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When a preventable death changes a family, we investigate the cause, protect the deadlines, and present the person behind the records.
While you wait:
The federal fatal-crash files list three deaths within Pleasant Hill during 2019 through 2024. Records identify Contra Costa Boulevard and I-680 among the locations. The city count is small, so it should not be used to declare one block safe or dangerous. The broader Contra Costa County total was 509 deaths, including 119 pedestrians and 62 motorcyclists.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Contra Costa County, 2019 to 2024. Scranton Law Firm analysis. Road names are recorded by investigating officers, so variants may appear separately.
California’s wrongful death statute sets an order of eligible claimants. The estate may also have a survival claim for losses that arose before death. We map the family relationships, confirm whether a probate representative is needed, and coordinate one case strategy so an omitted heir or competing filing does not derail the matter.
A roadway death may produce Pleasant Hill Police or CHP records, ambulance and hospital files, coroner materials, business video, and vehicle downloads. A death connected to a property, employer, product, or care facility creates a different trail. Each custodian has its own retention rules, so preservation requests must be specific and early.
Economists can measure lost earnings, benefits, and household work. Relatives, friends, photographs, messages, and daily routines can show the care, guidance, protection, and companionship the person provided. Liability strength and available coverage also matter. We build both sides of that proof rather than applying an “average” settlement number.
Sometimes. Eligibility depends on whether there is a surviving spouse, partner, child, or other heir and whether the sibling would inherit under California intestate succession. Dependency can create additional rights in limited situations.
Potential damages include funeral and burial expenses, lost financial support, lost household services, and the loss of companionship, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support.
The estate’s survival action may address losses between injury and death. Medical expenses, lost income, and other recoverable items depend on the facts and current California law.
Most civil cases resolve without trial, but preparation should assume a jury may hear the case. That approach improves the evidence and gives negotiations a credible foundation.
Free, confidential consultation. No attorney fee unless we win.
Attorney Advertising. Scranton Law Firm, 2450 Stanwell Dr, Concord, CA 94520. Responsible attorney: Christian Scranton, California State Bar #196959. Founded 1973. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.