Roderick C. Lopez | April 3, 2024 | Wrongful Death
If you have lost someone you love in an accident, you know that nothing can fully ease your pain. However, most states, including Texas, allow you to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person who caused your loved one’s death.
A skilled Laredo wrongful death attorney can help you receive compensation for your loved one’s wrongful death.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit you file against a person or company. The lawsuit will demand that the person or company that caused your loved one’s death compensate you for your loss.
Texas has a statute that specifically states that a person is liable for the damages arising from an injury that causes an individual’s death. Simply put, the law says that a person can be held liable in a wrongful death claim if they caused a person’s death through negligence or a wrongful act.
Examples of Wrongful Death Claims
Although a wrongful death claim can arise out of almost any situation where someone was killed, the following claims are the most common:
- Car accidents. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were multiple fatal accidents in Texas on each day of 2022. 2022 is the last year the Department of Transportation has complete data.
- Medical malpractice. If a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional causes death through negligent misdiagnosis, surgical error, or prescribing the wrong medication, among other mistakes, he or she may be liable in a wrongful death lawsuit.
- Defective products. A manufacturer of a product that has a dangerous design, leading to a person’s death, may be liable for the death.
- Semi-truck accidents. Semi-truck accidents are similar to car accidents. However, the liable party is usually a trucking company rather than an individual, making your potential compensation easier to collect.
- Dog bite attacks. If a person knowingly keeps a dangerous animal that causes someone’s death, he or she is liable.
In any wrongful death claim, your lawyer will gather evidence to show that the defendant was negligent, leading to your loved one’s death. For example, in a car accident case, your wrongful death lawyer might try to access traffic and red light cameras.
Who Is Allowed to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
In Texas, the only people who can benefit from a wrongful death lawsuit are the spouse, children, or parents of the deceased. Although families can be made up of many types of people, not everyone you consider to be family is covered by Texas’s wrongful death statute. Instead, Texas only allows people who are legally connected to the deceased to file a wrongful death claim.
You can contact a wrongful death attorney to understand who can and cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas. They can help you navigate the details of your wrongful death claim while you are dealing with the grief of losing your loved one.
What Damages Can You Recover?
If you are allowed to bring a wrongful death lawsuit, you must show what damages you should recover. It is difficult to say what the average wrongful death settlement is in Texas because each claim is unique. However, you can estimate your claim’s worth by determining the value of your economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are any monetary losses that you can clearly prove. For example, if your loved one had extensive medical bills before he or she died, you can recover those costs as damages. Funeral and burial expenses are another concrete cost that you can seek to recover.
You may also request compensation for the lost future income of the deceased. Unlike past expenses, you may need an expert to prove the amount of the lost future income.
Non-Economic Damages
You can also request compensation for the non-economic damages that arise in a wrongful death lawsuit. Although you may find it difficult to quantify the value, you deserve compensation for the loss of companionship of your loved one. Likewise, children who have lost a parent deserve compensation for losing that parent’s love and support. Your wrongful death lawyer can help you determine how much to request for non-economic damages.
Contact the Laredo Wrongful Death Lawyers at Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers Today
If your loved one has died due to another person’s negligence in Laredo, TX, you should find the best personal injury lawyer to help you. Contact our Laredo wrongful death attorneys at Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free case review today. They will help you understand the best way forward in your case.
Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers
6557 Metro Court, Suite 1 Laredo, TX 78041
(956) 529-7336
