Roderick C. Lopez | March 8, 2024 | Wrongful Death
Approximately 225,000 Americans died in unintentional accidents in a recent year, making these incidents the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States. These accidents can happen for many reasons, some of which are not unavoidable. But other causes of these accidents are preventable, including when another person’s careless actions are involved.
If your loved one died in a car or truck crash, a slip and fall incident, or some other accident caused by someone else’s negligence in Laredo, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim under Texas law. Our wrongful death attorneys in Laredo, TX, are here to guide you to recover fair compensation for your lost.
These cases can result in a settlement awarding you and your family monetary damages. But how much compensation do such settlements typically involve? Knowing what sort of recovery you can expect and how these claims work is essential to deciding how best to resolve your claim.
Explaining Wrongful Death Lawsuits
A wrongful death lawsuit is a type of personal injury case that seeks monetary damages from a careless or reckless individual.
Unlike other types of personal injury claims, a wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the careless or reckless person’s conduct caused the untimely passing of a decedent. The decedent’s family members or estate representative can file and pursue the wrongful death claim.
How Do Settlements in Texas Wrongful Death Cases Work?
Many civil lawsuits are resolved through a settlement before reaching a trial. Settlements offer wrongful death plaintiffs the certainty of recovering some compensation while also limiting the legal exposure of the at-fault party. Furthermore, a settlement is usually a much swifter resolution to a wrongful death claim than the traditional trial process.
This does not mean that settlements have no drawbacks. For example, wrongful death claimants are generally held to the terms of their agreement. This means that if the settlement does not provide sufficient compensation to you, there is little you can do to get more money.
Similarly, if new facts about the accident are discovered after a settlement is reached, you generally cannot seek additional damages.
What Damages Are Available in Laredo Wrongful Death Settlements?
The compensation available to wrongful death plaintiffs through either a settlement or verdict falls into two general categories. These categories include:
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover expenses that the family incurred as a result of the fatal accident. For instance, your loved one may have required an ambulance ride and a hospital stay, as well as surgeries or other tests and procedures. These expenses can quickly add up, and funeral and burial expenses can also be costly.
Beyond these costs, a decedent’s surviving family members can experience a loss of income if the decedent contributed to the household’s finances. The loss of this income is another cost that can be compensated through economic damages in a wrongful death claim.
Non-Economic Damages
A loved one’s passing can cause significant mental and emotional trauma for surviving family members. Children of a decedent can suffer from not having their parent available to guide them as they grow, and spouses of a decedent are affected by their partner’s absence. These losses are also compensable through the non-economic damages that can be awarded in a settlement.
If your loved one dies due to a medical error, the maximum amount of non-economic damages you could recover is limited. In other fatal accidents, there is no limit to the amount of damages you can receive. Generally, the more sudden and violent your loved one’s passing, the larger the non-economic damages award you can expect.
How Much Can You Expect From Your Wrongful Death Settlement in Laredo, Texas?
The average cost of a fatal motor vehicle accident can reach substantial figures, according to the National Safety Council. While every case is different, many wrongful death cases include similar types of losses that contribute to these high costs, including property damage, hospital and medical expenses, and the unearned wages and lost productivity of the decedent.
The higher the costs of your losses as a result of your loved one’s passing, the higher compensation value you can generally expect when you file a claim.
In Laredo, the actual amount of compensation you settle your claim for can depend on numerous circumstances, such as:
- The strength of the evidence establishing the other party’s fault
- How well-documented your financial and non-economic losses are
- The financial resources of the at-fault party
- How eager you and the other party are to settle your claim
Working with an experienced Laredo wrongful death lawyer can help you gather and preserve evidence that supports your claim and the damages you are seeking. While settlements typically result in plaintiffs receiving less damages than they would have at trial, a well-supported claim can still garner a significant amount of compensation without the risk a trial can come with.
Determining the Value of Your Laredo Wrongful Death Case
Every wrongful death case is unique. However, between the costs of the decedent’s final medical expenses, lost wages, funeral expenses, and other financial losses, it is not unreasonable for a plaintiff to receive considerable compensation in a Laredo wrongful death case.
The best way to find out how much your case may be worth is to consult a knowledgeable Laredo wrongful death attorney.
An attorney can evaluate the details of your specific case and accurately estimate how much you could expect to receive in a wrongful death settlement.
Contact the Laredo Wrongful Death Lawyers at Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers Today
If you were injured in an accident in Laredo, TX, and need legal help, contact our Laredo wrongful death attorneys at Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free case review today.
Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers
6557 Metro Court, Suite 1 Laredo, TX 78041
(956) 529-7336
