Wrongful Death

A statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in Houston Tx is set out by this law, which is the deadline to take formal legislative action after the person’s death. In general terms, this statue is usually two years from you’re your loved one’s death date. In exceptional cases, the deadline may get some extension. Still, you can not be sure if one of these exceptions applies to your case as well without getting a keen analysis by a wrongful death attorney knowledgeable in the matter.

 

If you are assuming that you still have some time to file the claim, chances are you may lose the right to seek any justice or compensation after the tragedy. Moreover, there should be no waiting to call the lawyer and close the two-year limit. These wrongful death cases may become very complicated and need elaborative investigations and inquiries, evidence collection, and preparing for the filing before the attorney can file them. To ensure that your claim is one of the strongest possible ones, you must provide the wrongful death attorney with ample time before the stature of limitations.

The safest thing to do is call a wrongful death law firm as soon as you believe you might have a case in that regard.

 

WHAT IS A WRONGFUL DEATH?

Under Texas law, the following are the causes of wrongful death:

• Unskillfulness 

• Wrongful act 

• Default 

• Neglect

• Carelessness

 

There can be significant variations between the particular cause of wrongful death. Wrongful death claims may result from one or more of the following fatal incidents:

• Violent assaults 

• Motor vehicle incidents caused due to dangerous roads or by negligent drivers 

• Nursing home abuse 

• Slips, trips and falls provided by hazards on another party’s property 

• Hospital errors or medical malpractice 

• Defective/dangerous products causing incidents 

• Accidents at the construction site

• Dog bites/attacks 

• Hazardous conditions or faulty electrical systems causing a fire

 

As there are so many cases that can base a wrongful death lawsuit, the best way to be sure about the legal rights you have is discussing what you believe happened with a Texas wrongful death lawyer having experience in the same.

 

Who Can File Wrongful Death Suits?

There are only certain people who can pursue a wrongful death claim, making the matter even more complicated. Just because your childhood friend died due to an illegal act, does not qualify you for having legal rights regarding their death, regardless of how much you are affected by the event. Instead, the following are the people who can file for wrongful death claims in Texas:

• Parents and adoptive parents 

• Surviving spouses  

• Children, both adopted and adult children. 

• Siblings are excluded from filing death claims by the Texas law. 

 

If no one from the above-specified parties allowed takes action for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, the person who is designated as the executor or personal representative of a deceased person’s estate qualifies to file the claim. If you were appointed as a representative and think that the death was wrongful, you should consult with an attorney about the steps you should or can take to receive compensation on the estate’s behalf.

 

Wrongful Death Claim Vs Criminal Case

Wrongful acts leading to death also include criminal offenses sometimes. Prosecutors and law enforcement authorities can place the party responsible under arrest and also issue homicide-related criminal charges. In such a situation, most surviving family members that the primary source of obtaining justice for their loved one’s loss is a criminal case. However, there are certain limitations with a criminal case, and so you should go with a civil wrongful death claim instead.

A criminal conviction might have the meaning that the party considered wrongful is sentenced to prison and may need fines that should be paid to the court. These punishments, however, do very little to compensate the surviving family members with their loss or cover the financial losses they may have suffered.

 

The primary source that provides direct compensation addressing the losses of family members is explicitly a claim for wrongful death in the civil court. This case is very different from the criminal proceedings, as if they were to enter a criminal conviction, it may have been used as evidence for a wrongful act in a civil case. Nevertheless, there may still be a viable wrongful death claim even if the party was not convicted due to the different legal standards in civil and criminal cases, so you should always check the rights you have on the civilian side.

 

Possible Damages To Claim For

There may be a variation in every wrongful death claim’s value; significant compensation can be sought by family members for their massive losses. Wrongful death claims can involve damages for the following items under the law:

• Emotional and mental suffering, anguish and despair 

• Lost financial support and income of the deceased person 

• Lost love and companionship 

• Lost value of inheritance if the deceased was expected to have a more substantial estate had they lived longer 

• Lost services, maintenance, support, care and counsel of deceased 

 

These damages are summed up and granted as a single settlement or award. However, the court holds the power to decide the proportion of loss of each family member bringing up the wrongful death claim. The damage award will then be divided among the claimants by this proportion or percentage value of the loss.

A court may award claimants with ‘exemplary’ damages in case of a wrongful death claim that results from a specific egregious act like a violent intentional act or act of pure negligence. This damage award is not based on the damages lost but based on the court’s desire to deter and punish wrongful acts. Such damages are awarded case-by-case, and the attorney looking after your case may advise better if they are available in your case or not.