Texas Wrongful Death Law

What Makes a Death a Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed by some surviving family members or beneficiaries when a victim is killed due to another person’s or entity’s negligence.

The laws surrounding these accidents are part of the Texas wrongful death statute. The Houston wrongful death law firm of Grossman Law Offices is here to help you understand wrongful death claims. With twenty years of experience in litigating wrongful death claims against negligent parties, we’re well-prepared to help you seek compensation and see justice served in light of your loved one’s loss.

In order for a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed, four conditions must be met:

1. The defendant must be the proximate cause leading to the victim’s death.
2. The defendant must have been careless or negligent in regards to the victim’s well-being, either knowingly or unknowingly.
3. Monetary loss must have been sustained by the plaintiff. These losses are known as damages.
4. There must be a surviving family member, dependent, or beneficiary who can receive compensation for the victim’s death.

Who Causes a Wrongful Death?

When a wrongful death occurs, it is said that the negligent party has violated a legal duty that they owed to the decedent and that the violation that occurred was what caused the decedent to die. However, a liable party can be any party whose negligence contributed to a wrongful death occurring. This means that there could be more than one liable party to blame for a wrongful death. A sadly common occurrence of multiple parties in a wrongful death claim happens when a drunk driver kills someone. The driver is a liable party, but Texas dram shop law also holds that the alcohol-serving establishment that over-served the patron or knowingly allowed the patron to leave their premises while intoxicated can also be a liable party for any accident that the drunk driver then causes. Assessing liability, and the number of possible defendants, is often the first step in any wrongful death claim. Each defendant is responsible for awarding a certain percentage of compensation to the victim’s beneficiaries based on their portion of liability in the accident. By enlisting the help of an experienced Houston attorney that has a full understanding of Texas wrongful death law, you can be sure that a thorough investigation will be made into your loved one’s accident so that all liable parties are found and held accountable for their negligent behavior.

Who Bears the Burden of Proof in a Wrongful Death Case?

The burden of proof rests on the plaintiff. In other words, the plaintiff must seek legal action against a negligent party if they desire to be compensated for their loss. A liable party will not simply offer compensation out of the goodness of their hearts, nor will an insurance company do the same. Since the sum of compensation is often quite large in wrongful death cases, a plaintiff will likely have to seek experienced legal help in order to have the best opportunity at receiving fair compensation for their loss. In pursuing legal action through a wrongful death claim, the plaintiff, i.e. the victim’s family member or beneficiary, must be able to prove that the defendant or defendants possessed a majority of the liability for the accident. With our investigative techniques and knowledgeable Texas wrongful death law attorneys, Grossman Law Offices is often able to prove the truth of an accident scene such that justice is served.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Case in Texas?

Texas wrongful death law allows for children, spouses, or parents that have lost a loved one to a wrongful death to pursue legal action against a negligent party through a wrongful death claim. In some instances, a sibling can also pursue justice through this route. If you’re unsure whether or not your relationship to the deceased will allow you to pursue compensation for your loss, contact our offices at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free consultation.

What Are the Types of Damages That Can Be Sought in a Wrongful Death Case?

Damages are the financial losses that a victim or a victim’s beneficiary has incurred as a result of an accident. Texas wrongful death law allows for two different types of damages to be sought in a wrongful death claim, known as survival damages and wrongful death damages. Survival damages relate to the damages that the decedent incurred prior to death and what they would have incurred had they survived the accident. These damages can include medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Properly assessing these damages can be challenging in that the damages must be justifiable. When talking about possible damages that the decedent might have incurred, it can take an experienced attorney to be able to show to a jury why the requested amount of compensation is justifiable.

On the other hand, wrongful death damages relate to the damages incurred by the family members or beneficiaries as a result of losing their loved one. These damages can include medical bills, funeral expenses, legal fees, loss of future income, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. These damages must be fully and properly calculated so that the surviving family members are able to take care of themselves in light of their loved one’s loss. Proving loss of future earnings is an especially important part of calculating wrongful death damages, and it often takes an experienced Houston wrongful death lawyer like Michael Grossman to be able to properly calculate that rather subjective number so as to ensure that the family members are provided for in light of their loss.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Cases in Texas?

Texas wrongful death law allows for an aggrieved victim to file a wrongful death claim against a negligent party within two years of the negligent action’s occurrence. However, certain exceptions exist that serve to lengthen the time frame in which a victim’s family can seek legal action through a wrongful death claim dependent upon the specifics of the accident. For example, a minor who has merit in bringing a wrongful death claim against a negligent party has, effectively, until the age of 20 to pursue such action. Technically, the statute of limitations begins for such a minor at the age of adulthood in Texas, 18, thus giving them two years from that point to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against a liable party. Other exceptions also exist in Texas wrongful death law in order to ensure that an aggrieved party has a fair opportunity to seek compensation and justice for their loss. If you fear that you might have a wrongful death claim to make but have missed the time frame in which to take action, consider contacting us at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) to discuss your loved one’s accident as you may still have some legal recourse to see justice served.

What Are Some Common Obstacles in Wrongful Death Cases?

Wrongful death cases can present quite a number of challenges to a non-attorney, or even to an inexperienced attorney. Often, since an insurance company will likely be involved and the amount of compensation at stake will be quite valuable, the insurer will utilize their most seasoned adjusters to work the claim. Often, they will attempt to cast as much blame as possible on the decedent in order to not lose the likely sizable sum that’s on the line. As such, having an experienced Houston wrongful death law firm on your side like Grossman Law Offices can prove to be very helpful against these types on insurers since we’ve brought cases against every major insurer in the country. As such, our reputation often precedes us into a court case, often resulting in our clients being offered out-of-court settlements.

Wrongful Death Cases and Workers Compensation Insurance

In Texas, workers compensation insurance prevents an employee’s family from bringing a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent company, save for one important exception. If a negligent company showed gross negligence, as opposed to standard negligence, in their role in the accident that killed one of their workers, a family of the decedent can legally bring a wrongful death lawsuit against that employer. However, proving gross negligence requires a high degree of proof since it must be shown that the employer was previously aware that a disastrous accident had a high likelihood of occurring before it actually occurred. Grossman Law Offices is familiar with both workers compensation laws in Texas and Texas wrongful death law. In other words, we can help you if your loved one was killed by the gross negligence of their employer.

The Sole Proximate Cause Defense

When a non-subscribing employer must defend itself from being accused of negligence, their defense must rely on only one defensive measure known as the sole proximate cause defense. In essence, the defense must be able to prove that the decedent was wholly responsible for their accident. This can be an especially troubling aspect of a wrongful death case as the family must endure their loved one’s competence to do their job being questioned without their loved one there to prove otherwise. As such, contacting Grossman Law Offices will provide you with a competent investigative team that will work to find evidence that will establish the truth of the accident’s cause. We work with your best interests in mind so that you can stand to receive proper compensation for your loved one’s loss. Furthermore, we will seek to have certain laws changed or amended where applicable in order to ensure that a future, similar accident doesn’t have to put another family through the same trials that you’re likely experiencing.

If You’ve Lost a Loved One to an Accident, Contact Us Quickly to Start an Investigation

Often, the enemy in wrongful death cases is not another person, but time itself. Hesitating just a day longer could mean the difference between full compensation and no compensation whatsoever. Evidence can get lost with time, or could even be manipulated by those that simply do not want to get caught. Witnesses could forget relevant details about the accident, or they may not even be able to be tracked down if even a few days pass after the accident has occurred. Furthermore, defense attorneys for the liable parties may have already visited the accident site in order to build a case against you. Be sure that you have proper representation that can react quickly and conduct a thorough investigation on your behalf so that you are well-positioned to seek justice on behalf of your loved one. By choosing to act quickly, even in light of the emotional upheaval you’re likely experiencing as a result of your sudden loss, you will likely be serving your own best interests. While we fully understand that the compensation you may receive through a wrongful death claim does nothing to replace the person you’ve lost, it can do much good towards helping you and your family recover from a sudden tragedy. This is even more true if the loved one you lost was the primary wage-earner for the household as you or your family’s financial future may be at stake.

Contact the Texas Wrongful Death Law Attorneys at Grossman Law Offices

As you can see, wrongful death lawsuits are very complex. Without the help of an experienced Houston wrongful death law attorney, you may have difficulty securing an adequate settlement. However, our offices have been helping families file wrongful death claims for twenty years and we know how to overcome the many difficulties you will likely face in this type of lawsuit. If you have lost a family member because of someone else’s negligence, contact the Houston wrongful death lawsuit settlement lawyers at Grossman Law Offices at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free consultation and start the process to get the compensation you deserve.