Corpus Christi Wrongful Death Lawyer

Have You Lost Someone You Love Due to Another Person's Negligence? Are You Considering Filing a Wrongful Death Civil Suit?

If you have lost a family member in an accident, you probably have many questions: how did this accident happen? Who is responsible? Can I seek justice by filing a wrongful death civil suit? Do I need to hire an experienced Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer?

The legal professionals at Grossman Law Offices understand how devastating it can be to lose a loved one in an accident. Many families wish to seek justice for their loved one’s death by filing a wrongful death civil suit, but they typically do not know what that entails. Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices is here to explain to you how a wrongful death civil suit works, what opposition you will be facing, and how our experienced legal professionals and staff can help you through this difficult time.

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

In general, a Texas wrongful death civil suit has three broad goals:

• To hold accountable the negligent individual or organization responsible for their negligence which lead to another person’s death
• To force the negligent party to change its ways so that other people do not suffer the same fate
• To make sure that the family of the victim receives adequate compensation so that they do not suffer under needless financial distress

Our attorneys understand that no amount of money can replace a loved one. However, the death of a family member can put a severe economic strain on a family, particularly if the victim was the primary wage earner in the family. At Grossman Law Offices, we do not believe that you or your family should have to suffer under this financial hardship. We want to help you bring those responsible for your loved one’s death to justice, but we also want to ensure that you receive fair economic compensation so that you can focus on recovering emotionally.

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

A comprehensive wrongful death civil suit will typically contain two different types of damages and the possibility of many separate claims. These two damages are wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages include all of the suffering (both financial and emotional) that the plaintiff has endured due to the victim’s death. These damages can be sought by spouses, children, parents, and certain other beneficiaries of the victim. Any number of wrongful death damage claims can be sought in a single wrongful death lawsuit. These damages commonly include:

• Medical bills that the plaintiff paid prior to the victim’s death
• Funeral costs
• Loss of financial support that was provided by the victim prior to his or her death
• Compensation for the mental and emotional distress caused by losing someone you love
• Compensation for the loss of companionship and consortium due to the victim’s death

Survival damages, on the other hand, include all of the damages for which the victim could have sought compensation if he or she had survived the accident. Essentially, the plaintiff filing for survival damages inherits the victim’s potential personal injury lawsuit and stands in for the victim in a legal sense.

In most cases, the plaintiff seeking survival damages is also seeking wrongful death damages, though victim’s siblings can sue for survival damages, while they cannot typically sue for wrongful death damages. There can be only one survival damages claim in a wrongful death lawsuit (since there is only one personal injury lawsuit to inherit), and the claim is typically inherited by the closest living relative. These damages typically include:

• Any medical bills that the victim paid prior to his or her death
• Any damage to the victim’s property
• Lost wages due to time spent in the hospital
• Loss of potential future income
• Physical pain, discomfort, and suffering
• The mental and emotional turmoil caused by the incident
• Compensation for disfigurement or other potentially long-term injuries

Did You Know?

Our Corpus Christi Texas attorneys have won hundreds of wrongful death cases. Call us today to discuss your case. 1-855-398-0000

You should realize that wrongful death claims and survival damages claims are different, and they must each be approached using unique legal tactics. Furthermore, each wrongful death damages claim that is sought in a lawsuit must be handled individually because the plaintiffs have typically suffered varying amounts of damages, and these damages must be proved on an individual basis. Even before considering your legal opposition, these lawsuits are complex and technical. Most non-attorneys simply do not have the litigation and procedural experience necessary to file these lawsuits effectively. We have heard countless horror stories of non-attorneys filing their own wrongful death lawsuit and forgetting a small but important detail, resulting in a reduced settlement or even causing the case to be dismissed entirely.

Do not let this happen to you. Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman and the other attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have over twenty years of experience litigating wrongful death civil suits, and we can make sure that you cover all your bases with your lawsuit and that there are no legal loopholes that would allow a defense attorney to shut down your case. We can help you secure fair compensation for your claim. However, we also do everything we can to force the defendant or defendants to reform so that your loved one’s death was not in vain. It is our hope that we can prevent these types of accidents from happening in the future. This is an important part of Texas wrongful death law, and our legal professionals do not neglect it.

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

Not all wrongful death cases are straightforward. In some situations, a family may not know whether or not their loved one’s death qualifies them to file a wrongful death civil suit. Keep in mind that a wrongful death lawsuit is a type of civil action, which means that you can file a wrongful death lawsuit regardless of the presence or absence of any criminal charges filed against the responsible parties. For example, let us say that a motorist is driving recklessly and accidentally crashes into a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The pedestrian is fatally injured in the accident. In all likelihood, the driver would not be charged with murder because it is probably the case that the driver did not intentionally kill the pedestrian. However, the driver was acting negligently, which means that the family of the pedestrian could bring a wrongful death civil suit against the driver, despite the absence of criminal charges.

But even if criminal charges are brought, the family can still sue for wrongful death. If, in the above example, the driver was intoxicated, then he or she would probably face some sort of criminal charges for the victim’s death (intoxication manslaughter, perhaps). Even if the driver is tried and convicted of these charges, the family could still file a wrongful death civil suit. According to Texas law, four conditions must be met in order for a plaintiff to have a legitimate wrongful death lawsuit:

• The victim must have been killed in an accident that was caused, in part or in whole, by the actions or inaction of another party or parties
• The party or parties responsible for the accident must have been acting in some way negligently at the time of the accident
• Some surviving family members or beneficiaries exist who are eligible to seek either survival damages or wrongful death damages
• The plaintiff in the wrongful death civil suit has suffered some sort of economic damages due to 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 certain circumstances, there may be limits to the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover through a wrongful death civil suit. In other situations, a case may be held to a higher standard of proof than the typical wrongful death lawsuit. This is particularly common in medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuits. In recent years, legislators have felt (partially due to extensive lobbying) that medical professionals were too vulnerable to frivolous lawsuits, so they passed a series of laws making it much more difficult to sue medical professionals and limiting the amount of damages that can be recovered in these lawsuits. While preventing frivolous lawsuits is certainly a justified pursuit, the side effect of this tort reform is that it is now much more difficult for actual victims of medical malpractice to seek fair compensation for their loss. In fact, many personal injury law firms have stopped accepting medical malpractice cases altogether. This tort reform also placed caps on the amount of damages that can be recovered through a medical malpractice lawsuit. This problem is only exacerbated by the fact that much of a medical malpractice settlement goes straight back to the doctor to pay for outstanding medical bills.

Plaintiffs will face similar issues in a work accident wrongful death lawsuit. In these cases, the difficulty is caused by workers’ compensation insurance. Despite common belief, workers’ compensation insurance’s main purpose is to protect employers from lawsuits. If your loved one’s employer had workers’ compensation insurance at the time of the accident, then the amount of money you will be able to recover will be very small. In these situations, our firm often looks for third parties that were also liable for your loved one’s death and files claims against them. Additionally, if we can prove that your loved one’s employer was grossly negligent, then the caps imposed by workers’ compensation insurance do not apply. However, this is a very strict standard of proof.

As you can see, these cases are often much more complex than they initially appear – and this is still all before your legal opposition is even taken into account. This is the kind of lawsuit that you should leave to an experienced professional. Non-attorneys can sometimes file their own personal injury lawsuits in certain circumstances. However, filing a wrongful death lawsuit without extensive legal experience is a recipe for disaster. These cases are very complex and technical, and you need the help of an experienced attorney to ensure that those responsible for your loved one’s death are brought to justice. Let Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices make sure that your family’s rights are protected.

What Legal Opposition will I be Facing in This Lawsuit?

In any wrongful death civil suit, you will probably be going up against experienced defense attorneys and insurance adjusters. This is largely due to the amount of money at stake. A single wrongful death damages claim is typically worth more money than a typical personal injury claim. But when multiple wrongful death claims and a survival damages claim are being sought all at once, there is a lot of money on the line, and the party or parties responsible for the accident will go to great lengths to defend it. Defendants typically hire a team of defense attorneys and accident recreation experts to represent them in court. Insurance companies assign their best, most aggressive adjusters to wrongful death lawsuits, and they also have teams of defense lawyers on retainer who are prepared to start building a case against your family member from day one. In most situations, especially when the defendant in your case is a corporation, there are lawyers working to build a case against your loved one from the moment the accident occurs; probably long before you have even considered filing a lawsuit.

You must also know that evidence at an accident scene does not sit still, particularly at busy scenes like highways and construction sites. Important evidence to your case can sometimes be short-lived, which is why it is imperative that you hire an experienced law firm to investigate your case as soon as possible. Whenever the legal professionals at Grossman Law Offices take a wrongful death case, we move quickly to secure any physical evidence from the scene of the accident. We lock down all vehicles, equipment, and even entire scenes so that we can conduct our investigation. A timely investigation is the best way to ensure that you have a solid foundation for a strong wrongful death lawsuit.

Corpus Christi Wrongful Death Lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices Is Here To Fight for Your Rights

The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been helping families seek justice for their loved ones’ deaths for over twenty years. Our attorneys understand that this is an extremely difficult time for you and your family. Do not get overwhelmed by the legal struggle. Let Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices handle the lawsuit, while you focus on helping your family recover emotionally. Our attorneys have the experience necessary to handle your case properly. We have successfully resolved thousands of wrongful death lawsuits, and we have gone up against virtually every defense lawyer firm and insurance carrier in the country. Our successful track record speaks for itself. Insurance companies and defense lawyers often offer our clients sizable settlements outside of court because they know what will happen if they go up against our lawyers in trial. This means that we are often able to resolve our cases without going to court, which makes the whole process less stressful for you. We will do everything we can to help you and your family get back on your feet, whether you need an aggressive litigator or you just have questions that need answers. Our firm offers free consultations, so if you have lost someone you love, come speak with our legal professionals about your options. Contact Corpus Christi wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today.