Alameda County · Wrongful Death
Wrongful death lawyers serving Dublin
The legal system will not slow down for your family's grief — but your lawyers can stand between you and it. We take the entire process off your shoulders and keep you informed only as much as you wish.
If your family has lost someone because of another person's negligence, California law provides a wrongful death claim to certain family members — generally the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children first. The claim is not about assigning a number to a life; it is about the support, companionship, and guidance that were taken, and about accountability from those responsible.
Oguz Injury Lawyers LLP represents Dublin families from our office in downtown Walnut Creek, up I-680 from the Tri-Valley. Distance is not a barrier we ask grieving families to cross: we begin by phone or video whenever that is easier, and we travel to families when it helps. We work in English, Spanish, Turkish, and Mandarin Chinese.
From the first day on a case, we do the urgent work quietly — preserving evidence, obtaining the investigation records, identifying every defendant and insurance policy, and protecting each deadline — and then we set a pace your family can live with. There is no fee unless we recover.
The path a Dublin case follows
Dublin sits in Alameda County, so a wrongful death lawsuit arising here is filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, whose civil courts sit in Oakland. That venue is fixed from the outset, and it informs how we build the case — because a claim prepared for that courtroom is the claim insurers take seriously at the settlement table, where most of these cases resolve.
The investigation record depends on geography. Dublin grew up around the I-580/I-680 interchange, and fatal crashes on the freeways and their ramps are investigated by the California Highway Patrol, often with specialized reconstruction teams. On the city's surface streets — Dublin Boulevard, Tassajara Road, San Ramon Road, Dougherty Road — Dublin Police Services prepares the report, and the Alameda County coroner's bureau conducts its own examination. We obtain every record and pursue what the records miss: witnesses, camera footage, vehicle data.
Not every case starts on a road. Some involve unsafe property; some involve a death at work, where workers' compensation death benefits may coexist with a separate civil claim against a negligent contractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer. Identifying which claims exist — and against whom — is the early legal work that most affects a family's ultimate recovery.
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
Where would our case actually be filed?
Dublin is in Alameda County, so a lawsuit would be filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, with civil matters heard in Oakland. That said, most wrongful death cases resolve by settlement without a trial. Preparing thoroughly for the courtroom is largely what makes fair settlements happen.
What deadlines apply?
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, a dangerous condition of public property — a formal claim generally must be presented within six months. Because that shorter deadline is easy to miss, we check for public-entity involvement in every case, immediately.
Who can bring the claim?
California statute defines the order: generally the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and children first; then, if there are none, those who would inherit under intestate succession — often parents or siblings. Certain financially dependent household members may also qualify. Complicated family situations are common and rarely disqualifying; ask before assuming.
What will this cost, and what if the case does not succeed?
The consultation is free, we advance all costs, and our fee is contingent — it comes only out of a recovery. If there is no recovery, your family owes nothing. There is no scenario in which this process sends your family a bill.
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