Chapter 1: Protect Your Rights
Losing someone you love is brutal. And it’s even worse when it didn’t have to happen, and someone else’s carelessness caused it. You deserve real answers and real accountability, not a bunch of vague legal talk that goes nowhere. At Grossman Law Offices, we’ve helped hundreds of families across Texas take action against the people and companies responsible. We don’t keep you guessing or shut you out of your own case. You have every right to know what’s happening, and we make sure you do.
This is so much more than “work” for us. Many people on our team have lived through this kind of loss themselves, so we understand what’s at stake. You’re not just a file number. We treat you with the same care and attention we’d expect for our own families. You shouldn’t be left picking up the financial pieces on your own. Lost income, medical bills, funeral costs… that burden shouldn’t fall on you.
If you’re going to move forward, do it the right way. Texas law allows spouses, children, and parents to file a wrongful death claim. This isn’t about handing out money for the sake of it. It’s about holding the right people responsible and making sure this doesn’t happen to someone else. It’s also about restoring the support your family lost.
But here’s the reality: you don’t have unlimited time. The law gives you two years to act. Miss that window, and you may lose your chance completely. We don’t charge you up front, and we don’t get paid unless we win. Call Grossman Law Offices today for a free, honest conversation about your situation. We’re here for you.
Chapter 2: Understanding Your Rights After a Tragedy
What Is a Wrongful Death Case?
A wrongful death case is a lawsuit against a person or company whose careless or intentional actions caused your loved one’s death. It allows you to seek justice and financial compensation for your loss.
That’s the legal definition. Here’s what it really means. Someone screwed up, cut corners, or ignored a clear risk, and now your family is dealing with a devastating loss. A wrongful death case is how you force that person or company to answer for it.
This is about accountability, not paperwork or technicalities. If a trucking company pushes drivers past their limits, if a doctor misses something they shouldn’t have, if a business ignores safety rules, they don’t get to walk away clean. A lawsuit puts real pressure on them and forces them to deal with the consequences.
It also gives your family a way to recover what was taken from you, like income, stability, support, and guidance.
Click here to dig deeper into what wrongful death cases are and how they actually work.
What Is a Survival Action and How Does It Work?
A survival action is a claim that belongs to your deceased loved one’s estate for the pain and suffering they experienced between the time of their injury and their death, allowing you to pursue it on their behalf.
It’s different from a wrongful death claim, which focuses on what your family lost. A survival action is about what your loved one went through before they passed.
If they were hurt, scared, in pain, or fighting to survive, even for a short time, that matters. The law doesn’t just erase that because they’re gone. Their estate can still bring that claim, and it becomes part of the case.
Here’s the blunt truth. The person who caused the harm doesn’t get a free pass just because your loved one didn’t survive long enough to file a claim themselves. That’s exactly why survival actions exist.
Click here to understand how a survival action works in real cases.
How Is a Wrongful Death Case Different from a Criminal Case?
In a criminal case, the government prosecutes someone for murder or another crime. In a wrongful death case, you and your family sue the responsible party for money to hold them accountable for the financial and emotional harm you suffered.
These are two completely different paths.
A criminal case is about punishment. Jail time, fines, and a record. A wrongful death case is about accountability and making sure your family isn’t left carrying the financial burden.
Why Should I Sue for Money After My Loved One Dies?
Suing for money is the only way our legal system can punish a wrongdoer who caused a death. And it’s the only way to provide your family with the financial resources you need to replace lost income and cover expenses after such a devastating loss.
There’s no outcome where someone hands you your loved one back. That’s not on the table. What is on the table is forcing the person responsible to take real responsibility.
And that responsibility shows up financially.
Bills don’t stop. Rent or mortgage payments don’t disappear. Kids still need support. Life keeps going whether you’re ready or not.
A lawsuit makes sure you’re not the one stuck paying for someone else’s mistake.
Is It Wrong to Think About Money at a Time Like This?
Are your bills going to stop coming because you’ve lost someone?
Seeking compensation is about getting the resources you need to stay stable and move forward. It’s also the only way to make sure the other side is held financially accountable for what they did.
You didn’t create this situation. You’re dealing with it.
Thinking about money right now doesn’t make you cold or selfish. It means you see the reality of what happened – real damage, real costs – and you understand that the responsible party shouldn’t get to walk away without paying for it.
Chapter 3: Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Case in Texas?
Under Texas law, only the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased have the legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
That’s the rule. It’s strict, and it doesn’t bend.
It doesn’t matter how close someone else was to your loved one. If they’re not a spouse, child, or parent, they usually don’t have the legal right to file.
If you do fall into one of those categories, you can step up and take action.
Click here for information on who can file this type of claim in Texas.
Can a Domestic Partner File a Wrongful Death Claim?
Maybe. A domestic partner may be able to file a wrongful death claim if the relationship qualifies as a valid common law marriage under Texas law.
Texas recognizes informal, or “common law,” marriages. A couple may be considered legally married if they intended to be married, lived together as spouses, and presented themselves publicly as married.
If those legal requirements are met, Texas treats the couple as legally married even without a wedding ceremony or marriage license.
Click here to learn more about wrongful death cases involving domestic partners.
Can I File a Wrongful Death Case for My Family Member?
Yes. If you are the surviving spouse, child, or parent, you have the legal right to file a wrongful death claim for your own losses. That includes the financial support, guidance, and relationship you lost.
Click here to look deeper into whether you can file a wrongful death case.
Can You File a Wrongful Death Claim After a Child’s Death?
Yes. Parents can absolutely file a wrongful death claim if their child dies because of someone else’s carelessness or wrongful act.
It doesn’t matter if the child was a minor or an adult. Parents still have the right to take action.
Click here for more information about filing a wrongful death claim after a child’s death.
Can Step-Parents or Adoptive Parents File a Wrongful Death Claim?
Adoptive parents have the same legal rights as biological parents. The law treats them the same.
Step-parents are different. If there wasn’t a legal adoption, they usually don’t have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Can a Child’s Estate File a Claim If the Parents Are Still Alive?
Yes. The parents can bring their own wrongful death claim, and the child’s estate can also file a survival action for any pain and suffering the child went through before passing.
These claims move forward together. One is about what the family lost. The other is about what the child experienced.
Chapter 4: What You Must Do Immediately After a Wrongful Death
What Should I Do Right After a Wrongful Death Happens?
Your first step should be to contact an experienced wrongful death attorney.
Not later. Not after you “figure things out.” Now.
A lawyer can immediately start investigating, preserve critical evidence, and protect your rights before anything disappears or gets buried.
Because that’s exactly what happens. Evidence gets lost. Records get cleaned up. Stories change.
And if you wait, you’re giving the other side an advantage.
Click here to learn which steps a family should take after a wrongful death.
Can I Be Tricked Into Signing Away My Rights to File a Lawsuit?
Yes, they may come to you quickly with paperwork and a settlement offer, especially when you’re still trying to process everything.
It may seem like they’re helping, but in reality, they’re trying to close the case before you understand what it’s actually worth. Don’t sign anything until a lawyer has had a chance to review it.
Should I Talk to the Insurance Company or Responsible Party?
No, you shouldn’t speak to them or sign anything they put in front of you.
They’re looking out for themselves, not you.
Let your attorney handle those conversations and protect your claim.
Chapter 5: The Financial Aspects of Your Claim
What Types of Damages Can You Recover in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
You can recover damages for the loss of your loved one’s financial support, their services around the home, their guidance and advice, and your own mental anguish and loss of companionship.
This isn’t just about a paycheck. It’s about everything your loved one brought into your life.
Their presence. Their help. Their role in your family.
Click here for a full breakdown of what you can recover in a wrongful death lawsuit.
How Do Courts Calculate Wrongful Death Damages?
Courts don’t put a price on a life.
They calculate specific losses, like lost future income, medical bills, and funeral expenses. Then they look at the non-financial side, the value of the relationship, the support, the guidance.
It’s about measuring impact, not assigning worth.
Click to see how courts approach wrongful death damages.
How Much Is My Wrongful Death Lawsuit Worth?
There’s no simple answer.
The value depends on things like your loved one’s age, income, health, and your relationship with them. Anyone who throws out a quick number without knowing the details is just guessing.
The only way to get a real answer is to sit down with someone who can look at the full picture and evaluate it the right way.
Can You Recover Punitive Damages in a Wrongful Death Case?
Yes, you can pursue punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, if the person responsible acted with gross negligence. This means their actions were so careless and extreme that they “shock the senses.”
Click here to find out if punitive damages may apply to your wrongful death case.
How Do Wrongful Death Settlements Get Paid Out?
After a settlement is reached, the money is usually paid by the defendant’s insurance company.
From there, legal fees and case costs are deducted, and the remaining funds are distributed to the eligible family members.
Click here to take a closer look at how wrongful death settlement payments work.
In Cases With Multiple Claimants, How Are the Winnings Divided?
If the case settles, the family members must agree on how to divide the money. If it goes to trial, the jury will decide how to allocate the award among the spouse, children, and parents.
Chapter 6: Proving Your Case and Legal Deadlines
How Do You Prove Wrongful Death in Texas?
To prove wrongful death, you and your attorney need to show that someone else had a duty to act safely, they breached that duty through carelessness, and that this carelessness directly caused your loved one’s death.
Click here to learn how to prove wrongful death cases.
What Evidence Do I Need for a Wrongful Death Case?
You’re going to need solid evidence. Things like police reports, photos from the scene, medical records, witness statements, and expert opinions. This isn’t something you want to piece together later on.
If you wait too long, important details can be lost or harder to prove. That’s why an immediate investigation by a law firm is so critical.
Click here for a full breakdown of the evidence needed in wrongful death cases.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death?
Most wrongful death cases come down to car and truck crashes, workplace accidents, medical mistakes, defective products, and serious falls. In a wrongful death case, these scenarios often have the same root problem. Someone didn’t do what they were supposed to do, and now a family is dealing with the consequences.
Click here to explore these wrongful death causes in more detail.
What Happens When More Than One Party Is Responsible for the Death?
Your attorney can file claims against all responsible parties. Texas law allows you to recover your full damages even if multiple people or companies played a part in your loved one’s death.
Click here to learn more about what to expect when multiple parties are responsible for a death.
Can You Still File a Wrongful Death Claim if Your Loved One Was Partly at Fault?
If your loved one died because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, the rules don’t always work the way people expect. These cases are handled differently depending on the situation, and fault isn’t always the deciding factor.
In some cases, it doesn’t matter who caused the accident at all, and in others, fault is handled under a different set of rules.
The bottom line is that work-related death claims in Texas aren’t one-size-fits-all, so it’s important to understand how the law applies to your specific situation.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Case in Texas?
In Texas, you usually have two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, you lose your right to seek compensation.
Click here for additional information on the filing deadline for wrongful death cases in Texas.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Affect a Wrongful Death Claim?
If your loved one died on the job, you may qualify for workers’ compensation death benefits. But that doesn’t always mean that’s your only option.
You can still file a wrongful death lawsuit against a third party, like a negligent driver or a company that made faulty equipment, if their actions caused the death.
Click here to learn more about how workers’ compensation affects wrongful death claims.
Chapter 7: What to Expect From the Legal Process
How Does Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Work?
The process starts with an investigation. Then your attorney files a complaint in court. After that, both sides exchange information through discovery. From there, the case either settles or goes to trial.
Click here to see how a wrongful death lawsuit unfolds.
Do I Have to Go to Court for Wrongful Death Cases?
Most wrongful death cases are settled out of court, but your attorney still needs to be ready to take the case to trial. That’s what pushes the other side to take the claim seriously and offer a fair settlement.
Click here to find out who needs to go to court for wrongful death cases.
How Long Does a Wrongful Death Case Take in Texas?
Every case is different, but most wrongful death cases in Texas take about one to two years to resolve. The timeline usually depends on how complex the evidence is and whether a fair settlement can be reached.
Click here to see what the law says about wrongful death case deadlines in Texas.
Can a Wrongful Death Case Be Settled Out of Court?
Yes, most wrongful death cases are settled before trial. This often happens during mediation, where both sides work with a neutral third party to try to reach an agreement.
Click here to get the facts about how settlements work.
Chapter 8: Why You Need Grossman Law Offices
Do I Need My Own Attorney or Do All Claimants Share One?
Each family member may have their own claim, but it’s usually better to stay on the same team. One strong legal team helps everyone stay aligned and moving in the same direction.
When families start pulling apart, the defense can use that to their advantage and weaken the case. Staying united makes your claim stronger and puts the attention where it belongs – on confronting what happened and making sure it’s properly dealt with.
How Can a Wrongful Death Attorney Help You?
A skilled attorney takes the weight off your shoulders and handles the entire process. They dig into what happened and gather the evidence needed to support your case. They deal with the insurance companies, so you don’t have to.
And if it comes down to it, they step into court and fight for you. That way, you can focus on getting through this without having to manage a legal battle at the same time.
Click here to see exactly how a wrongful death attorney helps.
How Does a Wrongful Death Attorney Investigate a Case?
An attorney will go to the scene and take a close look at what actually happened. They’ll talk to witnesses while the details are still fresh. They’ll track down official reports and any video footage that might exist.
Then they bring in experts to break things down and explain what went wrong. All of that work is about one thing: building a case with real proof behind it – not guesswork.
Why Do People Sue Hospitals and Doctors for Wrongful Death?
People take legal action against doctors or hospitals when a serious mistake leads to someone’s death. That can be something like missing a diagnosis they should have caught or making an error during surgery that never should’ve happened.
At the end of the day, medical professionals are expected to meet a certain standard of care. When they fall short and it costs someone their life, they need to be held accountable for that.
Click here to learn more about why doctors and hospitals get sued for wrongful death.
How Do You Choose the Right Wrongful Death Lawyer?
It’s best to choose a lawyer who has deep experience in Texas wrongful death cases and a track record of success. They should also keep clients informed and treat them with compassion. You should never feel like a file on someone’s desk.
Click here for tips on how to pick the right lawyer for your wrongful death case.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire Grossman Law Offices?
It costs nothing up front to hire us. We work on a contingency fee basis. And that means we only get paid if we win your case. If we don’t win, you owe us absolutely nothing.
Does Grossman Law Offices Handle Cases Outside of Dallas?
Yes, our attorneys are licensed throughout Texas and have successfully litigated wrongful death cases for families in various communities. From the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast and everywhere in between, you can count on Grossman Law Offices to hold the right people accountable.
Where Is Grossman Law Offices Located?
Our main office is in Dallas, Texas, but we are ready and willing to come to you and fight for your family’s rights, no matter where you are in the state. Your location shouldn’t decide whether you get real legal help or not.
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