Your wrongful death action must be filed before the state's statute of limitations runs out or you will be forever barred from recovering damages. In California, the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is generally two years from the date of death, but there are exceptions.nFor instance, if a person dies as a result of medical malpractice, then the statute of limitations is either one year from the date the cause of death was discovered, or three years from the date of death, whichever occurs first.