Contra Costa County · Wrongful Death
Wrongful death lawyers serving Antioch
East County families should not have to chase records, insurers, and deadlines across the county while grieving. We do all of it — and we come to you, not the other way around.
There is no preparing for a phone call that divides life into before and after. When a death is caused by someone else's negligence, California law gives certain family members a wrongful death claim — a way to secure the family's financial future and to hold the responsible parties to account. Pursuing it should cost the family nothing: not money, and as little time and pain as counsel can absorb.
Oguz Injury Lawyers LLP represents Antioch families from our office in Walnut Creek. We are candid about geography: the drive down Highway 4 is ours to make, not yours. We begin by phone or video whenever that is easier, we travel to families in East County, and we work in English, Spanish, Turkish, and Mandarin Chinese.
The first conversation is free and without obligation. If we take the case, the urgent work starts at once — preserving evidence, obtaining the official records, identifying every defendant and insurance policy, protecting every deadline — and the rest proceeds at whatever pace your family can bear. There is no fee unless we recover.
The practical side of an Antioch case
The record-gathering starts with knowing who investigated. A fatal crash on Highway 4 — the corridor that carries Antioch's entire commute — is handled by the California Highway Patrol, whose specialized teams reconstruct the most serious collisions. On the city's own streets, including Lone Tree Way, Deer Valley Road, and A Street, the Antioch Police Department prepares the report, and the county coroner's office conducts its own examination. We request all of it, follow up until it arrives, and investigate independently where the official account leaves gaps.
Antioch's cases arise the way its people live: on the commute, where freeway collisions are the most common origin; on wide arterials where drivers meet pedestrians near schools, shopping centers, and the medical campus; on unsafe premises; and at work, where a civil claim against a negligent third party — a contractor, a property owner, an equipment manufacturer — can exist alongside workers' compensation death benefits. Each origin points to different defendants and coverage, and identifying every one of them early is what protects the claim's full value.
A lawsuit, if needed, is filed in the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez — the venue for civil cases from all of East County. Your family would rarely, if ever, need to make that trip; appearing there is our job, and most cases resolve by settlement long before trial.
California wrongful death law, plainly stated
- The deadline for a wrongful death claim in California is generally two years from the date of death, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
- If a public entity bears responsibility — a government vehicle, a dangerous public road or property — a government claim generally must be presented within six months. This shorter deadline surprises grieving families constantly, and missing it can end the claim.
- Eligible claimants are defined by law: generally the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children first, then those entitled to the estate through intestate succession if there is no surviving spouse or issue.
- Pure comparative negligence applies: if the person who died was partly at fault, the family's recovery is reduced proportionally — not eliminated.
- A criminal prosecution, if any, is separate from the civil claim. The family's wrongful death case proceeds independently, under a different standard of proof, whatever the criminal outcome.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do we have to bring a claim?
Generally two years from the date of death under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a public entity may share responsibility — a government vehicle, or a dangerous condition of a public road — a claim generally must be presented to that entity within six months. That short deadline catches many families off guard, which is exactly why we confirm deadlines in the very first, free conversation.
The insurance company is already calling. What should we do?
You are under no obligation to give a statement, and in a wrongful death case you should not face an adjuster alone. Insurers move early in fatal cases because early statements shape everything after. Once a family retains us, all of that contact runs through our office — that alone lifts a significant weight.
Who may bring the claim, legally?
Generally the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and the children; if there are none, those who would inherit under California's intestate succession rules, and in some circumstances financially dependent household members. Families are complicated, and eligibility questions have real answers — asking is free and commits you to nothing.
What if our loved one was partly at fault?
The claim survives. California's pure comparative negligence rule reduces a recovery by the decedent's percentage of fault; it never erases the claim entirely. Independent investigation matters most here, because fault arguments in fatal cases are aimed at someone who can no longer respond.
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The case review is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we win. Tell us what happened, and we will tell you honestly where you stand.