The Texas Survival Statute

If a Loved One of Yours Has Been Wrongfully Killed, Then the Attorneys at Grossman Law Offices Want to Help You Seek Justice

According to the Texas Civil and Practices Remedies Code, if an innocent person suffers an untimely death as a result of the actions or inaction of others, then that person has suffered a wrongful death.

Some of the loved ones of the wrongfully killed have the right to file a lawsuit against the liable parties to recover compensation for the loss of the family member. If you have lost a loved one in a wrongful death situation, the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices cannot bring your family member back to you. However, we can help you seek justice through the only means you have – pursuing a civil lawsuit against the liable party. Through such a lawsuit, the family of the deceased can recover compensation for their suffering, but more importantly, they can help assure that similar accidents do not occur in the future, robbing other people of their beloved. There are numerous ways in which one person can cause the death of another without being brought up on criminal charges, and the only way to hold these people accountable is with a wrongful death lawsuit.

Over the last 20 years, the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have devoted their lives to helping Texans in and around Houston recover from the devastating loss of loved ones. We’ve helped hundreds of people receive compensation for the family member that they have had taken from them, and we’ve done our part to reduce the amount of grieving families in the future. The only way to make the world safer is to make a financial impact on negligent parties, so they change their ways. And, the only way to do that is through a wrongful death lawsuit.

At the heart of any actionable wrongful death case is whether or not the party that allegedly caused the wrongful death neglected a legal duty that he or she owed to the deceased. What legal duty one person owes another is determined by the specific circumstances of their interaction and what they were doing at the time of the accident. For example, a surgeon can cut you with his or her scalpel during surgery, but the same surgeon cannot come up to you on the street and cut you open. While the action is the same in both situations, the legal duty of the surgeon is vastly different based upon the circumstances. In order for a lawsuit to be possible, the liable party must have ignored some legal duty required by a situation. For instance, motorists are responsible for taking reasonable actions to ensure the safety of all of the other drivers, passengers and pedestrians on the road. In most fatal Houston auto accidents, the responsible driver has ignored this legal duty.

In order to receive the compensation that they deserve, the victim’s family, also known as the plaintiffs, carry the burden of proof to demonstrate that the defendants committed some form of negligence resulting in the death of their loved one. Proving this is not always easy, and often times you need a skilled attorney with extensive experience investigating accidents scenes and determining liability. With 20 years of experienced, the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices know how to use a timely and thorough investigation to get down to the bottom of the cause of any wrongful death.

Possible Damages in Wrongful Death Cases

In a legal sense, damages do not refer to the actual harm done to a plaintiff but to the financial value of the harm that has been done to the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Two types of damages may be pursued in wrongful death lawsuits: wrongful death damages which are designed to compensate the family members for their own suffering as a result of the loss of their loved one and survival damages which compensate the closing living relative of the deceased for the damages that the victim could have sought had he or she survived the accident and only been injured.

Wrongful Death Damages

Wrongful death damages can be sought by the spouse, children, parents or dependent siblings, and include:

• Funeral bills.
• Medical expenses prior to the death of the victim.
• Absence of the financial support that was supplied by the victim.
• Mental and emotional harm caused by the family member’s loss.

Survival Damages

Only the closest living relative can seek survival damages, going in descending order from spouse, to child, to parent to sibling. Such damages can include:

• Medical expenses that would have been incurred had the victim survived the accident and only been injured.
• Damage to property.
• Lost salary while the victim would have been recuperating from his or her injuries.
• Lost earning potential due to lifelong debilities.
• Pain and suffering.
• Emotional or mental distress caused by rehabilitation.

Calculating both wrongful death damages and survival damages can be very complex, but survival damages can be particularly challenging to estimate due to the subjective nature things like pain and suffering and lost future earnings. You need an attorney whose experience with similar cases has taught him or her how to prove up these damages in court, because the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff. Our attorneys have decades of experience calculating survival and wrongful death damages, and we can make sure you are fairly compensated for the loss of your loved one.

If you want to receive the compensation you deserve for the loss of your loved one and try to put your life back together without your missing family member, then you need the help of a skilled wrongful death attorney.

Obstacles to Seeking Compensation

If your loved one was killed while working on the job due to someone else’s negligence, then there can be hurdles that arise in your quest to find the restitution to which you are entitled. The workers’ compensation process can be tricky and deceiving, and Houston wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman has the skill and experience to guide you through the perplexing process.

The first thing you must determine following your loved one’s work-related wrongful death is whether or not your family member’s employer purchased workers’ compensation insurance. Wrongful death claims vary dramatically whether or not the employer had workers comp insurance, known as a subscriber, or didn’t, known as a nonsubscriber. Against nonsubscribers, a wrongful death lawsuit can be sought if the employer committed standard negligence – a momentary lapse of concentration or a solitary mistake. However, in order to file a wrongful death lawsuit against a subscriber, the plaintiffs must be able prove that the defendant committed gross negligence – a wanton or careless disregard for the legal duty owed to the deceased. If a subscriber had committed standard negligence resulting in the death of an employee, then a workers’ comp claim is the method for seeking compensation. For example, if a construction worker accidentally shoots a co-worker in the head with a nail gun, killing the unfortunate victim on the spot, then that’s a tragedy but only standard negligence. If the same worker often likes to shoot off the nail fun without regard to the safety of those around him and the foreman was aware of this behavior, then the employer has likely committed gross negligence.

Unfortunately for plaintiffs, a much higher standard of proof must be met in order to establish gross negligence. Proving that an employer should have been aware of the possibility of a fatal accident can be difficult for inexperienced lawyers, and it’s impossible for someone with no legal experience at all. Our attorneys have mastered the process of proving gross negligence, and we can help you pursue compensation in many cases in which the employer subscribed to workers compensation insurance.

On the contrary, if your loved one’s employer subscribed to workers comp coverage, and he or she only committed standard negligence, then your only recourse is to file a claim with the insurer. These policies have maximum limits to the amount of compensation allowable and often do not adequately compensate mourning families for the loss of their loved ones. However, there may be third parties – the manufacturers of faulty machinery, other workers or contractors – that may be liable, and lawsuits can be filed against them. Our lawyers know how to investigate to identify all responsible parties and maximize our clients’ chances of recovering full compensation for their losses.

Workers’ comp laws were established to reduce litigation and encourage employers to provide for the safety of their employees, so there is only one defense for non-subscribing employers. They must prove that the victim caused his or her own death with his or own negligence. This is known as the sole proximate cause defense, and in order to use it, the defendants will besmirch your deceased loved one’s reputation in an effort to prove he or she was a regularly negligent employee who caused his or her own death entirely. You need the help of a seasoned attorney who can protect your loved one’s reputation against the mudslinging of the defense attorneys.

Since damages for wrongful death cases far exceed property damage or personal injury claims, insurance companies reserve their shrewdest adjusters and most experienced attorneys to handle the cases. With more money at stake, the insurance company will try harder to deny a claim or lessen the amount owed to the victim. Without the protection of a skilled and experienced Houston wrongful death attorney, you are in danger of being taken advantage of by the experienced insurance adjusters and defense attorneys. Our attorneys have won millions and millions of dollars from every major insurance company in the country, so we’re familiar with their tricks and can combat them every step up the way until you receive the compensation you deserve.

Act Now, or Regret it Later

For every second you wait to find legal representation, your case gets harder to prove. Evidence begins disappearing immediately after an accident – videos are erased, witnesses forget what they saw and the accident scene evolves physically. If you don’t put your lawyers on the trail of evidence soon, then the evidence will be gone and so will your chances of securing the compensation you deserve. Contact us today at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free), and we will answer any questions you have and tell you how we can help. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we know what a difficult time you are enduring. However, we also know the importance of swift action. The sooner we’re hired, the sooner we can begin our investigation and ensure you the best chances of securing adequate damages. Your loved one cannot defend him or herself – you must act for them to bring the responsible party to justice.

Houston wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman and his team of associates at Grossman Law Offices have been helping bereaved Texans for 20 years, and we can help you too. Don’t let your loved one’s death go in vain.