The family of the victim has the right to pursue a demanda por muerte injusta against the driver under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60. Recoverable damages are broad: funeral and burial expenses, the financial support the victim would have provided his family over the course of his lifetime, loss of companionship and society, and the full human cost of his death. California does not cap wrongful death damages in car accident cases. The driver’s automobile insurance is the primary source of immediate recovery, and an attorney can quickly identify the policy limits and begin building the claim.

This is the element that separates a DUI fatality case from an ordinary negligence case in California. Under California Civil Code § 3294, punitive damages are available when a defendant’s conduct is found to be oppressive, fraudulent, or malicious. California courts have consistently held that driving under the influence of alcohol — a choice the driver made knowingly, with full awareness of the risk to others — meets the standard for malice. Punitive damages are assessed in addition to standard wrongful death compensation. They are not capped by California law, and they are paid personally by the defendant if their conduct is proven to be egregious. This is a compelling additional avenue of recovery that does not exist in most accident cases.

The police report notes that the victim was not in a marked crosswalk. It is important to understand what this means — and does not mean — legally. California is a negligencia comparativa pura state: a plaintiff’s damages are reduced only by their percentage of fault, never eliminated entirely. Crossing outside a marked crosswalk is not automatically unlawful in California; as noted in follow-up coverage of this crash, most road crossings outside crosswalks are legal in the state provided the crossing can be done safely. Against a driver who was arrested for suspected DUI, the argument that the pedestrian was primarily at fault for the crash faces a significant uphill climb. An attorney can assess the specific facts of the crossing and how fault is likely to be allocated.

If the driver is criminally charged and convicted in connection with the crash, the family may also be entitled to criminal restitution through the prosecution — a separate track from the civil wrongful death claim. Restitution in DUI fatality prosecutions can include funeral expenses, lost income, and other documented losses. However, criminal restitution is typically more limited than civil damages and does not include the non-economic components (loss of companionship, pain and suffering) or punitive damages available in a civil suit. The two tracks — criminal restitution and civil wrongful death — are independent and can be pursued simultaneously.