CACI No. 3921: wrongful death damages for the death of an adult

A wrongful death claim in California belongs to the family, not to the person who died. The Sources and Authority for CACI No. 3921 describe it as a statutory claim that compensates specified heirs for their own losses from the death. CACI No. 3921 is the instruction jurors use to measure those losses when the person who died was an adult (CACI No. 3921). CACI No. 3922 covers parents' recovery for the death of a minor child.

Economic damages under CACI No. 3921

The instruction lists four kinds of economic loss a plaintiff can claim:

1. The financial support, if any, the decedent would have contributed to the family. It is measured over the decedent's life expectancy before death or the plaintiff's life expectancy, whichever is shorter.
2. Gifts or benefits the decedent would likely have given the plaintiff, now lost.
3. Funeral and burial expenses.
4. The reasonable value of household services the decedent would have provided.

Any award for future economic losses is reduced to its present cash value. The Directions for Use add a detail for one situation: if the decedent recovered damages for lost earning capacity while alive, an heir's claim for lost financial support is based on the decedent's health as it stood at death.

Non-economic damages: what the family lost

The non-economic losses center on the relationship itself: the decedent's love and companionship, and the comfort, care, protection and moral support the decedent gave. Depending on the case, the judge may add the loss of a sexual relationship or the loss of the decedent's training and guidance. As with other non-economic damages, there is no fixed standard, and jurors use their judgment and common sense to reach a reasonable amount.

A bracketed paragraph tells jurors to state those amounts in current dollars without reducing them to present value. The Directions for Use explain why it is bracketed: the law is not completely settled. An older appellate case held that all wrongful death damages must be reduced to present value. The California Supreme Court later held in Salgado v. County of Los Angeles (1998) that future pain and suffering awards are not reduced further, and the directions say it seems probable that rule applies to wrongful death, though no court has expressly held so.

What jurors must leave out

CACI No. 3921 tells jurors not to consider three things:

• The plaintiff's grief, sorrow or mental anguish.
• The decedent's pain and suffering.
• The poverty or wealth of the plaintiff.

The first exclusion comes from long-settled case law. The California Supreme Court decision quoted in the Sources and Authority, Krouse v. Graham (1977), describes a consistent line of California cases refusing wrongful death damages for the family's own mental and emotional distress, grief and sorrow included. The loss of companionship is compensable. The sorrow itself is not. The decedent's own pain before death belongs to a different claim, the survival action, covered in our guide to survival actions and wrongful death.

Life expectancy and a single verdict

Jurors may weigh average life expectancy for someone of the same age together with the individual's own health, habits, way of life and work. The judge reads figures from a published source, and the instruction tells jurors the figures are evidence but not conclusive. The Directions for Use recommend the life tables published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

When several family members sue, an optional paragraph has jurors consider all their losses and return one amount, which the judge divides among them. The Sources and Authority explain that although each heir has a personal claim, the wrongful death statutes ordinarily require the heirs to litigate together so the defendant does not face a series of separate suits.

Who can sue, and punitive damages

Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 sets the list of people who can bring the claim. It starts with the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and the children, extends in some cases to others who would inherit, and includes certain people who were financially dependent on the decedent, such as a putative spouse, stepchildren or parents. A minor who lived in the decedent's household for the previous 180 days and depended on the decedent for at least half of the minor's support may also qualify. The decedent's personal representative can bring the action on their behalf.

Punitive damages are generally not available. The Sources and Authority quote the California Supreme Court in Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California (1976) on that point, and note one exception in Civil Code section 3294(d): a death resulting from a homicide for which the defendant was convicted of a felony.

Questions for a family after a death

• Who is eligible to sue? Check the family members section 377.60 lists.
• Are all the heirs involved? The statutes ordinarily expect one joint action.
• What support did the person give? Gather pay records and evidence of contributions to the household.
• What did the person do at home? Child care, repairs and caregiving have a value.
• Is there a separate survival claim? The decedent's own losses before death are handled there.

This page explains California's official jury instructions for general readers and is legal information, not legal advice. Wrongful death deadlines and eligibility rules are strict; consult a lawyer licensed in California about a specific death.