UCLA-Trained Attorneys in Newbury Park
When a family member dies because of another party's negligence, California law gives you the right to hold them accountable. CCP Section 377.60 allows a surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, or dependents to bring a wrongful death action. The estate can also pursue a survival action under Section 377.30 for damages the deceased person suffered before passing.
Curt files wrongful death cases from Newbury Park at Ventura County Superior Court. He handles every aspect of the case directly, from the initial investigation through trial if necessary. In a community like Newbury Park, where families are close-knit, losing someone to preventable negligence hits especially hard. Curt makes sure the legal process does not add to that burden.
Newbury Park Is His Backyard
I grew up in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park's neighbor and the same city that shares its schools, roads, and character. I attended Thousand Oaks High School and know the Wendy Drive and Reino Road corridors the way only a local does. My favorite sushi happy hour is at Sumo Sushi, and Holdren's Steak and Seafood is a staple. When you call, I don't need to look the neighborhood up.
What We Know About Injury Cases Here
The roads that generate the most crashes, the hospitals you will likely be taken to, and the California laws and deadlines that apply to your situation. This is what we walk into a Newbury Park case already knowing.
California law allows surviving spouses, children, and — in some cases — other dependents to file a civil wrongful death claim for the negligent, reckless, or intentional killing of a family member. This is a separate claim from any criminal prosecution.
A survival action (CCP §377.30) allows the estate to recover damages the deceased could have claimed if they had survived — including pain and suffering experienced before death. Both claims can run simultaneously and are often pursued together.
What Shapes an Injury Case Here
Newbury Park is unincorporated Ventura County, not part of any incorporated city. That means different court procedures, different filing requirements, and different claims deadlines than LA County. If your case involves a county-maintained road or public property, the government tort claim deadline is six months. Not a year. Not "whenever you get around to it." Six months, and if you miss it, your case is over.
The Rancho Conejo Business Park along Lawrence Drive is Newbury Park's commercial core: biotech companies, light industrial, and office buildings. If you got hurt at one of these businesses, you are dealing with companies that have insurance teams on retainer. They know how to fight claims. You need someone who knows how to fight back.
The Wendy Drive/US-101 interchange is the primary crash corridor. Evidence from freeway incidents here disappears quickly: Caltrans camera footage cycles, skid marks wash away, and witnesses scatter.
A lot of crashes in Newbury Park involve underinsured drivers. The other driver's policy may not cover your full damages, and knowing how to access the UM/UIM coverage on your own policy is the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
The Injury Patterns We See Here
The Wendy Drive and Reino Road corridors carry the bulk of Newbury Park's traffic. These are residential streets handling commercial loads, and the mismatch shows in the collision data: rear-ends at congested intersections, T-bones from drivers running stale yellows, and pedestrians caught in crosswalks without adequate signal time.
Lawrence Drive through the business park adds commercial truck and delivery traffic. Borchard Road gets the school zone and residential incidents. Wendy Drive at the freeway interchange is the high-speed crash zone.
One of our Newbury Park cases involved an underinsured driver who ran a red on Reino Road. The other driver's policy was $15,000, which did not come close to covering our client's medical bills. We recovered the remainder through the client's own UM/UIM coverage, something they did not know they had. Another case was a trip and fall at a Rancho Conejo office building where the property manager had ignored a broken sidewalk for months. Different cases, different strategies.
Crash Data
Most Dangerous Intersections
Recent Crashes
Compensation Available in Your Case
Wrongful death compensation in California goes well beyond funeral and burial costs. The statute accounts for everything your family has lost. Here is the full scope.
Funeral & Burial Expenses
Reasonable funeral, burial, or cremation expenses your family has paid or will pay because of this wrongful death.
Lost Financial Support
Your loved one's future income and the financial stability they would have provided your family. Economic experts help project this over a full working life.
Loss of Household Services
The daily household work your loved one performed. Childcare, meals, home maintenance. These contributions are quantifiable and recoverable.
Loss of Companionship
Love, guidance, comfort, and companionship that your family will never get back. California law treats this as a significant, compensable harm.
Pre-Death Pain & Suffering
A survival action covers the conscious suffering your loved one experienced before dying. Crash victims along the 101 near Newbury Park are often transported to Los Robles, creating a documented record of pre-death pain.
Punitive Damages
When death is caused by a drunk driver, reckless conduct, or intentional violence, punitive damages are available to punish the wrongdoer.
Call us Today. No fee until you win!
818-224-7940Steps for Wrongful Death Families
Wrongful death claims involve both legal process and profound personal grief. We guide families through both with discretion and determination.
Prioritize your family's wellbeing
Nothing matters more than your family right now. Legal steps can begin whenever you're ready. There's no rush in the first days.
Preserve all documentation
Gather the death certificate, CHP reports, medical records from Los Robles or St. John's, and any communications from the responsible party's insurer.
Do not accept any payment or release
Insurers approach families early because early settlements cost them less. Don't sign a release before understanding what your case is worth.
Document financial dependence
Pay records, tax returns, household expense documentation. All of it helps establish the financial impact your family is facing.
Contact Westwood Law
Curt Brown represents Newbury Park families in wrongful death cases filed in Ventura County Superior Court. Securing crash evidence and medical records early strengthens your case.