Wrongful Death

There are multiple ways to seek legal action for the death of a loved one and family member. In Texas, surviving family members are entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This means that there could be multiple claims for different individuals resulting from a single incident. Spouses, children, and parents can all bring a claim for wrongful death following the death of their loved one. All wrongful death actions are subject to a two-year statute of limitation. The purpose for this type of action is to recover for damages the surviving relatives have as a result of the death. An experienced Texas personal injury attorney can navigate through the Texas Wrongful Death Act to help you timely recover. Texas also has what is called the Texas Survival Statue. A representative of the decedent’s estate can also bring an action on behalf of the decedent through this statute. The statute requires that the decedent have a cognizable injury cause of action, that the decedent would have been able to bring this action if they survived, and if the injury was proximately caused by the incident. In this case, the representative of the estate is to bring the action on behalf of the deceased, not for themselves.

Recovery through both the Wrongful Death Act and the Survival Statue requires diligent effort from an experienced Texas personal injury attorney. A recovery through the survival claim goes to the estate of the decedent’s and is disbursed through the decedent’s will or through intestate. Recovery for a wrongful death includes emotional and mental anguish, suffering, medical expenses, torment as well as punitive damages in cases of gross negligence. An experienced trial lawyer can present these types of issues to not only achieve a recovery for you, but to hold the liable parties accountable to protect others from similar accidents.

Do I need to hire an attorney?

Hiring a personal injury attorney is critical in order to receive the highest possible recovery that is available to you without any undue delay. Many people injured as the result of the negligence of a third party might be reluctant to hire a lawyer. This is because people do not want to have to spend money unnecessarily if they feel that a personal injury claim might be something that they could handle themselves. In Texas, the standard method of payment for a personal injury attorney is through what is called a contingency fee. This means that a personal injury lawyer won’t ever send you a bill, invoice, or receipt. The lawyer would get paid by taking a percentage of whatever the recovery is. That is the case if the recovery is through a settlement or through a jury trial. If, for whatever reason, there is no recovery, then you would not have to pay the lawyer anything. The statute of limitation to recover for an injury or death resulting from negligence is only two years. You only have two years to pursue a recovery from a negligent party. Insurance will delay investigating the claim, taking reasonable efforts to respond to you timely, and give you an appropriate response to your claim until this limitation expires. Hiring an experienced Texas personal injury attorney will ensure that the insurance companies take you and your claim seriously. If the insurance companies are not willing to cooperate, then a lawyer can file a lawsuit to make certain that they do so.