San Antonio Wrongful Death Lawyers

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The Purpose of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in San Antonio

There are three main purposes for the initiation of any wrongful death lawsuit in Texas:

1. Making sure the negligent party or parties responsible for negligent actions or inaction that led to the death of an innocent person are being held accountable.
2. Forcing negligent parties, through the use of monetary incentives, to change their behavior so more people do not suffer injury going forward.
3. Ensure that the loved ones of the victim obtain fair compensation so they are not subjected to monetary stress as well as the mental trauma they are already experiencing.

Of course, no amount of monetary compensation can come anywhere close to replacing your lost loved one. If the deceased family member was the main provider, however, then your family is experiencing some major monetary problems because of your loss. Our San Antonio wrongful death lawyer can help alleviate the financial problems you are going through. Our lawyers are passionate about helping ease the financial burdens faced by families who are going through an incredible loss. We not only want to make sure those responsible for your tragedy are brought to justice and held accountable for their wrongdoing, but we also want to help you recover monetarily. By getting the just restitution you have coming to you, you can concentrate on recovering, both emotionally and physically, from the loss you have experienced.

The Compensation You Can Recover in a San Antonio Wrongful Death Lawsuit

From a legal perspective, the term “damages” refers to financial compensation that the loved ones of a deceased family member can recover – not the actual harm that was experienced by the family member. In a comprehensive wrongful death civil suit, there are two kinds of damages that can be pursued: wrongful death and survival damages. Wrongful death damages are designed to provide compensation to a grieving family for the emotional and financial strain they have experienced since the death of their family member. Spouses, children, parents, and other dependents can all seek to obtain compensation, and there can be multiple damage claims in a single wrongful death lawsuit. Damages that can be obtained include compensation for:

On the other hand, survival damages are designed for only the closest living relative to obtain compensation commensurate to the value of a lawsuit the deceased could have filed had he or she survived the accident and had been injured. Basically, the deceased’s closest living relative serves as, more or less, a proxy for the victim, and inherits the personal injury lawsuit that the deceased would have been able to file. Anyone seeking survival damages can sue for damages. However, a victim’s brother or sister can only seek survival damages if he or she is the victim’s closest living relative. The right to pursue survival damages starts with the spouse, then goes to the children, parents, and then siblings. Again, only one family member can pursue a survival damages suit, but all family members can seek to receive damages. Survival damages include:

Survival damages and wrongful death claims differ completely; they require completely different legal strategies in order to be successful. In addition, each plaintiff incurs a varying amount of damages, and therefore, each wrongful death damages claim has to be handled on an individual basis. Both of these forms of litigation – survival damages claims and wrongful death claims – are very complex and intricate, and that does not even take into consideration what you have to do to surmount the hurdles presented by the opposition’s defense lawyers. If you have no legal experience, you will have no chance at winning a lawsuit, because you don’t have the required familiarity with the procedures involved. Our injury lawyer has dealt with wrongful death litigation for two decades, and we’ve seen – time after time – unrepresented plaintiffs see their case dismissed because of a legal technicality that an unrepresented person had no idea existed. So be smart Call our injury lawyers – wrongful death attorneys today.

Please do not let this happen to you. The Texas wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office can protect your rights and help you obtain the compensation you have coming to you. We have the seasoning and experience needed in order to ensure that all of the minutiae associated with legal procedures are properly taken care of. We will cut off all the defense’s attempts at finding legal loopholes and make sure that those whose negligence resulted in your loved one’s death are held accountable. We do so not only to get you the compensation you deserve but also to make sure the negligent party changes its behavior so that no one else has to experience a similar kind of pain. That could be one way that at least a shred of something good might come out of the tragedy that robbed you of your loved one. We are not just interested in making money for our clients; we also want to help prevent accidents from happening down the road. This is a vital part of the wrongful death law in Texas, and we are extremely passionate about it.

Do You Have Grounds for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

There are many instances where wrongful death cases are anything but black and white. As a result, the family members of a lost loved one might not know if they, indeed, have grounds for pursuing wrongful death litigation. It is imperative to remember that wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases – a defendant need not break a law in order to be the target of a suit. Think about a scenario where a driver who is speeding hits a man crossing the street and kills him. The driver committed standard negligence – a temporary lack of focus or reason – and thus will not face any criminal charges. The family members of the victim, however, can initiate a civil wrongful death lawsuit against that driver. This, in fact, will be the only way justice can be pursued since the driver will not face criminal action for his negligence.

In addition, a civil suit involving a wrongful death may be filed against the negligent party, even if that party is facing criminal charges because of the death that resulted from that party’s actions. If that driver in the scenario mentioned above was intoxicated when the accident occurred, he or she would probably be facing criminal charges such as intoxication manslaughter for causing the fatality. Family members of the victim can, even if the driver is convicted of criminal charges can still file a civil suit. In Texas, the law states that a wrongful death has to meet four criteria in order for the family members of the deceased to be able to file a claim. These criteria include:

• The inactions or actions of another party or parties resulted in the death of the victim.
• The party or parties were guilty of committing some sort of negligence when the accident occurred.
• The accident victim is survived by family members who are eligible by law to try and obtain wrongful death or survival damages.
• The family members of the deceased have experienced some kind of measurable monetary damages because of the death of their loved one.

Recoverable Damages Amount Limits in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit, Plus the Required Standards of Proof Plaintiffs Must Meet
There are some cases where the ability of a plaintiff to recover damages via the means of a lawsuit may be constrained due to limitations. There are other cases where plaintiffs are required to satisfy a higher standard of proof than might be required in traditional wrongful death lawsuits. Legislators, for example, have been convinced by effective lobbying that medical expenses were going through the roof because of excessive legal action. As a result, new medical malpractice legislation was enacted that placed limitations on the amount of damages that could be recovered in a medical wrongful death lawsuit. They also raised the standard of proof that plaintiffs had to meet in medical malpractice cases. This legislation served its intended purpose in that it reduced the number of frivolous lawsuits, but it also had the unintended – and unfortunate – effect of making it far tougher for victims of legitimate medical malpractice to obtain the just restitution they have coming to them.

To make matters worse, a significant portion of any settlement that is reached merely reverts to the doctor to pay for outstanding medical expenses. Therefore, there are many lawyers who will refuse to take lawsuits involving medical malpractice cases.

There are similar problems that can occur in workplace-related wrongful death lawsuits because of workers’ compensation insurance laws. Many people believe that workers’ compensation laws were enacted in order to assist injured employees in recovering from their injuries. However, this is not the truth; workers’ comp laws were designed to protect employers against litigation. If the employer of your deceased loved one purchased or subscribed to, workers’ compensation insurance, then the monetary compensation you will be able to secure will be far less than the harm that has been done to you and your family. That does not mean, however, that you cannot seek fair restitution from other parties. The Texas wrongful death attorneys with our Law Office are very familiar with the process of identifying responsible third parties who do not enjoy the protection afforded by workers’ compensation laws. As a result, we can go after them in order to try and obtain the fair compensation you deserve in the form of wrongful death damages. For example, let’s say a faulty piece of machinery resulted in the death of your family member. If this is the case, then you can file a wrongful death lawsuit against the equipment manufacturer. Also, if your family member’s employer committed gross negligence that led to the fatal accident, you can still try and obtain damages against that employer even if the company was a workers’ comp subscriber at the time of the accident. If this is the case, there are no limits to the amount of monetary compensation you may be able to obtain. The catch is that the standard of proof in this instance is exceedingly high to meet, so you need an experienced attorney on your side.

As was previously mentioned, lawsuits involving wrongful deaths are significantly more intricate and complex than they may seem at first blush – and that is not even taking into account the very formidable opposition you will encounter. You have very little chance of winning your case without having seasoned and skilled San Antonio wrongful death attorneys on your side. You are allowed by law to represent yourself in your lawsuit, but if you choose to do so you are almost guaranteed to be disappointed. The best way to handle the complex nature of this litigation and to have the best chance of winning is to make sure you enlist the assistance of an experienced attorney. The San Antonio wrongful death attorney at our Law Office will help protect you and your family’s legal rights and make those responsible for causing your tragic loss pay dearly for their negligence.

Hurdles to Winning Your Case

When a wrongful death claim is filed, you need to know you will be dealing with seasoned defense lawyers and extremely skilled insurance adjusters. A wrongful death claim can be much more expensive than a personal injury claim, and multiple wrongful death and survival damages claims can cause the value of your suit to increase exponentially. Because there can be so much money at risk, the defendants and their representatives will spend whatever it takes in order to avoid losing the suit. The defense will hire high-powered attorneys and will bring in experts who can re-create accidents in order to prove they were not responsible for the death of your loved one. Insurance companies will spend incredible sums of money as well in order to keep from having to pay a wrongful death claim, so they will use their most aggressive and experienced adjusters in these kinds of cases. They have specialists on hand 24/7 who work to prove a fatality victim was responsible for his or her own death through his or her own negligence. There are many instances where a defense team was able to mobilize and build a case against a victim before the victim’s family even found a lawyer – and that’s especially the case if the deceased was an employee of a big corporation.

As much pain and suffering as you and your family are experiencing, you simply must begin taking action and start building the foundation for your litigation. It is imperative that a timely and thorough investigation commences in order for you to have the best chance possible at succeeding in your wrongful death case. When an accident takes place, the scene of the accident begins to undergo almost immediate change. This is especially the case when the accident scene is a highway or a construction site. Weather conditions can erase evidence, and machinery can be moved. Other pieces of evidence can also quickly disappear – surveillance video can be taped over, and witnesses can either change their story or decide they no longer want to be involved. The faster you procure legal assistance, the sooner your lawyer can start gathering evidence. Our Texas wrongful death team will immediately launch a detailed investigation as soon as a client hires us. We examine and sequester any equipment or vehicles that are involved in an accident, search for photographic or video evidence, find and interview witnesses, scour police reports, and collect forensic evidence. Through 20 years of handling wrongful death litigation, we’ve recognized the vital importance of an immediate and thorough investigation.

How the Attorneys with our Law Offices Can Help You

For two decades, the Texas wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office have assisted the family members of victims to obtain survival and wrongful death damages for the devastating losses they have experienced. This is obviously one of the most difficult periods of time you will ever encounter, and you are going through a very tough grieving process. The filing of a lawsuit is probably not at the top of your mind at this time, but it is incredibly important that you act as soon as you possibly can. We are here to ensure that the process of litigation does not become overwhelming to you.

Our Texas wrongful death lawyers can deal with all the circumstances of your case and help you recover monetarily so that you can concentrate on healing emotionally from the trauma that has affected you and your family. Our law firm has helped hundreds of families of Texans who were wrongfully killed obtain millions and millions of dollars, and we have defeated every major insurance carrier in the country. Insurance companies are well aware of our reputation for success, and so will typically offer fair settlements to our clients rather than taking the chance at losing much more money in a court case. This helps family members of wrongfully killed loved ones get to the process of healing from their emotional trauma without having to experience the added stress of legal action. If you are considering hiring legal representation, or simply are looking for answers to the myriad questions you probably have surrounding the circumstances of your case, please call us (toll-free) for a confidential and free consultation so we can tell you how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.