Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer

Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Michael Grossman on San Antonio Fatal Accidents

If you’ve lost a loved one in an accident, you probably have tons of questions you are struggling with: how did this tragedy happen? Who’s at fault? Can I seek justice through a wrongful death civil suit? Do I need to hire an experienced Texas wrongful death lawyer?

The savvy professionals at Grossman Law Offices are fully aware of how traumatic it can be to lose someone you love in an accident. Many families want to file a wrongful death civil suit and seek justice for their family member’s death, but they don’t know about all the steps involved. San Antonio Texas wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices wants to share how a wrongful death civil suit works in this article, what opposition awaits, and how our experienced attorneys and team can assist you through this trying time.

What is a Texas Wrongful Death Civil Suit Designed to Do?

Overall, there are three objectives with a Texas wrongful death civil suit:

• To make sure the person or businesses who acted negligently are held responsible for their actions which caused someone’s death.
• To make sure that negligent party makes changes so no one else has to experience what you have.
• To make sure the victim’s family gets proper compensation so they don’t have to endure any additional financial-related issues or stress.

Our attorneys know that no sum of money can be a replacement for your family member. At the same time, losing a loved one can cause severe economic issues for loved ones, especially if that individual was the chief provider for his/her family. At Grossman Law Offices, we don’t believe you or any other family member should have to endure these kinds of financial difficulties. Our aim is to make sure those responsible for your loved one’s death are held accountable, but also help you get compensated financially so you can focus your attention on recovering emotionally.

What Compensation can I Expect to Receive in a Texas Wrongful Death Civil Suit?

A comprehensive wrongful death civil suit will usually contain two kinds of damages and the chance for numerous separate claims. The two forms of damages are wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages cover the trauma (both financial and emotional) that the plaintiff has dealt with because of the loved one’s loss. These damages are available for spouses, children, parents and other specific benificiaries linked to the victim. All forms of wrongful death damage claims can be pursued in a single wrongful death lawsuit. These damages often include the following:

• Medical bills that the plaintiff had before the loved one’s death
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of financial assistance that the victim provided before his or her sudden death.
• Compensation for the mental and emotional trauma that results with losing a loved one.
• Compensation for the loss of that relationship from losing a loved one.

Survival damages, however, cover the damages the victim could have wanted had they survived the accident. Basically what happens here is that the plaintiff files for survival damages, then gets the option for a personal injury lawsuit and can become the victim in a legal perspective.

Most of the time, the plaintiff who is pursuing survival damages also is seeking wrongful death damages as well, but it should be noted that the victim’s siblings can file for survival damages but usually not wrongful death damages. There is only one survival damage claim in a wrongful death lawsuit (because there’s only one personal injury lawsuit to obtain), and the claim is usually inherited by the closest living relative. These damages cover such things as:

• Medical expenses paid by the victim prior to their sudden loss.
• Damage to the victim’s property.
• Lost income resulting from a hospital stay.
• Loss of potential future wages.
• Physical pain, suffering or trauma.
  
• Mental and emotional trauma from the accident.
• Compensation for long-term injuries and potential disfigurement.

You need to know that wrongful death claims and survival damages aren’t the same, and they require their own kinds of legal gameplans. Along with this, it’s important to know that every wrongful death damage claim issued in a lawsuit must be dealt with separately because each plaintiff usually has suffered differing degrees of damages, and each must be proved on their own basis. Even before thinking about the defense attorneys, you must know these lawsuits are very complicated and detailed. Most people who aren’t lawyers don’t have the litigation and procedural knowledge required to file a proper lawsuit. We could tell you endless, awful stories about normal citizens filing their own wrongful death lawsuit and overlooking a minor detail, which leads to a smaller settlement or sometimes leading to the case being thrown out alltogether.

You can prevent this. Texas wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman and the other attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have over two decades of experience handling wrongful death civil suits, and we can go through all the proper steps to make sure every detail is addressed in your case and that there are no errors that would help a defense attorney pick apart your case. We can also make sure you get adequate and fair compensation for your case. At the same time, one of our other key objectives is making sure the defendant or defendants enact changes so that others don’t deal with losing a loved one like you did. We want to make sure these accidents don’t happen again down the road. This is a critical part of Texas wrongful death law, and our team doesn’t overlook it.

How Do I Know Whether or Not my Loved One’s Death Qualifies as a Wrongful Death?

Some wrongful death cases aren’t so easy to determine. Sometimes, families don’t know if their loved one’s death can allow them to file a wrongful death civil suit. You need to remember that a wrongful death lawsuit is a form of civil action, which means that you can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit, regardless of whether or not criminal charges have been issued against those individuals responsible. Let’s take this example: a motorist is driving poorly and accidentally runs into a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The pedestrian then dies. Chances are, the driver will not be charged with murder because it’s likely the driver didn’t mean to kill the pedestrian. At the same time, the driver was behaving negligently, which is why the pedestrian’s family could file a wrongful death civil suit against the driver, even if criminal charges weren’t filed.

Even if criminal charges are pursued, the victim’s family can still pursue wrongful death damages. If we take the previous example and the driver was drunk, then that person would probably face some kind of criminal charges for the pedestrian’s death (such as intoxication manslaughter). Even if the motorist is tried and convicted, the victim’s family could still pursue a wrongful death civil suit. According to the law in Texas, there are four factors that must be met if a plaintiff wants to file a legitimate wrongful death lawsuit:

• The victim must have died in an accident that was due to, whether partially or entirely, by the choices or lack of action by an individual or group.
• The individual or group liable for the accident must have been behaving in a negligent manner when the accident happened.
• Some family members who are alive, or beneficiaries are present who are able to pursue either survival damages or wrongful death damages.
• The plaintiff in the wrongful death civil suit has endured some form of economic damage as a result of the victim’s death.

What are the Limits on the Amount of Damages That Can be Recovered in a Wrongful Death Civil Suit? What Standards of Proof Will I Have to Meet?

In some cases, there are caps as to the amount of damages that a plaintiff can pursue in a wrongful death civil suit. In other instances, a case can be held to a higher standard or proof than normal wrongful death lawsuits. That’s often the case with medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuits. Here recently, legislators have thought (thanks to plenty of lobbying) that medical experts were too open to frivolous lawsuits, so they enacted some laws to make it tougher to sue medical professionals putting restraints on the total damages that can be obtained in these lawsuits. Preventing frivolous lawsuits is a worthwhile goal, but the downside of these new laws is that it’s extremely difficult for true victims of medical malpractice to get compensated fairly for their issue. It’s important to note that several personal injury law firms have decided not to take medical malpractice cases at all. This tort reform also places ceilings on the amount of damages that can be obtained in a medical malpractice lawsuit. This problem is only worsened by the notion that a good portion of a medical malpractice settlement is sent back to the doctor for any remaining medical bills.

Plaintiffs will see similar challenges with work accident wrongful death lawsuits. Here, the challenge specifically centers on workers’ compensation insurance. Despite what many think, workers’ compensation insurance is there to shield employers from possible lawsuits. If your loved one’s employer had workers’ comp when the accident occurred, then the amount of money you can be compensated for will be paltry. In these cases, our firm usually searches for third parties that were also involved in your loved one’s death and issues claims against them as well. Along with that, if we can show your loved one’s boss was grossly negligent, then the maximum amounts enacted by workers’ compensation insurance are no longer valid. However, there still remains a huge burden or proof.

As you’re seeing, these cases are much more difficult than they seem on the surface - and this is still before you consider the legal defense that must be considered. This is the type of lawsuit that you should hand over to an qualified Texas wrongful death law firm. People who aren’t attorneys can file their own personal injury lawsuits in some cases. However, deciding to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit without a thorough legal background could lead to huge problems. These lawsuits are very difficult and detailed, and you need the assistance of an experience Texas wrongful death attorney to make sure those liable for your loved one’s death are held accountable. Let attorney Michael Grossman and the Texas wrongful death law firm of Grossman Law Offices make sure your family’s best interests are taken care of.

What Legal Opposition Will I Be Facing in This Lawsuit?

In most wrongful death civil suits, you’ll likely face off against veteran defense lawyers and insurance adjusters. This is due to the large sums of money involved. An individual wrongful death damages claim is usually worth lots of more than a normal personal injury claim. But when you consider numerous wrongful death claims, on top of a survival damages claim, and they’re being pursued at the same time, then there’s lots of money at stake, and those liable for the accident will do what it takes to defend it. Defendants often hire a defense team and experts to reconstruct accident scenes in court. Insurance companies use their best, most aggressive agents with wrongful death lawsuits, and they also have armies of defense lawyers available who can quickly build a case against your loved one from the get go. A lot of times, especially when the defendant in your suit is a gigantic company, there are teams of attorneys building a case against your loved one seconds after the accident happens; probably way before you’ve even thought about any legal action.

You need to understand that evidence at an accident doesn’t always remain the same, especially if you’re dealing with busy highways or construction sites. Important evidence can sometimes erode quickly, which is why it’s very important for you to hire a qualified Texas wrongful death law firm to look into your case as quickly as possible. Whenever the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices get a wrongful death case, we act immediately to get any physical evidence from the accident scene. We secure all vehicles, equipment, and entire accident scenes so we can do our own investigation. A quick, timely investigation is the best way to make sure you have a strong foundation for a potentially successful wrongful death lawsuit.

Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices is Here To Fight for Your Rights

The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been assisting families with getting justice for their family members’ deaths for the past two decades. Our wrongful death attorneys know this is a tough time for you and your family. Don’t let your legal issues overwhelm you. Let Texas wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices handle the case, while you concentrate on helping your family recover mentally and emotionally.

Our lawyers have the experienced needed to properly work your case. We have achieved successful outcomes for thousands of wrongful death lawsuits, and we have faced every defense lawyer firm and insurance company in the United States. You’ll discover everything just by looking at our track record. Insurance companies and defense attorneys usually prefer to give our clients large settlements before heading to trial so they don’t have to face our attorneys. This means that we usually are able to end cases instead of going to trial, which in turn makes the issue far easier for you to deal with. We will do what it takes to assist you and your family with your recovery, whether you need a take charge attorney or just have questions and are seeking answers. Our firm provides free consultations, so if you’ve lost a loved one, visit with our San Antonio wrongful death lawyers about your choices. Call Texas wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today.