When an older or dependent adult dies because of abuse or neglect, California law gives the family two related ways to hold those responsible accountable: a wrongful death claim for the family’s own losses, and a survival claim on behalf of the person’s estate. California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act strengthens both — allowing recovery of the decedent’s own pre-death suffering and attorney’s fees that ordinary wrongful death law does not provide.
By Paul H. Kang, Attorney · Los Angeles Bar Association Elder Law Panel Counsel · Last updated 2026
Not every death in a nursing home or under a caregiver’s watch is the result of wrongdoing. But when a death follows a pattern of neglect or an act of abuse — an untreated infection, advanced pressure injuries, dehydration, a preventable fall, a medication error, or physical mistreatment — the family has the right to ask what happened and to hold the facility or caregiver accountable.
California recognizes two distinct claims when an elder or dependent adult dies from abuse or neglect. A wrongful death claim (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60) belongs to the surviving family and compensates them for their own loss. A survival claim (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.30) belongs to the person’s estate and recovers what the decedent themselves lost before death. The two are usually brought together.
These deaths often trace back to the same failures that cause non-fatal harm — including nursing home neglect and untreated pressure injuries that progress to fatal infection. Families are frequently told a death was “natural” or “expected,” even when the underlying cause was preventable.
California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Welfare and Institutions Code section 15600 and following) was written to address exactly this. When abuse or neglect is proven by clear and convincing evidence, it allows remedies that ordinary wrongful death law does not — including the survival of the decedent’s own pre-death pain and suffering and the recovery of attorney’s fees under section 15657.
Fatal pressure injuries and infections
Untreated bedsores that progress to deep-tissue wounds, bone infection (osteomyelitis), and sepsis.
Sepsis from untreated infection
Urinary tract infections, wound infections, or pneumonia that staff fail to recognize or escalate until they become fatal.
Dehydration and malnutrition
Residents who are not assisted with food and fluids and decline to the point of organ failure.
Falls and head injuries
Preventable falls causing fractures, brain bleeds, and fatal complications where fall precautions were not in place.
Medication errors
Overdoses, dangerous interactions, or chemical restraint that suppresses breathing or hastens decline.
Choking and aspiration
Unsafe feeding or ignored swallowing precautions leading to aspiration pneumonia or asphyxiation.
Elopement and wandering deaths
Residents with dementia who leave undetected and die from exposure, traffic, or drowning.
Physical abuse
A death caused or hastened by striking, rough handling, or improper restraint.
When a family questions whether a death was truly unavoidable, these are common red flags:
A death recorded as “natural” that does not fit the person’s prior condition or trajectory
Advanced pressure injuries (bedsores) discovered at or near the time of death
Sepsis, urosepsis, or a severe infection diagnosed shortly before death
Significant unexplained weight loss, dehydration, or malnutrition
A fall, fracture, or head injury in the weeks before death
Unexplained bruises, restraint marks, or other injuries
Rapid, unexplained decline after a period of stability
Medication changes or oversedation, or signs of a medication error
A facility that is vague, defensive, or inconsistent about what happened
Records that don’t match what you observed, or records that are missing
A death-certificate cause that seems incomplete or inconsistent with the person’s care
Staff discouraging an autopsy or further questions
Documentation matters. Secure the complete medical records and the death certificate, request any autopsy or coroner’s report, photograph any visible injuries, and write down what you observed and were told. Report your concerns to California Adult Protective Services and, for licensed facilities, to the California Department of Public Health; in a suspected criminal death, contact law enforcement or the coroner. Acting quickly helps preserve the records and physical evidence a case depends on.
California treats a death from elder abuse or neglect as giving rise to specific claims that require specific proof. To recover, the plaintiffs generally must show:
1. The defendant had care or custody of the elder or dependent adult, or committed an act of abuse
2. The defendant was negligent or abusive — and, for the Elder Abuse Act’s enhanced remedies, acted with recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice
3. That conduct was a substantial factor in causing the death
4. The person bringing the claim is a proper heir (for the wrongful death claim) or the estate’s representative or successor in interest (for the survival claim)
The factual case is built from records, the cause-of-death evidence, and expert testimony. Records that matter include:
The complete medical chart and nursing notes
The death certificate, and any autopsy or coroner’s report
Medication administration records (MARs)
Care plans and assessments
Incident reports
Staffing schedules and assignments
State survey reports and prior citations
Photographs and the family’s own dated notes
Proving cause of death is central to these cases. Physicians and, where appropriate, forensic pathologists establish that abuse or neglect — not age or underlying illness alone — was a substantial factor in the death. Geriatric nursing and medicine experts establish the standard of care and how the facility departed from it. Economists or life-care experts help quantify the family’s losses.
When the elements are met, the family and the estate together can recover wrongful death damages, the decedent’s surviving losses, attorney’s fees under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657, and — in the survival action — punitive damages where the conduct involved malice, oppression, or fraud.
When a death results from elder abuse or neglect, recovery comes through two claims and may include:
Wrongful death damages (the family’s loss) — loss of the decedent’s financial support and household services, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of their love, companionship, comfort, care, society, and moral support
Survival damages (the estate’s claim) — the decedent’s own losses before death, such as medical expenses, and — where elder abuse or neglect is proven by clear and convincing evidence — the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering, which ordinarily does not survive death
Attorney’s fees and costs — Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657 authorizes attorney’s fees against defendants found liable for elder abuse or neglect by clear and convincing evidence
Punitive damages — available through the survival action where the conduct involved malice, oppression, or fraud
The wrongful death and survival claims fit together in technically complex ways that depend on who survives the decedent and the specific facts. We will map out the strongest combination of claims during the initial consultation.
It is a claim that arises when an elder or dependent adult dies as a result of abuse or neglect. California allows two related claims: a wrongful death claim brought by the surviving family for their own losses, and a survival claim brought on behalf of the estate for what the decedent lost before death. Under the Elder Abuse Act, the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering can be recovered when abuse or neglect is proven by clear and convincing evidence.
California law (Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60) gives the right to the decedent’s surviving spouse or domestic partner and children, and — if there are none — to those who would inherit under California’s intestate succession rules. The survival claim is brought by the estate’s personal representative or successor in interest. We can help determine who has standing.
The Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act adds remedies that ordinary wrongful death law does not, including the survival of the decedent’s own pre-death pain and suffering and the recovery of attorney’s fees — but only when abuse or neglect is proven by the higher “clear and convincing evidence” standard.
A “natural” cause on the certificate does not end the inquiry. Deaths from sepsis, dehydration, untreated infection, or complications of a fall are often recorded as natural even though the underlying cause was preventable neglect. Medical records and expert review can establish what actually happened.
Deadlines are strict and depend on the claims and the defendants involved; some situations — such as claims against public entities or certain medical defendants — have much shorter notice or filing periods. Because missing a deadline can permanently bar a case, speak with an attorney as soon as possible. Kang Law, PC offers a free consultation.
We offer a free consultation and handle these cases so that families are not paying out of pocket as the case proceeds; the Elder Abuse Act’s attorney’s-fee provision can also shift fees to a defendant found liable. We will explain the fee arrangement during the consultation.
Q: What is Elder Abuse and Neglect A: Some examples of elder abuse are when someone hits, slaps, pinches, pushes, kicks, restrains, confines an elder.
