What to Gather After a Wrongful Death

In the weeks after a death, families are asked for documents they have never needed before, often by people they have never met. If the death was caused by someone else's carelessness, the same papers later become the evidence for a wrongful death claim. Gathering them early, while memories are fresh and records are easy to find, takes pressure off the months that follow.

This checklist is organized by where each record comes from in Sonoma County, with the official source for each step listed at the end. It does not replace grieving or the arrangements that come first; it is meant to be worked through over a few weeks, one item at a time.

What should we gather, step by step?

Write down the basic facts. The date, time and place of the injury and of the death, the agencies that responded, and every case or report number anyone gives you.
Order certified death certificates. For a death in Sonoma County, the County Clerk-Recorder issues them; its page says the County Clerk receives a death certificate about one month after the death.
Keep the coroner's information. If the Sheriff's Office Coroner Bureau investigated, note the case number and the detective's name.
Request the crash or incident report. The CHP or police agency that took the report must release it to people with a proper interest in it (Vehicle Code 20012).
Request medical records. The personal representative or a beneficiary of a deceased patient may ask for copies, which a provider must send within 15 days (Health and Safety Code 123105 and 123110).
Collect proof of the family's losses. Pay records, tax returns, receipts for funeral and burial costs, and records of the help your loved one gave the household.
Collect insurance papers and letters. Every policy, claim number and letter, in one folder, with the date each arrived.
Do not sign a release yet. A release gives up claims, and the family should know exactly what it covers first (Civil Code 1542).

Where does each record come from?

Record	Where it comes from	Who may get it	Rule or source
Certified death certificate	Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder, 585 Fiscal Drive, Room 103, Santa Rosa, for deaths in Sonoma County	Authorized copies: listed relatives, the estate's attorney or representative, and others; anyone else receives an informational copy	County of Sonoma: death certificates; Health and Safety Code 103526(c)
Coroner case number and personal property	Sheriff's Office Coroner Bureau, 3336 Chanate Road, Santa Rosa	The family; the Bureau has a Personal Property Release Form	Sheriff's Office: Coroner Bureau; Government Code 27491
Crash report	The CHP area office or city police department that responded	People with a proper interest, including drivers, injured people, owners, people who may be liable, and an attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that they represent one of them	Vehicle Code 20012
Medical records	Each hospital, ambulance service, doctor or clinic	The personal representative or beneficiary of a deceased patient	Health and Safety Code 123105(e) and 123110
Proof of losses	The family's own papers, the employer, banks, the funeral home	The family	What the jury considers under CACI 3921

How do we get death certificates in Sonoma County?

The County of Sonoma Clerk-Recorder has death records for deaths that happened in Sonoma County from 1873 to the present, and its page says it cannot issue certificates for deaths that happened anywhere else. The County Clerk receives a death certificate about one month after the death, so an order placed earlier may have to wait.

There are two kinds of certified copy. An authorized certified copy, which can be used to establish identity, goes only to people listed in Health and Safety Code 103526(c). For a death record, the County lists a parent or legal guardian, a child, a grandparent, a grandchild, a sibling, a spouse or a domestic partner, as well as an attorney representing the person or the person's estate, anyone empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act for the estate, and a funeral home employee ordering for the family. Everyone else receives a certified informational copy, watermarked as not valid to establish identity, with signatures and the Social Security number redacted.

The County offers three ways to order. In person at 585 Fiscal Drive, Room 103, Santa Rosa, with a government-issued ID, you leave with the copy. Online or by phone, the County works with VitalChek, which verifies identity electronically; the County mails the order within 4 to 7 days after receiving it. By mail, the application's sworn statement must be signed before a notary, or the application is returned. The County's own page lists the current fee.

Order more copies than you think you need. Banks, insurers, employers and the court may each want one, and a family that brings the estate's claim without opening probate must attach a certified copy to the sworn declaration it files (Code of Civil Procedure 377.32). Our guide on whether the family needs probate for a wrongful death claim explains that declaration.

What does the coroner have, and how do we ask?

California law requires the coroner to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner and cause of violent, sudden or unusual deaths, including deaths known or suspected to result from an accident or injury (Government Code 27491). In Sonoma County, that is the Sheriff's Office Coroner Bureau at 3336 Chanate Road in Santa Rosa.

According to the Sheriff's Office, its detectives respond to deaths investigated as accidents, homicides or suicides, and its forensic assistants locate and retrieve medical records, samples and x-ray images for the investigation. The Bureau has a Personal Property Release Form for families, and the Sheriff's website has a section for reports and property requests. Keep the coroner case number, because every later request will ask for it. Our guide on what happens after a fatal crash in Sonoma County explains how the coroner's work fits with the police investigation and any criminal case.

How do we get the crash or incident report?

Ask the agency that took the report. Vehicle Code 20012 requires the CHP or the police agency to disclose the entire contents of a crash report, including names, addresses, statements and diagrams, to any person with a proper interest in it. The statute's list includes the drivers, injured people, vehicle owners, people who may be liable, and an attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that they represent one of them, and it says the list is not limited to those. The fee cannot exceed the actual cost of the copy. Our guide on how to get the crash report in Sonoma County lists the CHP and city records offices.

If the death was not a crash, the report may come from a city police department, the Sheriff's Office or, after a fall at a business, the business itself. A report can take longer when the investigation is still open; write down the date you asked and the person you spoke with.

How do we get our loved one's medical records?

For a deceased patient, the people who may request records include the beneficiary, as defined in the Probate Code, and the personal representative of the estate (Health and Safety Code 123105(e)). Under Health and Safety Code 123110, a provider must allow inspection within five working days after a request and must send copies within 15 days after receiving a written request that specifies the records, on payment of a fee to cover the cost.

Ask each provider separately: the ambulance service, the emergency room, the hospital and any doctor seen before the death. The records show the injuries, the treatment and the bills, which matter for the estate's survival claim for medical expenses before death.

What records show what the family lost?

A wrongful death claim compensates the family for its own losses. The jury instruction for the death of an adult lists the economic items: the financial support the person would have contributed, the gifts or benefits the family would have expected, funeral and burial expenses, and the reasonable value of household services the person would have provided (CACI 3921). The papers that prove those items are often already at home:

pay stubs, W-2 forms, tax returns and records of any business the person ran;
bank records showing what the person paid for rent, the mortgage, tuition or a relative's care;
funeral, burial and cemetery invoices, with proof of who paid;
notes on the household help the person gave, such as childcare, driving, repairs or caring for a relative;
photos, cards and messages that show the family's relationships.

Noneconomic damages cover the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care and support, but not grief or sorrow (CACI 3921). Our guide on what a family can recover in a wrongful death case explains each item. Funeral costs raise their own questions, covered in who pays funeral costs after a wrongful death.

What should we not sign?

An insurer may send a check, a release or a settlement form within weeks. A release is a written agreement to give up claims. California law says a general release does not reach claims a person does not know or suspect exist when signing, if knowing about them would have materially affected the settlement (Civil Code 1542). Because a release is a binding agreement, read any reference to section 1542 or to "unknown claims" with care, and get advice before signing.

Before signing anything, check who is entitled to bring the claim. The wrongful death claim belongs to the family members listed in Code of Civil Procedure 377.60, and the court decides each person's rights in an award (Code of Civil Procedure 377.61). Our guide on how a wrongful death settlement is divided explains that step.

What changes the answer?

The death happened outside Sonoma County. The Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder cannot issue a certificate for a death elsewhere; order from the county where the death occurred. For Marin, see our page on personal injury cases in Marin County.

The death happened at work. The employer must report a work death immediately to Cal/OSHA (Labor Code 6409.1(b)), and workers' compensation death benefits may apply. See a family member who died at work.

A public entity may be responsible. A written claim for a death is due within six months (Government Code 911.2), so the gathering has to move faster. Our guide on wrongful death deadlines explains the clock.

The family needs the estate's claim too. The successor's sworn declaration needs a certified copy of the death certificate attached (Code of Civil Procedure 377.32).

The person responsible also died. A claim against that person's estate generally must be brought within one year after their death (Code of Civil Procedure 366.2). See when the at-fault person also died.

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a man who dies in a Petaluma hospital two days after a pickup truck hits him in a crosswalk. His wife keeps the coroner case number a detective gave her and collects his wallet and phone with the Bureau's property release form.

A month later, she orders six authorized copies of the death certificate in person at 585 Fiscal Drive. She writes to the ambulance service, the hospital and his doctor for records and bills, noting the date of each request. She requests the police report and starts a folder with his pay stubs, last two tax returns, the funeral invoice and a list of what he did around the house. When the truck driver's insurer sends a release with a check, she does not sign it. This example is made up to show how the steps fit together; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do families make in the first weeks?

Ordering only one or two death certificates, then waiting again for more.
Ordering an informational copy when an authorized copy is needed, because the person ordering was not on the authorized list.
Throwing away funeral receipts, pay stubs or medical bills while clearing out a home.
Signing an insurer's release or cashing a check marked as full payment.
Giving a recorded statement to the other side's insurer before the family has advice.
Asking for records by phone only, with no written request and no date to point to later.

What should we do this week?

Start one folder, paper or digital, and put every case number, report number and claim number on its first page.
Write down what happened while memories are fresh: who called, what they said, and when.
Plan how many certified death certificates the family will need, and who will order them.
Send written record requests to each medical provider and keep copies.
Gather pay records, tax returns and funeral invoices into the folder.
Read the steps in a wrongful death lawsuit in Sonoma County so you know what the records will be used for.
Bring the folder to a first meeting; our guide on what to bring to a first meeting with an injury lawyer lists the rest.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a death certificate in Sonoma County?

The County's page says the County Clerk receives a death certificate about one month after the death. After that, an in-person order is processed while you wait, and online and mail orders are mailed within 4 to 7 days after the County receives them.

Can a partner who was not married get an authorized copy?

A domestic partner is on the County's list of authorized people. Someone who is not on the list receives an informational copy, which is still certified but cannot be used to establish identity.

Can our lawyer request the records for us?

Often, yes. An attorney representing the estate is on the County's list for death certificates, and Vehicle Code 20012 lets an attorney obtain a crash report by declaring under penalty of perjury that they represent a person with a proper interest.

Do we need to open probate to get medical records?

Not always. Health and Safety Code 123105(e) lets the beneficiary of a deceased patient, as defined in the Probate Code, request records, as well as the estate's personal representative.

Should we keep our loved one's phone and car?

Keep them unchanged if you can, and do not wipe, repair or sell them until the family has advice. Photos, messages and the vehicle itself can be evidence of what happened.

How soon do we need to act?

The general deadline for a wrongful death lawsuit is two years from the death (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1), but a claim against a public entity is due within six months. Our guide to California personal injury deadlines lists the exceptions.

If your family has lost a loved one because of someone else's carelessness, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page for a free and confidential consultation.

What should our family gather in the first weeks after a death caused by someone else?