Losing a family member because of someone else's negligence or wrongful act is devastating, and the legal process can feel overwhelming on top of grief. A wrongful death lawyer can explain who may bring a claim and what the law allows. This guide lists Los Angeles firms in our directory that handle these cases.
How we rank: firms below are ordered by their LawyersTrend LT Rank, a score built from verified verdicts, recognition, experience and bar standing. It is not a recommendation or a guarantee of results. See our ranking methodology. Sponsored listings are paid placements, are not ranked, and carry no LT Rank score.
Sponsored: Apollo Law Group
Sponsored listing. Apollo Law Group is a paid Featured advertiser on LawyersTrend. It is not included in the ranked list and has no LT Rank score.
Apollo Law Group is a plaintiff-side law firm headquartered in West Los Angeles that represents individuals in employment, personal injury, workers' compensation, and lemon law matters. The firm works on a contingency basis — no fee unless it recovers for the client — and takes cases nationwide, citing more than 30 years of combined attorney experience. Its employment practice covers wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and whistleblower claims, wage-and-hour and meal-and-rest disputes, misclassification, and family and medical leave matters; its personal injury practice handles car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian collisions, slip-and-fall, catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death. View the Apollo Law Group profile.
Top Wrongful Death Lawyers in Los Angeles, Ranked
- Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP (Los Angeles, CA) — LT Rank 96.37
- Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP (Santa Monica, CA) — LT Rank 93.06
- Farahi Law Firm, APC (Los Angeles, CA) — LT Rank 90.24
- The Razi Law Firm, APLC (Beverly Hills, CA) — LT Rank 87.68
- Javaherian & Ruszecki, PC (Culver City, CA) — LT Rank 85.62
See the full live list on our Wrongful Death practice page and the Los Angeles directory.
Who can bring a claim in California
California's wrongful death statute (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60) names who may sue, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, children, and in some cases others who were financially dependent on the person who died. The estate's representative may also bring a related survival claim for losses the person suffered before death. Because eligibility rules are technical, an early conversation with a lawyer is valuable.
Deadlines
The general deadline to file a wrongful death lawsuit is two years from the date of death. Claims against public entities, medical providers or involving certain defendants can have shorter or different deadlines, so do not wait.
What to ask a prospective lawyer
Ask about the firm's experience with wrongful death cases specifically, who will handle your case day to day, how costs are advanced and how communication will work. A good lawyer will be patient, will not pressure you, and will be honest about uncertainty.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.