Contra Costa County · Wrongful Death
Wrongful death lawyers serving Pittsburg families
Accountability should not depend on a grieving family's stamina. We take the whole legal process — investigation to resolution — and your family keeps only the decisions that belong to you.
California's wrongful death law starts from a blunt premise: when negligence takes a life, the loss to the family — support, companionship, a parent's guidance — is real and compensable, and certain family members have the right to pursue it. What the law does not provide is someone to carry that pursuit. That is the role we take, in its entirety.
Oguz Injury Lawyers LLP serves Pittsburg from our office in Walnut Creek, and we make the process come to your family rather than the reverse — by phone, by video, or by meeting you in East County. We work in English, Spanish, Turkish, and Mandarin Chinese, and the first conversation is free, unhurried, and without obligation.
Retaining us puts the urgent work in motion immediately: evidence preservation, the official investigation and coroner's records, identification of every responsible party and insurance policy, and every deadline — including the six-month government claim rule where a public entity may be involved. There is no fee unless we recover for your family.
How a Pittsburg case takes shape
The official record depends on where the death occurred. Highway 4 crosses the middle of Pittsburg, and fatal crashes there — including at the Railroad Avenue, Bailey Road, and Loveridge Road interchanges — are investigated by the California Highway Patrol. On the city's surface streets, from Railroad Avenue down to the waterfront, the Pittsburg Police Department prepares the report, and the county coroner's office adds its examination. We obtain each record, and where the record leaves real questions — as it often does — we put our own investigators on them while witnesses and physical evidence still exist.
Pittsburg's industrial waterfront gives some of these cases a second dimension. When a death happens at work, workers' compensation provides limited death benefits regardless of fault — but it does not close the door on a civil claim against a negligent third party, such as a contractor on the same site, a property owner, or the maker of failed equipment. Families are rarely told this, and the third-party claim is often where genuine accountability and recovery lie. Traffic collisions, on the freeway and on arterials that mix commuters with people walking to school and to BART, account for most of the rest.
If a lawsuit becomes necessary, the case is filed in the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. We handle every appearance; most families never need to set foot there, and most cases resolve by settlement built on trial-ready preparation.
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
Our loved one died on the job. Do we have a case beyond workers' comp?
Possibly — and it is worth finding out. Workers' compensation death benefits are limited and do not depend on fault, but they also do not prevent a civil claim against a negligent party other than the employer: a subcontractor, a site owner, an equipment manufacturer. Whether such a third-party claim exists depends entirely on the facts, and evaluating it costs your family nothing.
What are the deadlines?
Generally two years from the date of death, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 — but only six months to present a formal claim if a public entity may be responsible, which can arise from public roads, government vehicles, or public property. We confirm the deadlines that actually apply to your family's situation in a first, free conversation.
Does it matter whether anyone is criminally charged?
Not for your family's civil claim. A wrongful death case is independent of any prosecution: it uses a lower standard of proof, does not require a conviction, and proceeds on its own schedule. A criminal case can neither substitute for the civil claim nor stand in its way.
Can we afford this?
Yes — because it costs nothing unless it succeeds. We advance all case costs, our fee is contingent on a recovery, and if there is no recovery your family owes nothing. The consultation is free.
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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.