California's "Death Discount" Law Is Back

As of January 1, 2026, California families who lose a loved one due to someone else's negligence face a harsh new reality — or more accurately, the return of an old one. A temporary law that allowed the estates of deceased individuals to recover damages for the pain and suffering their loved one endured before death has quietly expired. The practical result is that in many cases, it is now cheaper for a defendant to kill someone than to seriously injure them. Legal professionals call this the "death discount," and it is once again the law in California.

The law in question is Senate Bill 447, which was signed by Governor Newsom in October 2021 and took effect on January 1, 2022. SB 447 created a four-year pilot program that allowed the personal representative or successor in interest of a deceased person to recover noneconomic damages, such as compensation for the decedent's pre-death pain, suffering, and disfigurement, through what is known as a survival action. Before SB 447, California law prohibited this type of recovery entirely. Survival actions were limited to economic damages like medical bills and lost wages, plus punitive damages in rare cases. The bill was introduced in part to address the severe delays in court proceedings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which left many injured plaintiffs at risk of dying before their cases could go to trial.

For four years, SB 447 changed the landscape of wrongful death litigation in California. It gave families a powerful tool in settlement negotiations, allowing them to pursue compensation that reflected the full scope of their loved one's suffering. Consider a scenario in which a person is catastrophically injured in a car accident, endures weeks of agonizing medical treatment, and ultimately succumbs to their injuries. Under SB 447, the family could seek damages not only for the economic costs of that ordeal but also for the pain and suffering the decedent experienced during those final weeks. Without SB 447, those damages simply vanish. The family may still pursue a wrongful death claim for their own losses, but the decedent's personal suffering becomes legally irrelevant.

California legislators attempted to extend SB 447 through Senate Bill 29, which would have pushed the expiration date to January 1, 2027. The bill had strong support from plaintiffs' attorneys and consumer advocates. However, it faced fierce opposition from the medical industry and insurance companies, who argued that extending the law would conflict with the 2022 reforms to the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act and could drive up malpractice insurance costs. In September 2025, SB 29 was ordered inactive, meaning it would not receive a vote before the legislative session ended. No alternative extension was enacted, and SB 447 expired on schedule.

The timing of a filing now matters enormously. Under the language of SB 447, eligibility for noneconomic survival damages is determined entirely by the date the survival action is filed, not by the date of the injury or death. A lawsuit filed on December 31, 2025, preserves access to those damages. An identical lawsuit filed on January 2, 2026, does not. As the deadline approached, a surge of filings was anticipated from attorneys racing to preserve their clients' rights. For families who did not file before the deadline, the window has closed.

The expiration of SB 447 has several practical consequences that extend well beyond the courtroom. Settlement dynamics are expected to shift significantly. During the four years the law was in effect, defendants and their insurers knew that a survival action could result in a substantial award for pre-death pain and suffering, which gave plaintiffs meaningful leverage in negotiations. With that threat removed, defense attorneys and insurance companies will likely be less inclined to offer generous settlements, particularly in cases where the injured person has already passed away. The loss of noneconomic survival damages also reduces the incentive for defendants to settle early, since the overall exposure in these cases is now more predictable and generally lower.

The impact will be felt most acutely in cases involving prolonged suffering before death. Think of the elderly nursing home resident who endures months of neglect before passing away, or the construction worker who sustains catastrophic burns and survives in intensive care for weeks. Under the old rule that has now been restored, the estate cannot recover a single dollar for that suffering. Only the economic losses, the hospital bills and lost income, remain on the table. It is a result that strikes many people as deeply unjust, and it puts California in a small minority. Forty-five other states and the District of Columbia allow some form of noneconomic damages in survival actions. California is now one of just five states that do not.

There is still a possibility that the legislature will revisit this issue. Consumer advocacy groups and the California Association of Consumer Attorneys have signaled that they intend to push for a permanent change to California's survival action statute. Whether that effort will succeed in the face of continued industry opposition remains to be seen. For now, however, the law is clear.

If you have lost a loved one due to someone else's negligence, the most important thing you can do is speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. While the window for noneconomic survival damages under SB 447 has closed for new filings, there are still significant damages available through wrongful death claims and economic survival damages. Every case is different, and the sooner you get legal guidance, the better positioned you will be to protect your family's rights. The law may have changed, but accountability has not disappeared — it simply requires a more strategic approach.

CONTACT PHILLIPS & ASSOCIATES TODAY

If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another, contact Phillips & Associates at (818) 348-9515 for a free consultation today. You will immediately be put in touch with John Phillips or Patrick DiFilippo, who can help determine whether you have a case and advise you on the best course of action moving forward.