Texas Wrongful Death Civil Suit

Have You Lost a Loved One in a Wrongful Death? You May be Considering a Civil Suit

If you have lost someone you love in an accident, you need someone you can turn to for answers, someone you can count on to help you seek justice. Family members often wish to file a Texas wrongful death civil suit against those responsible. However, you should know that this is a highly technical task that is best left to an experienced attorney.

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Dallas wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices has twenty years of experience handling Texas wrongful death civil suits, and he can help you understand what you are up against, how these suits work, and how our firm can help you.

What is the Purpose of a Texas Wrongful Death Civil Suit?

A wrongful death lawsuit serves three main purposes: to hold those who cause fatal accidents responsible for their actions, to force them to change their ways, and to make sure that the victim’s family receives the compensation they need to get back on their feet. Losing someone you love is emotionally devastating, but it can also put a family under severe economic hardship. Obviously, no amount of money can truly replace a family member. But our attorneys want to make sure that you and your family do not suffer under needless economic hardship in addition to making sure that those responsible for your loved one’s death are brought to justice.

Compensation in a Texas wrongful death civil suit

A comprehensive wrongful death suit has two main categories of damages: wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages can be sought by parents, children, and spouses of the victim. They are designed to compensate the plaintiff for their own loss caused by the victim’s death. These damages include:

• Medical expenses paid prior to the death of the victim
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of economic support previously provided by the victim
• Compensation for the mental and emotional turmoil and general loss of companionship caused by the death of a loved one

Survival damages are different in that they let a plaintiff stand in for the victim in a legal sense. Typically, survival damages are sought by the same party that is seeking wrongful death damages, though the victim’s siblings can also sue for survival damages. Survival damages compensate the plaintiff for the damages for which the victim could have filed a lawsuit if he or she had survived the fatal accident. Survival damages typically include:

• Medical expenses paid prior to the victim’s death
• Wages lost due to time spent in the hospital
• Any property damage caused by the accident
• Loss of long-term earning potential due to disability
• Physical pain, suffering, and discomfort
• Emotional or mental suffering caused by the accident
• Compensation for long-term injury or disfigurement

It is important to realize that these are two separate claims filed in a single lawsuit. Each must be handled differently – and the differences are subtle. A non-attorney will likely not be able to properly file for these damages and will miss something, which could result in a smaller settlement or even the complete dismissal of your case. Let the legal professionals at Grossman Law Offices make sure this does not happen to you. We can help you build a comprehensive lawsuit that covers all your bases.

When our attorneys seek damages for our clients, we want to hold them accountable for their negligence and ensure that you and your family receive the compensation you need. However, we also want to make the defendant change his or her negligent ways so that no one else falls victim to the defendant’s negligence. This is an important element of seeking justice through a Texas wrongful death civil suit, and our attorneys are dedicated to making sure it happens.

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Do I Have a Valid Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

In some cases, a victim’s family will not know whether or not they are eligible to sue for wrongful death. Wrongful death suits are civil actions that let a family seek justice even if criminal charges are not warranted. For example, if a driver is speeding and hits a pedestrian and that pedestrian dies, the driver would likely be found negligent and the pedestrian’s family could file a wrongful death suit. However, the defendant would likely not be guilty of murder because the defendant likely did not intend to kill anyone.

However, even if a defendant does deliberately kill someone and criminal charges are filed, a family can still seek wrongful death damages (this is common in drunk driving accident cases). Texas law states four conditions that must be met for a plaintiff to have a valid wrongful death claim:

• The victim is killed in an accident caused, in part or in whole, by the actions or inaction of another party
• The party that caused the accident was somehow acting negligently
• There are surviving family members or beneficiaries of the victim who are eligible to seek wrongful death damages or survival damages
• The plaintiff in the wrongful death suit suffered some kind of financial damages

Limits on the amount of damages that can be recovered

In certain cases, the damages that can be recovered from wrongful death suit might be limited due to a number of different factors. In other cases, your suit might be held to a higher standard of proof than in a typical case. For example, in a medical malpractice claim, your suit will be limited by recent tort reform that has made doctors and other medical professionals much more difficult to sue. There are caps on the amount of general damages that can be recovered in a medical malpractice case, and a large portion of many medical malpractice settlements goes right back to the doctor for additional medical treatment. In a workers’ compensation claim, on the other hand, the amount of money you can receive for a loved one’s death is very small, and families often need to seek compensation from additional third parties and/or prove gross negligence against your loved one’s employer. Proving gross negligence is much more difficult than proving standard negligence, and it can be hard to determine how complex your case will be until it is too late.

This is why you should leave this legal battle to the professionals. There are some lawsuits that a non-attorney can handle, but wrongful death cases are not one of them. Even a relatively straightforward wrongful death case is very technical, and should be handled by experienced legal professionals. Do not let those responsible for your loved one’s death escape retribution by slipping through some legal technicality you have never heard of. Let our aggressive lawyers ensure that they take responsibility for their negligence.

The Attorneys at Grossman Law Offices are Here to Help You

In addition to the complexities inherent in a Texas wrongful death civil suit, you will probably be going up against aggressive defense lawyers and insurance adjusters. Damages in wrongful death suits are typically very high, so defendants will hire the best legal help they can find to represent them. Insurance companies and other large organizations typically have a team of aggressive defense lawyers on retainer who have years of experience shutting down wrongful death suits. However, our experienced attorneys know how to handle insurance adjusters and defense lawyers. We are not afraid of their aggressive tactics, and we can help you protect your rights.

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Furthermore, it is important to quickly collect evidence at an accident scene. Many of the most common accident scenes (highways, construction sites, etc.) do not sit still for very long, and vital evidence could be very short-lived. But our lawyers can conduct the thorough investigation necessary to determine exactly what happened. We move quickly to lock down vehicles, equipment, or even entire accident scenes that could be necessary to proving that your loved one was the victim of negligence. The sooner we are on the case, the quicker we can move to secure a scene and preserve vital evidence.

For twenty years, the experienced legal professionals at Grossman Law Offices have been helping family members file Texas wrongful death civil suits. We know how difficult this time can be for you and your family. Let us handle the legal battle so that you can focus on getting your life back in order. Our attorneys have successfully investigated and resolved hundreds of cases against many of the major insurance carriers and defense lawyer firms in the country. These organizations know all about our successful track record, and they often cooperate fully with our settlement demands so that they do not have to face our attorneys in court. This means that we can potentially secure a fair settlement for you and your family without even going to court. In other words, we can help you get back on your feet faster. Our lawyers want to do everything they can to help you, whether you need an aggressive attorney to defend your rights or you just have some questions. So if you are considering filing a Texas wrongful death civil suit, contact Dallas wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today for a free consultation. Let us help you bring those responsible for your loved one’s death to justice.

What damages can I sue for?
Can I sue for wrongful death?
How do I file a wrongful death civil suit?

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