A DUI driver kills someone. A reckless driver runs a red light and a family loses a parent. A property owner’s decisions lead to a fatal fall that draws criminal attention. When a death carries the weight of possible criminal charges, families often find themselves watching two cases unfold at once. The criminal case gets the headlines. The civil case does the real work of recovery.
The two move for different reasons and on different schedules.
Two Systems Looking at the Same Death Differently
The criminal case belongs to the state. California prosecutors, not the family, decide what charges to bring, when to bring them, and when to drop or settle them. The burden sits at proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A conviction can mean prison, probation, or fines paid to the state.
The civil wrongful death case belongs to the family. The burden is lower. A plaintiff has to show by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not, that the defendant’s conduct caused the death. Success means financial compensation for the family rather than punishment.
The two cases can share an underlying incident without sharing anything else. One can win while the other loses. Both can win. Both can go nowhere.
The Civil Clock Does Not Stop for the Criminal Case
California gives a family two years from the date of death to file most wrongful death claims. When a government entity is involved, the family usually has to file a formal claim within six months. Those deadlines run whether the criminal case is still in the investigation stage, approaching trial, or already over.
Waiting for the criminal case to resolve before filing the civil claim is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes families make. Evidence fades. Witnesses move or forget. Restaurant and gas station surveillance systems overwrite footage in days, not months. A civil case filed early preserves leverage the criminal prosecution will never develop on the family’s behalf.
How a Criminal Conviction Can Help the Civil Case
A felony conviction is not the end of a civil wrongful death case. It can be the beginning of a stronger one.
Under California law, a family can use a final felony conviction in a later civil case to establish the facts the jury had to find to convict. If a jury convicts a defendant of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the family does not have to re-prove those core facts. The conviction does the work.
The Fifth Amendment creates another angle. A defendant still facing possible prosecution often refuses to answer questions in a civil deposition. Unlike in criminal court, a civil jury can hear about that refusal and draw its own conclusions. The tool the defendant uses to protect himself in one courtroom can cost him in the other.
Where the Insurance Carrier Fits In
Insurance policies pay most civil wrongful death recoveries, not the defendant’s personal assets. That creates a specific dynamic when criminal charges are pending.
Most liability policies exclude coverage for intentional acts. A carrier defending a driver accused of vehicular manslaughter often reserves rights on coverage, hinting that a conviction for an intentional act would take the payout off the table. That is not always accurate. Negligence-based claims from the same incident may still carry coverage even when the pleadings allege intentional conduct in parallel.
Carriers also monitor the criminal docket for leverage. A delay on the criminal side can push a civil settlement one direction. A strong piece of evidence surfacing in the criminal file can push it the other.
What Civil Discovery Can Reach That Criminal Cannot
Criminal discovery in California is relatively narrow. Prosecutors hand over their file. The defense develops its own evidence. Neither side generally deposes witnesses.
Civil cases open the door much wider. Depositions of the defendant, employees, and witnesses under oath. Document requests aimed at employers, phone carriers, bars, maintenance companies, and other third parties. Written questions that force specific answers on the record. That scope often surfaces information the criminal case never touches, especially when an employer, a bar, or another business played a role in what happened.
Getting Help Before the Two Cases Get Ahead of the Family
Running alongside a criminal case does not make a wrongful death claim harder to win. It changes the timing, the information flow, and the leverage. A family with someone watching both tracks ends up in a stronger position than one that waits.
Attorney Dustin works with families across Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and the surrounding Riverside County area on wrongful death cases, including those tied to DUI fatalities, workplace deaths, and other incidents that draw criminal attention. If your family is facing a loss that may lead to charges against someone, getting a civil strategy moving early is the best way to keep the two cases from outrunning you.