In Texas, the law establishes specific guidelines for who has the legal capacity to file a wrongful death claim. If you’re not a qualified party or a representative of the deceased’s estate, you may be ineligible to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit and recover damages. According to Texas law, the following close relatives of the deceased are permitted to initiate wrongful death lawsuits:

• A surviving spouse
• Surviving children, including legally adopted children
• Surviving parents

Navigating the specifics of these rules can be challenging when dealing with the loss of a loved one. Therefore, it’s advisable to seek the assistance of an experienced attorney to guide you through the process of filing a wrongful death claim.

In Texas, the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit is generally two years from the date of death. Exceptions like the discovery rule can extend this deadline if the cause of death is identified later. However, certain circumstances can shorten or lengthen the two-year period. Missing this deadline can jeopardize your right to compensation, even with proven negligence. It is very important to speak with retained counsel to determine the exact statute of limitations applicable to your case.

In a wrongful death lawsuit under Texas law, the plaintiff is required to establish that the defendant’s actions resulted in death. This act could have been negligent or unlawful.To prevail in a wrongful death claim, four elements must be established:

Duty of Care: The plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant, whether an employer, an individual, a corporation, or a governmental entity, owed a duty to the decedent. As an example, an individual has a duty to operate their motorcycle responsibly and not while impaired.

Breach of Duty: The plaintiff must provide evidence that the defendant did not uphold their duty. If someone does not drive responsibly or drives while intoxicated, they have violated their duty to others.

Causation: The plaintiff needs to prove that the negligent or otherwise wrongful act, or lack thereof, by the defendant, resulted in the decedent’s death. For instance, a head-on collision may not have transpired had the defendant not operated their motorcycle while under the influence.

Damages: In Texas, there are two ways to substantiate damages. Survival damages serve to compensate for the losses suffered by the deceased, while wrongful death damages aim to provide compensation to the surviving family members.

Determining the exact value of a wrongful death case in Texas is not straightforward, as it depends on a multitude of factors unique to each case. However, it’s crucial to understand the types of damages that are typically considered in Texas wrongful death claims. These damages fall into two broad categories: Economic and non-economic.

Economic damages are tangible losses, often easier to calculate because they are grounded in specific amounts that the decedent and their family have lost or will lose due to the death. They include:

1. Loss of the decedent’s earnings and earning potential: This includes wages the decedent would have earned had they lived, considering their career trajectory, age, skills, and more.
2. Loss of inheritance: This refers to what the beneficiaries reasonably could have expected to receive if the decedent had lived a natural lifespan.
3. Medical and funeral expenses: If the decedent received medical care for their fatal injury, or if the family had to pay for funeral costs, these can be included as economic damages.

Non-economic damages are less tangible and often harder to quantify, but they can be equally or even more impactful than economic losses. They include:

1. Loss of companionship, love, and comfort: Surviving family members can be compensated for the loss of the deceased’s presence in their lives.
2. Mental and emotional anguish: The surviving relatives’ emotional suffering can also be compensated.

In Texas, there are no caps on the amount of damages that can be awarded in most wrongful death claims, unlike in many other states. However, in medical malpractice claims, non-economic damages are capped.

Please note that every wrongful death case is unique, and the damages awarded can vary greatly based on the specific circumstances of each case. It’s essential to consult with an experienced wrongful death attorney to get a realistic understanding of the potential value of your claim.

The legal process for a wrongful death lawsuit can be complex, involving various stages such as investigation, filing the lawsuit, discovery, negotiation, and potentially a trial.

When you choose The Ammons Law Firm, our attorneys will guide you through each step of the process. We conduct thorough investigations, collect strong evidence, file the lawsuit on your behalf, handle negotiations, and represent you at trial if a fair settlement cannot be reached.

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In Texas, the law gives you two years from the date of your loved one’s passing to file a wrongful death lawsuit. We understand this sounds like a long time, but preparing a strong case takes careful investigation and documentation, so it’s important not to delay speaking with an attorney. There are also some special situations that might change this deadline, which should be discussed with a trained attorney.

Texas law allows only specific family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit – these are spouses, children (including legally adopted children), and parents (including legal adoptive parents). While we understand that other family members, like siblings and grandchildren, may be deeply affected by the loss, they aren’t eligible to file claims under Texas law unless they were legally adopted by the person who passed away.

When we handle wrongful death cases, we seek several types of compensation. This includes money for lost income your loved one would have earned, expenses like funeral costs, and compensation for the emotional pain of losing your family member. We can also seek compensation for the loss of your loved one’s help around the house, guidance, and companionship. In cases of serious wrongdoing, you may also ask for additional damages to punish the responsible party.

Our firm works on what’s called a contingency fee basis – this means you don’t pay us anything upfront to handle your case. We cover all the costs of preparing your case, like getting medical records and hiring experts. You only pay us if we win money for your family, and then our fee comes as a percentage of that recovery. If we don’t win your case, you don’t owe us anything.

Every case is different, but wrongful death cases typically take between several months to a few years to resolve. The timeline depends on factors like whether the other party is willing to offer fair compensation or if we need to go to court to fight for your rights. We’ll keep you informed about your case’s progress and explain each step along the way.

This happens frequently in our cases, but don’t worry – part of our job is gathering evidence to prove who was responsible. We’ll investigate by collecting police reports, speaking with witnesses, reviewing any videos or photographs, and working with experts who can reconstruct what happened. Our experience helps us anticipate and counter the other side’s arguments about fault.

When several eligible family members want to pursue a claim, we can handle this effectively by filing one lawsuit that includes everyone’s claims. We’ll help coordinate between family members and make sure each person’s individual losses are properly documented and presented. This approach is usually more efficient than filing separate lawsuits.

Part of our job is identifying all possible sources of compensation for your family. Sometimes, this means looking beyond the obvious responsible party to find other parties who may share responsibility. For example, in a car accident case, we might look at the vehicle manufacturer, the company that maintained the road, or even a bar that served alcohol to an impaired driver.

While we handle most of the legal work, we’ll need your help with certain things, like providing information about your loved one and how their loss has affected your family. You might need to answer written questions or give testimony, but we’ll prepare you thoroughly for these steps and be with you throughout the process.

Work-related death cases can be complicated because they might involve workers’ compensation laws, which have special rules. However, we often find other responsible parties besides the employer who we can hold accountable. For instance, if faulty equipment caused the death, we might have a claim against the manufacturer. If a safety company fails to monitor the job site, it may have liability, too.

Many of our cases settle without going to trial, but we prepare every case as if it will go to trial. This thorough preparation often leads to better settlement offers. If the other side doesn’t offer fair compensation, we’ll be ready to present your case to a jury, and we’ll make sure you understand and are comfortable with each step.

Once you are represented by an attorney, the insurance company should never contact you directly. Insurance adjusters might seem friendly, but their job is to pay as little as possible. Let us handle all communication with insurance companies – we know their tactics and how to protect your rights.

To have a valid case, we need to show that someone else’s careless or wrongful actions caused your loved one’s death. For example, this could be a driver who ran a red light, a doctor who made a serious medical mistake, or a company that made a dangerous product. We’ll review the circumstances of your loved one’s death and gather evidence to determine if you have a strong case.

This situation actually gives rise to two different types of claims – a survival claim for your loved one’s pain and medical expenses before death, and a wrongful death claim for the family’s losses after death. We can help pursue both types of claims to ensure all damages are properly compensated.

It’s helpful if you can bring any documents related to the death, like accident reports, medical records, or the death certificate. Also, bring information about your loved one’s employment and income. But don’t worry if you don’t have everything – we can help gather these documents as part of our investigation.

Under Texas law, you can still recover compensation as long as your loved one is found less than 51% responsible for what happened. The amount of compensation would be reduced by their percentage of fault. We’ll investigate thoroughly to minimize any fault assigned to your loved one.

Legal cases can bring up difficult emotions as we discuss your loved one and their death. We understand this and try to handle everything with sensitivity. Many families find that pursuing justice helps with healing, but we’ll always respect your need to take breaks or discuss concerns about the process.

Since we work on a contingency fee basis, anyone can afford to pursue justice – regardless of their financial situation. We advance all the costs of the lawsuit, including investigation expenses, court filing fees, and expert witness fees. These costs are only repaid if we win your case.

A wrongful death case is separate from any criminal case and uses a different standard of proof. While criminal cases must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” civil cases use a lower standard called “preponderance of evidence.” This means we can often win a civil case even if the criminal case isn’t successful.

When both a civil and criminal case are brought, they run simultaneously in different courts. The state brings the criminal case while your attorney brings the civil case.

If your loved one’s death occurred in another state, we can still help you pursue a case. While the laws of the state where the death occurred usually apply, we work with experienced attorneys in other states when needed to make sure your case is handled properly and your rights are protected.

Many funeral homes understand this situation and will work with families who are pursuing wrongful death claims. We can often provide them with documentation of the pending legal claim, and sometimes they’ll agree to wait for payment until the case settles. We can help you explore these options.

Yes, social media posts can impact your case, so we recommend being very careful about what you post online while your case is pending. The other side’s lawyers often monitor social media accounts, and posts can be misinterpreted or taken out of context. We’ll provide specific guidance about social media use during your case.