McAllen Wrongful Death Lawyers on Fatal Accidents in Texas
When a person loses a loved one due to a tragic accident, that person loses an incredibly important part of his or her life and is left with a lot of unanswered questions. Who is to blame for this? How did the accident happen? Do I have grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit to hold those responsible for the accident accountable? Do I need a seasoned and skilled Texas wrongful death attorney?
The lawyers at our Law Office have been handling wrongful death litigation for two decades, so we are all too familiar with the feelings you are experiencing after the loss of someone close to you. If you want to pursue legal action, we want to make sure you are as well informed as possible regarding the legal options you have, and the hurdles you will have to surmount in order to succeed in your case and obtain the just restitution you have coming for the loss of your loved one.
The Purpose of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
There are three main purposes for the initiation of any wrongful death lawsuit in Texas:
Making sure the negligent party or parties responsible for negligent actions or inaction that led to the death of an innocent person being held accountable.
Forcing negligent parties, through the use of monetary incentives, to change their behavior so more people do not suffer injury going forward.
Ensure that the loved ones of the victim obtain fair compensation so they are not subjected to monetary stress as well as the mental trauma they are already experiencing.
Of course, no amount of monetary compensation can come anywhere close to replacing your lost loved one. If the deceased family member was the main provider, however, your family is experiencing some major monetary problems because of your loss. The Texas wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office can help alleviate the monetary problems you are going through. Our lawyers are passionate about helping ease the financial burdens faced by families who are going through an incredible loss. We not only want to make sure those responsible for your tragedy are brought to justice and held accountable for their wrongdoing, but we also want to help you recover monetarily. By getting the just restitution you have coming to you, you can concentrate on recovering, both emotionally and physically, from the loss you have experienced.
The Compensation You Can Recover in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
From a legal perspective, the term “damages” refers to financial compensation that the loved ones of a deceased family member can recover – not the actual harm that was experienced by the family member. In a comprehensive wrongful death civil suit, there are two kinds of damages that can be pursued: wrongful death and survival damages. Wrongful death damages are designed to provide compensation to a grieving family for the emotional and financial strain they have experienced since the death of their family member. Spouses, children, parents, and other dependents can all seek to obtain wrongful death compensation, and there can be multiple wrongful death damage claims in a single wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death damages that can be obtained include compensation for:
Medical bills the victim incurred prior to his or her death.
Funeral expenses.
The loss of financial support the victim provided prior to his or her death.
The emotional and mental trauma the family suffers due to the loss of the family member.
The loss of unique love and consortium only the deceased family member could provide.
On the other hand, survival damages are designed for only the closest living relative to obtain compensation commensurate to the value of a lawsuit the deceased could have filed had he or she survived the accident and had been injured. Basically, the deceased’s closest living relative serves as, more or less, a proxy for the victim, and inherits the personal injury lawsuit that the deceased would have been able to file. Anyone seeking survival damages can also pursue wrongful death damages. However, a victim’s brother or sister can only seek survival damages if he or she is the victim’s closest living relative. The right to pursue survival damages starts with the spouse, then goes to the children, parents, and then siblings. Again, only one family member can pursue a survival damages suit, but all family members can seek to obtain wrongful death damages. Survival damages include:
Medical bills the victim paid before death.
Damage to property wrongful death lawyer
Salary lost because of time the victim, had he or she survived the accident, would have spent in the hospital recovering from his or her injuries.
The loss of future earning capacity as a result of long-term disabling injuries.
Physical pain and suffering experienced by the victim.
Emotional and mental trauma suffered as a result of the accident.
Restitution for disfigurement.
Survival damages and wrongful death claims differ completely. They require completely different legal strategies in order to be successful. In addition, each plaintiff incurs a varying amount of damages, and therefore, each wrongful death damages claim has to be handled on an individual basis. Both of these forms of litigation – survival damages claims and wrongful death claims are very complex and intricate. That does not even take into consideration what you have to do to surmount the hurdles presented by the opposition’s defense lawyers. If you have no legal experience, you will have no chance at winning a lawsuit, because you don’t have the required familiarity with the procedures involved. We have dealt with wrongful death litigation for two decades, and we’ve seen – time after time – unrepresented plaintiffs see their case dismissed because of a legal technicality that unrepresented person had no idea existed.
Please do not let this happen to you. The Texas wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office can protect your rights and help you obtain the compensation you have coming to you. We have the seasoning and experience needed in order to ensure that all of the details associated with legal procedures are properly taken care of. We will cut off all the defense’s attempts at finding legal loopholes and make sure that those whose negligence resulted in your loved one’s death are held accountable. We do so not only to get you the compensation you deserve but also to make sure the negligent party changes its behavior so that no one else has to experience a similar kind of pain. That could be one way that at least a shred of something good might come out of the tragedy that robbed you of your loved one. We are not just interested in making money for our clients. We also want to help prevent accidents from happening down the road. This is a vital part of wrongful death law in Texas, and we are extremely passionate about it.
