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It is just a fact of life that accidents are going to occur. Whether it’s on the road or on the job or even in the grocery store, it is inevitable that some sort of accident is going to take place. As a result, injuries are also an unfortunate inevitability.
Sometimes there’s only one person involved; a slip in the shower, or a trip over a curb, something like that. Other times, however, the negligence of another person or entity results in an injury. When that happens, you may be entitled to fair compensation for whatever losses you have incurred due to that negligence.
If you or a family member has suffered an injury due to the negligence of someone else, there are many attorneys who you can call on. However, you have to be extremely careful in selecting your legal representation. Personal injury lawsuits can be extremely complex and intricate, so you need someone with experience litigating, and more importantly, winning these kinds of cases. The personal injury lawyers with our Law Office would like to help you comprehend all the legal complexities surrounding your case and help you wade through the process with as little stress as possible. We will listen to the details of your case and help plot a strategy that can help you obtain the just restitution you deserve. Our lawyers have litigated personal injury cases for two decades. We’ve won thousands of personal injury cases. We’d like to do the same thing for you.
What, Exactly is a “Personal Injury?”
In legal parlance, a “personal injury” is the physical pain and associated mental or emotional trauma resulting from the actions or inactions of another party or of multiple parties. The person who suffered the injury, also referred to as the plaintiff, can try and obtain compensation for the injury he or she suffered from the responsible party or parties, known as the defendant.
The basis of all personal injury laws in the State of Texas is the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. You will not be able to find any portion of the code that states defendants owe a single thing to plaintiffs. The code only gives a plaintiff the right to try and obtain restitution from the party or parties that caused injury to the plaintiff in order to make the plaintiff whole again.
You can buy a ticket to a concert that gives you the right to watch the concert. But that ticket doesn’t mean that a musician will be coming to your home to perform. Personal injury law follows a similar principle. Defendants are neither required nor expected to, out of the goodness of their hearts, offer you restitution. You, the plaintiff, have to take your request for payment to the defendant, oftentimes eventually to court, just like you have to take your ticket to the concert.
There is only one way you can obtain the compensation you are seeking from the defendant, and that is to prove that defendant was the sole proximate cause of the injury you suffered. In legal terms, the plaintiff carries the burden of proof. Unless you satisfy the requirements of that burden, you have no chance of getting the fair restitution you are looking for.
Do You Have a Case?
The term “duty” is a significant one to understand regarding any potential legal action involving your personal injury case. The law in the State of Texas, as in most states, says that every person owes every other person a legal duty to act as a reasonable person would in making sure they bring no harm to anyone. In other words, say you’re heading down I-30. You are expected and required by law, to safely follow traffic rules and drive in a manner that is safe for all the other motorists around you. Should you choose not to obey those rules and drive recklessly – even for a minute – and injure someone in an accident as a result, you are said to have breached your duty. You will be considered legally liable for the medical expenses and other financial burdens incurred by the injured party. If someone caused your personal injury by neglecting his or her legal duty to you, then you should have the basis of a lawsuit.
Again, though, in order for any attorney to be able to successfully pursue a personal injury claim on your behalf, you, the plaintiff, carry the burden of proof needed to demonstrate you were owed a legal duty of care by the defendant, and the defendant shirked that duty. As a result, you suffered an injury. The type of legal duty owed to you can vary depending on the context of the case and the type of party involved. The standard of care that one motorist owes to another differs significantly from the standard of care a doctor owes to a patient. It all depends on the situation surrounding the incident in question, and the intentions of those involved. For instance, a surgeon is, obviously, within his or her standard of care when working on a patient. However, if that doctor breaks into the patient’s home and stabs that patient with a steak knife, the doctor has then violated a legal duty. The two situations, from a legal standpoint, are different, even though the surgeon is performing the same action of cutting into his or her patient. Whether or not the surgeon has violated a legal duty is determined by the situation, context, and intentions surrounding his or her actions.
It is simple for any lawyer to prove obvious breaches of legal duty that cause a personal injury. However, proving the sometimes vague notion of negligence can be much more difficult.
Take the example of a construction company employee who suffers a concussion after a co-worker accidentally hits him on the head with a two-by-four. The employer in this instance could be held partially liable because it has the legal duty to provide employees with a safe workplace. However, if the person suffering the injury was a contractor and not an employee, then the employer would not be legally responsible. In Texas, contractors are responsible for their own workplace safety; the employer carries no expectation of providing a safe work environment to a contractor or temporary worker. This is another case of context determining liability.
It is imperative that you seek the help of a lawyer to determine whether or not the specific context of your personal injury case allows you to seek the recovery of damages.
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Three Elements Necessary for a Successful Personal Injury Case
In order for a personal injury case to have a chance at succeeding, it has to have three main components: liability as a result of the defendant violating a legal duty, such as negligence; damages, and a solvent and identifiable defendant. This is true in just about every personal injury case; there are almost no exceptions. The following sections go into these three components in detail.
Liability
When a defendant shirks a legal duty he or she owes to a plaintiff, then that defendant, in the eyes of the law, is liable for any damages that the plaintiff has incurred. Most of the time, a defendant is in violation of this legal duty through standard negligence, which is the temporary occurrence of recklessness or carelessness that causes an accident. It’s the most common form of negligence; basically, it’s caused by someone simply not paying attention at a certain time. That differs greatly from gross negligence, which is when a defendant causes harm to a plaintiff – even though accidentally – by engaging in blatantly reckless behavior, not of a temporary nature. For example, someone who gets behind the wheel while drunk and causes an accident that results in an injury to someone else can be considered grossly negligent. Even though that driver didn’t mean to hurt anyone, that doesn’t matter. He or she was still drunk, and as a result, was grossly negligent. Then there is the most severe of breaches of legal duty, the commission of a deliberate or intentional act that harms another, such as assault with a deadly weapon. Negligence is the most common of all liable acts, but you must prove that the defendant breached a legal duty, and your injury occurred as a result, in order to obtain compensation.
Damages
“Damages” can often be a confusing legal term. A lot of people think the term refers to the actual injury suffered by the plaintiff. In reality, though, “damages” is the monetary value assigned to not only the injury but also all its associated repercussions. A fractured skull, for example, is an injury. A damaging injury for sure, but legally it’s defined as an injury. The resulting medical bills, lost work salary, and lost future earning potential incurred by the victim due to the injury are damages. There are two kinds of damages to explore further: general damages and special damages.
General damages – These are non-financial, subjective damages that, by nature, are open to interpretation by lawyers, judges, and juries. Because they are subjective, you have to account for all of them and prove them so that you can get the maximum amount of compensation possible. These damages include physical impairment, pain and suffering, loss of consortium of a spouse/loss of unique familial love with a family member, emotional suffering, and disfigurement.
Again, since general damages are subjective in nature, it can be very difficult to not only assign a monetary value to them but also to prove them. The amount given for these kinds of damages can vary widely from case to case, even when two cases have similar circumstances surrounding them.
Consider the example of a fireman sprinting into a burning house to save a child. Let’s say the ceiling caves in, and both the fireman and child are severely burned as a result. They have suffered the same kind of injury, but the damages they can pursue are significantly different. The fireman experienced fear when the ceiling caved in, but not to the extent of the child. The fireman has undergone extensive training in learning how to deal with this kind of stress and has probably encountered similar situations in the past due to the nature of his job. The child, though, had never experienced anything like that fire and was terrorized by it. The fireman is also familiar with the kind of injury that he suffered, by either experiencing it himself in a previous fire or witnessing other firemen being burned. The child, on the other hand, had no such familiarity with burning and could have thought he was going to die.
Because the circumstances surrounding all personal injury cases can differ significantly, you should seek the help of a seasoned lawyer who can ensure that the value of the general damages surrounding your case are accurately determined.
Special Damages
These damages, unlike general damages, are typically tangible. Most often they are easily determined, but there are other times where they can still be somewhat subjective. Let’s look once again at the example of the fireman. He suffered serious injuries, injuries that might not allow him to ever work in that profession, or any other profession, for that matter, again. How do you determine the damages in this instance? It’s not enough to simply count the number of years he could reasonably have been expected to work, multiply that by his present salary, and ascertain the potential earnings he has lost. You have to take into account changes in his salary that may have occurred due to promotions, any specialized education courses he may have taken, and inflation. Experienced lawyers know how to do this.
Special damages include:
Court costs
Damage to property
Past and future medical bills
Lost wages
Lost earning potential
Special damages are especially crucial for most plaintiffs because there are many times where they include already paid for medical or other expenses, plus wages that have already disappeared. They need to recover these damages as quickly as they possibly can in order to be able to get their lives back on track.
Solvency
The last element you must meet in order to successfully pursue your personal injury claim is solvency. You must file your claim against a defendant who has the monetary means needed to compensate you for any damages he or she caused. Let’s say a homeless man runs into traffic and causes a driver to veer off the road and crash into a convenience store. The driver suffers two broken legs as a result of the crash. There’s no doubt that the homeless man is liable for the crash and the injury, but he is not solvent, so it really won’t matter. The homeless man doesn’t have enough money to provide the plaintiff with just restitution. This happens all too often to injury victims.
Knowing that solvency is a key to a plaintiff winning a personal injury lawsuit, many defendants will plead poverty in order to sidestep liability. This is yet another reason you need an experienced lawyer on your side. Many defendants will attempt to hide their money and feign being destitute in an attempt to avoid being held liable. But the personal injury attorneys at our Law Office are very adept at finding any money or assets that the defendant might be hiding. We typically run an asset check on every defendant, and we have a strong track record of unearthing assets that solvent defendants tried to conceal in order to avoid liability.
It is incredibly imperative that all damages are properly ascertained because you only get one chance to recover them in court. The personal injury lawyers at our Law Office know how to account for a plaintiff’s damages. We do so by putting together an itemized list and putting that list into a demand packet that is then given to the defendant or the defendant’s insurance company, along with the compensation that is expected to be awarded to the plaintiff.
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Our Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Assist You With Your Case
When a family loses a loved one due to an accident that was caused by the negligence of someone else, the surviving members often have several questions. How did this happen? Who is responsible? Do I have grounds to pursue wrongful death litigation in order to bring those responsible to justice? Should I hire an experienced wrongful death attorney?
For 20 years, the lawyers at our Law Office have helped bereaved families obtain millions and millions of dollars through successfully fought wrongful death lawsuits. We are well aware of the sense of loss and the incredible pain you are going through. If you would like to find out how we can assist you in pursuing justice for your loved one, we can help. Call us as soon as you can for a confidential and free consultation. We will help you understand all of your legal options and the hurdles that will be placed in front of you that can impede your efforts to get just restitution for your loss. We will listen to all the details surrounding your case, and spell out a plan to help you obtain the compensation you deserve so you can move forward in recovering from the tragedy that has befallen your family.
The Purpose of Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
There are three main purposes for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas. They are:
Making sure that the party or parties responsible for the accident are held liable for the negligent actions or inaction the led to the innocent victim’s death.
Compelling that responsible, negligent party to change their behavior so that, in the future, more innocent people are not injured.
Obtaining fair compensation for the victim’s family so that they can recover from the monetary setbacks they have suffered due to the victim’s death.
There is, of course, no way that any monetary sum can come close to providing enough restitution to properly compensate you for the immense loss you and your family have suffered. But it is likely that your family is undergoing some substantial financial stress, especially if the accident victim was your family’s primary provider. The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office will work tirelessly to help you obtain just compensation for the loss you have experienced so you can turn your focus on recovering, both emotionally and mentally, from the accident that claimed your family member due to the negligence of someone else.
What Kind of Compensation Might you Obtain?
From a legal standpoint, the term “damages” means the monetary value assigned to financial and emotional losses that surviving family members of a lost love one incur after an accident. Those family members, also known as the plaintiffs in a court case, can attempt to obtain two different forms of damages in a wrongful death lawsuit: wrongful death damages and survival damages.
Wrongful death damages provide restitution to family members for financial losses they have experienced as the result of the death of their loved one and include emotional tumult as a result of grief. Spouses, children, parents, and, in some cases, siblings can seek these types of damages. A single, comprehensive wrongful death suit can be comprised of multiple wrongful death damages. These include:
Medical bills that occurred prior to the family member’s death.
Funeral bills.
The loss of financial support the victim provided his or her family before death.
Emotional and mental trauma experienced by the loved one’s family due to his or her death.
The loss of consortium and unique familial love that only the deceased could provide.
Survival damages, on the other hand, provide restitution for damages the victim could have tried to obtain had he or she not perished due to the accident but had survived with injuries. Survival damages differ from wrongful death damages in another way. Whereas in a wrongful death lawsuit, any family member can seek compensation for wrongful death damages, in the case of survival damages, only the closest living family member can seek compensation. This right moves down the line from spouse to child to parents to siblings. The kinds of survival damages that can be sought include:
Medical expenses
Property damage
Lost wages or salary
The loss of future earning capacity as a result of long-term disabling injuries
Pain and suffering the victim experienced
Emotional and mental trauma the victim experienced due to the accident.
Disfigurement compensation
Wrongful death and survival damages claims are different, so a different legal strategy must be developed for each. Each family member experiences different amounts of pain and suffering and financial loss, so the wrongful death claim has to be handled differently in each case. Both wrongful death and survival damages litigation can be very complex and intricate, and that is even before taking into account the opposition and the efforts they will undertake to defeat your case. In order to win, you need someone with substantial experience in the procedures associated with litigation. If you rely on an inexperienced attorney – or worse yet, try to tackle this litigation yourself – your case is almost guaranteed to fail. The wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office have two decades worth of experience in litigating wrongful death cases. We have heard way too many stories of legal laymen trying to represent themselves, only to see their case dismissed because of a legal loophole those laymen didn’t even know existed.
Please don’t let this happen to you. The wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office can use our considerable skill and experience to protect your rights and obtain the damages your family deserves. We know how to fulfill all procedural requirements and close whatever legal loopholes the defense may use in an attempt to avoid liability. We will hold them responsible and make them pay for the tragedy that has befallen your family. This is not only important from the perspective of getting the restitution your family deserves but also in making sure that the negligent party or parties responsible change their behavior. We will work to make sure those responsible never put another family through the pain that yours is experiencing. The attorneys at our Law Office take this critical component of wrongful death law in Texas extremely seriously.
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Determining Whether or Not You Have Grounds for Wrongful Death Litigation
There are some instances where wrongful death litigation is not black and white. It may be difficult for family members to ascertain whether they have a viable basis for a wrongful death lawsuit or not. These kinds of cases – and it’s very important to note this – are civil cases. A plaintiff can file a wrongful death lawsuit even though no laws were broken. If the driver of a car is driving too fast, and strikes and kills a pedestrian crossing through a crosswalk, that driver will not face criminal charges because he committed standard negligence. However, the victim’s family members can file a civil wrongful death lawsuit against that driver. This is the only way that the family can see justice done for that driver’s negligence.
Even if a negligent party is facing criminal charges in someone’s death, a wrongful death lawsuit can still be filed. If the above-mentioned driver was intoxicated at the time the accident occurred, that driver would probably be facing criminal charges such as intoxication manslaughter. The deceased’s family members can file a suit even though criminal charges are pending against the driver. In Texas, four conditions must be met in order for family members to be entitled to file a valid wrongful death suit:
• The responsible party or parties’ actions or inactions caused the victim’s death.
• The responsible party or parties committed some type of negligence that led to the accident and resulting death.
• The victim has surviving family members who can attempt to obtain wrongful death or survival damages.
• The family members have experienced some form of ascertainable monetary damages due to their loved one’s death.
Standards of Proof and Limits to Recoverable Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
There are some instances where the ability of the plaintiff to obtain damages through the means of a wrongful death lawsuit may face some limitations. There are other cases where a plaintiff has to satisfy a more difficult standard of proof than in a more traditional type of wrongful death lawsuit.
One such example is wrongful death litigation involving medical malpractice. Lobbyists did an effective job of convincing Texas legislators that there were too many medical malpractice lawsuits, and as a result, medical costs were going through the roof. To combat these rising costs, legislators decided to pass new laws concerning medical malpractice that put a limit on the amount of monetary compensation a plaintiff could recover in a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit. They also raised the standard of proof that has to be satisfied in medical malpractice litigation. The legislation was successful in serving the purpose of reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits, but also had the unfortunate (and hopefully unintended) side effect of making it a lot tougher for plaintiffs in legitimate medical malpractice lawsuits to obtain the restitution they had coming to them. And those limits also mean a good portion of any settlement simply goes back to the doctor in order to pay for outstanding medical expenses. Thus, a lot of lawyers will no longer accept cases involving medical malpractice. The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office, however, are very adept at taking on these kinds of challenging cases.
Wrongful death lawsuits that arise as a result of workplace accidents, and involve workers’ compensation insurance, can pose similar difficulties. Most people believe workers’ compensation laws were enacted to assist employees injured on the job heal from their injuries. However, just the opposite is true. These laws were enacted to protect companies from lawsuits involving employees either hurt or killed on the job. If the employer of your loved one purchased, or “subscribed to” workers’ compensation insurance, your family will substantially less compensation than you deserve for the emotional trauma you’ve gone through. But that does not mean you can’t try and obtain fair compensation through other means. The attorneys at our Law Office have a great deal of experience in determining negligent third parties that do not enjoy protection from workers’ compensation lawsuits, and we can seek to obtain wrongful death damages from them. If, for example, a faulty piece of machinery led to an accident that resulted in the death of your family member, you would be able to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of that part. Even if the company that employed your family member is a subscriber to workers’ comp insurance, you will still be able to seek compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit if it can be proven that the employer’s gross negligence led to the victim’s death. In this kind of instance, the compensation you may obtain is not limited, as long as you have the convincing testimony and rock-solid evidence needed to justify that compensation. But the standard of proof in establishing gross negligence is extremely high.
As previously stated, a wrongful death lawsuit is a very complex and intricate piece of litigation; much more than it might look like at first sight. That’s not even taking into consideration the formidable opposition you will face in trying to get those responsible for the death of your loved one to be held accountable. To have any chance possible to succeed, you will need to seek the assistance of a skilled and experienced wrongful death lawyer.
You can attempt to represent yourself, of course. The law will not keep you from trying to do so. You must know going in that you have little to no chance of winning – and you won’t get a second chance to try. The opposition will have talent, skill, and resources that you can’t possibly match, and they will work extremely hard to defeat your case. Please contact an experienced attorney as soon as you possibly can, someone who will fight to bring you fair compensation and bring those responsible to justice. The wrongful death attorneys of our Law Office will work tirelessly to protect your family’s rights and make those responsible for the tragedy you have experienced pay dearly for their negligence.
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Wrongful Death Lawyer
Call the Attorneys at our Law Office to Speak to a Wrongful Death Lawyer
Have you suffered the tragic loss of a loved one due to the negligence of another person, either through someone’s actions or inactions? If you have experienced this tragedy, then you understand the severe emotional toll it takes on you and you know that taking the next step can be difficult.
The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office understand the toll this experience has taken on you and can help you take the next step in this important struggle. Our fatal accident attorneys provide this article by way of information and empowerment so that you will know what your rights and legal options are, as well as what some of the obstacles and hindrances to achieving full and fair compensation as well as bringing the negligent parties to account for the accident in which your loved one was fatally injured or killed.
In the state of Texas, wrongful death laws and the legal procedures that surround wrongful death litigation are complex and full of subtleties that are a challenge for people who have studied the law, much less for a family who is in the midst of grieving the loss of a loved one. We hope that through this article we can provide some idea of what is involved in litigating these cases and what you can expect from the defense and from the lawyers you have retained to help you. After twenty years of experience in wrongful death lawsuits, the wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office have worked hard to gain a comprehensive knowledge of wrongful death law and deep competency in litigating cases where the negligence of a person causes the death of another. While we understand that talking about compensation for the death of a loved one is unsettling given how precious life is and how nothing can replace the vital member of the family you have lost, we will commit to making certain the negligent parties are brought to account for their actions, and that the grieving family is given the full and fair compensation they deserve. We hope that if you have suffered this tragedy, you will find this article useful. If you have any questions regarding wrongful death litigation or if you want to discuss your case, then call us for a free consultation.
Wrongful Death Litigation
In the state of Texas, wrongful death cases are a commonplace occurrence and are an unfortunate fixture of the courts. The types of cases that fall under the umbrella of wrongful death cases are numerous and cover situations where negligence while on the job gets a fellow co-worker killed to automobile accidents to any number of situations where the negligent action or inaction of a person results in the death of another person. The Texas state legislature has created a legal system, therefore, whereby there are certain frameworks in place that help the bereaved families and surviving loved ones pursue legal action against the negligent party or the defendant. Wrongful death cases are very serious, however, and have far-reaching ramifications that place them in a whole different category of difficult litigation from personal injury cases. The compensation for a wrongful death case can be quite high and the added bad reputation that defendants get when a jury judges them guilty is something that anyone would want to absolutely avoid. Texas civil law, therefore, holds what is called tortfeasors, that is, the convicted guilty party, responsible for the damages and the injuries that result from their actions, forcing those tortfeasors to owe a financial responsibility to the family of such victims should a wrongful death occur and the defendant is proved guilty in court.
It is not so simple for the grieving family of the deceased, however, as under the law the family bears the burden of proof to show that the negligent party is in fact guilty of negligence and did cause the death of the victim through either action or inaction. The defendant must be proven in court to have been the proximate cause for the death of the victim, a standard, which requires much investigation and a strong case since, as we all know, the standard in US law is that any defendant is innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, if you have suffered the loss of a loved one in a wrongful death situation, then you bear the burden of proving in court that the defendant was negligent and was the proximate cause of the death of the victim. Once you have shown that the defendant is the proximate cause of the death, you must show a carefully quantified list of damages that you expect to be compensated by the defendant, showing your eligibility through a precise listing of all of your financial burden that has come as a part of this experience of losing a loved one, as well as a quantified listing showing your emotional trauma. There are two different kinds of damages that the plaintiff has the option to prove under Texas law: there are wrongful death damages and there are survival damages.
Wrongful Death Damages
The wrongful death damages include a wide range of financial and emotional losses that can be tallied and shown in court. There is a strongly subjective component to wrongful death damages in that some of the damages are intangible, as with any claim for compensation for suffering and emotional trauma. Wrongful death damages are based on the legal idea that the grieving family of the deceased deserves to get restitution for any emotional trauma, as well as for the actual loss of the deceased family member. These damages could include quantifiable losses for emotional and mental pain and suffering, loss of an integral member of the family unit, loss of potential future revenue based on the wages that the deceased brought in, as well as any other loss that can be shown to take place in the absence of the victim. The idea is that the defendant in taking the victim’s life impacted the whole family consortium and has taken something from them all. These damages can often be difficult to show in court as they carry a strong intangible component and require the careful strategy of a lawyer to build into an argument for the total loss that the grieving family of the loved one has suffered as a result of his or her death.
Survival Damages
Survival damages are a much more objective set of damages that are essentially inherited by one of the deceased victim’s family members and equal the total set of damages that the deceased might have claimed for himself or herself if he or she had not perished. This would include any claims that could be made as a part of a personal injury lawsuit involving trauma, hospital bills, severe emotional anguish, as well as lost wages during convalescence, loss of future work opportunities based on injury, and any additional loss of property or opportunity. Whoever is the rightful estate executor of the victim can claim the survival damages and pursue a lawsuit based on these in court.
The Trial, The Suit, and the Settlement
Despite what people commonly think about wrongful death lawsuits, most do not end up in court in front of a jury. In the greater majority of wrongful death cases, the settlement is decided before the trial period even begins. The lawyers for the defense and the lawyers for the plaintiff will undertake a lengthy and comprehensive investigation, each trying to bring to light the facts of the case, but where the council for the plaintiff is working to help bring full and just compensation to the family of the victim, the council for the defense will be working hard to prevent the settlement from taking place by discounting the plaintiff’s claim and showing that the defendant was not liable or that the damages claimed by the plaintiff are too high or false. The council for the defense will contact the insurance company for the individuals involved and you can be certain that the insurance company will send a team of insurance adjusters who have had years of denying claims to show how each part of the claim is somehow false or lacking in proof in order to prevent the plaintiff from achieving any sort of fair and just settlement. During this period, the council for the defense, should the defense retain the legal assistance of an experienced and competent lawyer with years of experience in wrongful death cases, will be conducting another investigation. This investigation will take into account all the evidence available from the initial accident, although much of it can be compromised by either time or the actions of individuals who hope to conceal their role in the wrongful death of another. The attorneys retained to help protect the rights of the family of the victim will build a case that relies on all aspects of the investigation, on evidence gathered from the scene, on interviews, and on police reports. Once both the council for the plaintiff has gathered their evidence and built a preliminary defense, the outline of a proposed settlement will be sent to the defense attorneys who will then review the proposal and based on their impression of the negative exposure they could suffer if the case goes to court weighed against the possibility of having to pay the amount demanded, they will decide to either accept the offer, and pay the settlement, reject the preliminary offer but leave open the option for a compromise, or reject the offer outright and go to court. Before this point in the whole proceeding, everything will have taken place outside the legal realm and in the offices of the lawyers, but at this point, the motions that have been filed will require the attorneys on both sides to accept that a court case will happen. At this point, the whole case will rest on the courtroom skills of the attorneys and the investigations they have built.
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I Have Suffered the Wrongful Death of a Loved One. What Is My Next Step?
The number one most important first step if you have suffered this tragedy is to avoid signing any document that admits liability or any document that agrees to a settlement in exchange for an agreement on your part not to sue the defendant. In many cases, the grieving family of a victim feels like it is important to get closure in the situation and will agree to settle and give up their rights to sue. The settlement will not take into account so much of the loss that the family of the victim has experienced and can often be fully detrimental to achieving any sort of financial balance after the tragedy.
The next step is to retain the services of a competent and capable and experienced attorney who has worked in wrongful death law before and who understands how fast evidence will disappear following an accident such as this. The witnesses will start to forget what happened and whether any malicious intent will compromise the actual scene of the accident. The attorney you retain will need to begin the investigation immediately and start building a strong case for your damages and for the necessary settlement. Remember, as soon as the accident happens, defense attorneys and insurance adjusters are going to be working against you every step of the way, trying to gather evidence showing that your loved one was liable for his or her own death, trying to get you to settle for something less, and trying to build a case disproving your financial needs as stated in your list of damages. If you have experienced a tragedy like this you need a fatal accident lawyer who knows the ropes and can help you get the settlement you deserve.
Here at our Law Office, the wrongful death attorneys have been working for 20 years to help the aggrieved families of fatal accident victims get compensation as well as the justice that they deserve for the loss they have suffered. We know the situations and have dealt with law offices and insurance companies all over the state and the nation. They know us too. Our experience and our reputation for success will convince some defendants to accept an out-of-court settlement demand from us, but if they do not, we are eager to stand up for your rights in court. We will build an investigation that will protect your rights to just and fair compensation. If you have lost a loved one to a fatal accident anywhere across the state of Texas, then don’t hesitate to get the justice you deserve and call us for a free consultation.
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Intentions of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Texas Attorney on Why You Should File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
A wrongful death lawsuit has two primary goals: to secure adequate financial compensation to the family of the deceased and to prevent future accidents by bringing about changes with the negligence parties.
Under Texas civil law, defendants who may not be held accountable under criminal law can be held fiscally responsible for deaths they caused under civil law, so a wrongful death lawsuit is often the only way to bring the parties who caused your loved one’s death to justice. The laws governing wrongful death often overlap and can be very complex, so you will likely need the assistance of an experienced wrongful death attorney to secure the compensation you seek.
The unexpected and sudden shock caused by the tragic death of a loved one in a fatal accident can be devastating no matter where it happens — on the road, at work, or on someone else’s property. While nothing compares to the emotional loss you have sustained, the financial distress caused by the death of a family member can also be tremendous. On top of figuring out how to live without the deceased family member, surviving loved ones must also try to determine whether or not the family has legal recourse for compensation and whether or not they need a Texas wrongful death attorney. The attorneys at our Law Office have been successfully litigating wrongful death claims all over the Lone Star State for 20 years, and we want to help you understand that recovering from the financial setbacks is one of the primary intentions of wrongful death lawsuits.
What are Damages in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
The surviving family members in wrongful death lawsuits have the right to damages. From a legal perspective, damages do not refer to the harm done to the plaintiffs but to the financial value of that harm. The loved ones of the deceased in most wrongful death lawsuits may pursue two types of damages: wrongful death damages and survival damages.
Wrongful Death Damages
Only spouses, children, parents, and in rare cases dependent siblings may seek wrongful death damages in most car accident cases. Wrongful death damages may include:
The victim’s medical expenses prior to death
Funeral expenses
Loss of future monetary support the victim would have provided
Compensation for mental and emotional trauma and the loss of the unique familial love provided by the deceased
Texas wrongful death attorney
Survival Damages
With Survival damages, the closest living relative may pursue compensation for the damages the victim could have pursued had he or she only suffered injuries in the accident and not died. The line of ascension for survival damages goes from spouse to children to parents and finally to siblings. Examples of survival damages include:
Medical bills.
Property damage.
Lost wages during the hospital stay the victim would have had if he or she had survived and recovered.
Lost earning capacity due to possible long-term severe injuries.
The victim’s physical pain and suffering.
The victim’s emotional or mental distress he or she would have endured during the rehabilitation process if he or she had only been injured.
Varieties of Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Someone can die due to someone else’s negligence in a variety of ways — due to an accident involving a wide variety of vehicles: cars, trucks, buses, planes, trains, and motorcycles; then can be wrongfully killed at work in dangerous jobs like construction or relatively safe jobs like clerking in a bank, and they die while visiting a property whose owner negligently ignored a responsibility to provide for the safety of his or her patrons.
No matter how the wrongful death occurred, resolving a wrongful death lawsuit is seldom easy and usually requires the expert touch of an experienced attorney.
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Automobile Accident Obstacles
In car and truck accident wrongful death cases, people often lie about their degree of liability in order to avoid fiscal responsibility and possible criminal charges for their negligence. You need the help of an attorney skilled in investigating the scene of like accidents to determine the negligence of all responsible parties and be able to prove it in the court of law. In all forms of wrongful death lawsuits, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff to establish the negligence of the liable parties. Our attorneys have mastered the art of investigation in the 20 years we’ve been handling cases, and we leave no stone unturned: sequestering and examining all vehicles involved, gathering forensic evidence, locating and questioning witnesses, and searching for video or photographic proof.
On-the-Job Wrongful Death Cases
When it comes to wrongful deaths in the workplace, you are even more in need of representation. Just knowing how to proceed with such a case can be complex since how a case is handled depends heavily on whether or not the employer purchased workers’ compensation insurance. The handling of an on-the-job wrongful death claim differs entirely whether the employer was a subscriber who bought workers’ comp insurance or a non-subscriber who didn’t. Just like with vehicular wrongful deaths, on-the-job wrongful death cases often involve trickery and deception in which some employers feign having workers’ compensation insurance when they don’t, and other employers deny that their employees are actually employees, calling them contractors to avoid liability. Only an experienced lawyer can see through all of the lies and protect your family’s right to compensation and the ability to seek justice against those responsible for your loved one’s death.
Premises Liability Wrongful Death Cases
If your loved one was killed while visiting a property owned by somebody else, then you may have a wrongful death lawsuit under premises liability. The owners of properties have the duty to provide for the safety of visitors to their property. However, different duties or owed to different types of visitors, so you need the guidance of a skilled wrongful death attorney to determine whether your loved one had a duty of safety denied to him or her by the owner of the property on which he or she was killed. You will need an attorney who can hold that liable party responsible for his or her negligence.
An Experienced Civil Lawyer Can Help Bring You Justice
During the course of the investigation to establish grounds for a civil lawsuit to resolve a wrongful death, our lawyers occasionally find evidence to suggest the death was due to an intentional act, and we are able to pursue criminal justice against the perpetrators. In most cases, however, the monetary damages we are able to secure go toward ensuring that the responsible parties will not commit their negligent acts again. In the end, the result of more wrongful death litigation is fewer wrongful deaths.
If you have lost a loved one due to any type of wrongful death, then call us today for a free consultation and find out how we can help. We will answer any questions you may have about the specific details of your case and help you start down the road to recovery.
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Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
What is the Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death in Texas?
If you’ve had the unfortunate experience to lose a loved one in wrongful death, grieving the loss can take many months to many years. However, during this understandably difficult and emotional time, it’s in your best interests to contact competent legal help before the statute of limitations expires and you’re no longer able to seek just compensation for your loss.
Additionally, certain exceptions exist that can allow for an increase in the time allotted for wrongful death statute of limitations. To further assist you in understanding the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases, our Texas wrongful death attorneys explain what that means, as well as the multiple exceptions that might benefit your case.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Cases?
The statute of limitations equals the time that you have as a possible plaintiff to bring legal action against a possible defendant. In wrongful death cases, the statute of limitations allows two years from the accident’s date for a victim to resolve a claim or file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, the following exceptions can apply to certain instances. Contacting our competent lawyers can help you understand if such exceptions might apply to your case.
The Plaintiff Cannot File Due to a Physical or Mental Incapacity
A mother and daughter might be involved in an auto accident caused by the negligence of a drunk driver where the daughter dies and the mother is in a coma for five years. The mother has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit, but she was physically incapable of doing so within the two-year statute of limitations. This is an exception that can result in an extension, allowing the mother to bring a wrongful death suit against the responsible parties.
Unknown Accident Cause or Unknown Defendant
A man may unexpectedly die and his autopsy shows little as to the cause of his death. Many years later a certain experimental drug that he was taking is shown to have contributed to his death. Even if two years have passed, the victim’s family may still be entitled to present a wrongful death suit. This is known as the “discovery rule” in Texas law and means that if a plaintiff doesn’t know what caused a wrongful death or who perpetrated the crime, the statute of limitations does not begin until that information has come to light. This allows for just compensation to be made to a victim’s family if pertinent information regarding a victim’s death was not known at the time of their passing.
Fraudulent Defendants
Some defendants in wrongful death cases might attempt to lie about their involvement in the death for two years, hoping that they’ll never be found out during the statute of limitations. If this perpetrator is found to have been lying about their involvement and can also be held responsible for wrongful death, an extension can be granted allowing you to seek fair compensation for your loss.
The Plaintiff is a Minor
Minors that can be plaintiffs in a wrongful death case have until the age of twenty years old to bring a suit against a possible defendant. Essentially, their statute of limitations for bringing a case starts when they turn 18, giving them two years from that time to seek justice for their loss.
Sometimes it’s better that a parent or guardian brings a suit on behalf of a minor before that minor is of age to do so themselves. Plaintiffs in many wrongful death cases are served best by quick action after the accident has occurred. Evidence can be lost over time and witnesses might not be as valuable years in the future when the minor can bring their own lawsuit. If a parent or guardian brings a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a minor, a court-appointed ad litem third-party attorney will be assigned to the child to ensure that his or her best interests are being served by the lawsuit. If a lawsuit is not brought on behalf of a child while they are still a minor, that child retains the right to seek just compensation when they turn eighteen.
Unknown Date of Death
If a victim’s family is under the impression that their loved one has been missing for years, only to find out after two years or more that their loved one was in fact murdered, that family may be entitled to an extension. Since the victim’s family was not aware of their loved one’s death at the time it occurred, an extension may be granted so that the family can seek fair compensation.
Our Experienced Texas Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Help
Should you be in the position to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against a responsible party, it’s important that you act quickly and contact us to understand what your options might be. Wrongful death cases have a statute of limitations of two years. In instances like those described above, you may be able to extend that time.
Whatever the case may be, you should contact us as soon as possible after a wrongful death accident to allow us to help you understand which instance might fit your case. The competent Texas wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office have 20 years of experience in dealing with the intricacies of these kinds of cases. We’re here to help you in your time of need, and will seek to help you get fair compensation for your loss.
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