causing a loved one’s fatal accident. A seasoned attorney can explain in more detail how the Westlake Village wrongful death statute of limitations differs from the one applicable to most other personal injury claims.

The Standard Filing Deadline for Wrongful Death Claims

Since wrongful death claims in Westlake Village are considered a subtype of personal injury litigation, they are subject to the same statute of limitations as standard personal injury claims. In accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, if you lose a family member as a direct result of a third party’s irresponsible or illegal act, you have two years to file suit, starting from the date on which you first had a “cause of action” to sue.

For typical personal injury claims, the cause of action for a lawsuit is generally the moment when an injury actually happened. It can also be when the injured person discovered—or reasonably should have discovered—they were injured directly due to someone else’s negligence. However, for wrongful death claims, the cause of action is always the date on which the deceased person passed away, regardless of how long prior to that they were initially injured or made ill by another person’s misconduct.

Are There Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations?

Strictly speaking, there are no exceptions to the statute of limitations for wrongful death in Westlake Village. However, there are some situations where the starting point for the two-year filing period can be “tolled” or paused until specific criteria are met.

For example, if a minor child loses a parent in a fatal accident, they may have two years from their 18th birthday to file a wrongful death lawsuit over that accident. If someone passes away as a direct result of medical malpractice, surviving family members have one year from discovering that malpractice caused the death in question to a maximum of three years past the actual date of death. Conversely, wrongful death claims against government bodies and employees may have effective filing deadlines as short as six months after the date of death.

Trust a Westlake Village Attorney To Help Sue Within the Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

Suing over a loved one’s premature death is always a challenging experience in both legal and personal terms. As difficult as this sort of claim can be, though, it is generally important to take action relatively quickly after a wrongful death occurs, since state courts do not favorably consider people who fail to abide by applicable filing deadlines.

A qualified attorney can help you understand the statute of limitations that applies to your Westlake Village wrongful death claim and ensure you can build the strongest case possible within that time frame. Call today to learn more.