A Compassionate Legal Team Dedicated to Serving Grieving Families Pursuing Justice and Fair Compensation After a Loved One’s Death in the Rio Grande Valley, TX

If you are reading this page, chances are you have recently lost a loved one in a fatal accident. Let us begin by offering our sincerest condolences to you and your family on your tragic loss. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death, you deserve support and compassion during this challenging time. Depending on how the accident victim died, surviving family members or representatives of the deceased estate may be able to take legal action in pursuit of justice and a fair settlement from the liable parties. While no amount of monetary damages can ever hope to undo the person’s death, the hope is to at least make the victim’s family financially whole again without concern for the burden of medical expenses, loss of financial support, and other financial or non-financial losses.

Our Southern Texas law firm provides compassionate legal services to clients in various types of personal injury cases, including a wide range of wrongful death cases. As your legal representatives, we will work tirelessly to establish liability on the part of the negligent parties so that you and other surviving family members can recover compensation. 

We pride ourselves on providing exceptional legal representation to grieving families throughout the entire process of personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death claims. We will initiate the legal proceedings by conducting a thorough investigation, gathering evidence to support your claims, and negotiating with insurance companies and responsible parties to help our clients achieve a favorable outcome in their legal matters.

Once again, we are deeply sorry for your loss. These types of legal matters require compassionate representation from experienced wrongful death attorneys to ensure that you receive the level of care you deserve. To learn more about the benefits of retaining our dedicated legal services, please contact our Texas law firm to schedule your free initial consultation with our lawyers and legal staff today.

What Are Texas’ Wrongful Death Laws?

Not every death qualifies for a wrongful death claim in Texas. According to the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, individuals and entities may be liable for damages arising from fatal injuries if those injuries were caused by reckless behavior, carelessness, neglect, intentional harm, lack of skill, or default.

Essentially, if the victim had survived the accident and been able to file a personal injury claim in pursuit of financial recovery, their surviving family members may be entitled to file a wrongful death claim on their behalf.

Wrongful death cases cover a wide range of accidents and incidents of violence, from fatal car accidents to violent crimes, and from medical malpractice to premises liability incidents. In some wrongful death cases, criminal charges may also apply. However, wrongful death claims proceed in separate civil actions, allowing surviving spouses and other family members to seek compensation for their losses.

Which Surviving Family Members Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas? 

Not all family members have the legal right to file wrongful death lawsuits in Texas. Before beginning the legal process of a wrongful death case, we recommend that you contact our wrongful death attorneys to discuss whether you have the authority to file such an action.

Surviving family members and loved ones who may be entitled to recover compensation with a wrongful death lawsuit include the following:

• The surviving spouse
• Any surviving children
• The parents of the deceased individual

If none of these surviving family members take appropriate legal action within a three-month time frame, the personal representative of the deceased estate may be able to file on their behalf. Our dedicated legal team will review your case and determine whether you have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. To begin the process of filing a wrongful death claim, please get in touch with our law office to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation.

What is the Legal Process of a Texas Wrongful Death Claim?

Filing a wrongful death lawsuit involves more than submitting the necessary paperwork to the appropriate court. For surviving family members hoping to achieve a favorable conclusion to their wrongful death case, they must develop a comprehensive strategy and carefully prepare their claim.

The legal process begins by collecting all the necessary documentation and records related to your loved one’s passing, including death certificates, accident reports, medical records, and anything else that an experienced lawyer may deem valuable to your case.

Next, your wrongful death accident attorneys will assist you in filing your claim with the civil court in the county where the death occurred. Some complex rules and deadlines must be adhered to throughout the legal proceedings. Additionally, defense lawyers representing the at-fault parties will explore all options on behalf of their clients to shift the blame and devalue your claims. As your legal representation, we will gather all relevant evidence, including witness statements, the testimonies of accident reconstruction specialists, and other pertinent documents, to establish negligence and help you seek justice and a fair settlement.

How Do Our Texas Wrongful Death Attorneys Prove That Someone Else’s Negligence Caused the Victim’s Death?

To succeed in a wrongful death case, eligible surviving family members must establish a few key elements in their claim. By establishing these elements, you can ensure that the responsible parties are held accountable under Texas laws.

Firstly, the victim’s death must have been caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, unskillfulness, or malicious intent. It must be shown that the defendant owed the victim a reasonable duty of care and that this duty was breached. For example, motorists must obey Texas traffic laws, and failure to do so could result in them being held negligent.

As a result of the breach of duty of care, you and your legal representatives must establish a direct link between that breach and the person’s death. Essentially, it must be shown that the wrongful actions directly contributed to your loved one’s death or were otherwise a substantial contributing factor in their fatal accident.

Finally, it must be established that the wrongful death resulted in real damages, such as lost income, loss of benefits, loss of companionship, and emotional distress or mental anguish. When these elements are proven, it may be possible to hold negligent parties accountable for their actions and compensate surviving family members for their losses.

What Evidence May Help You Hold Responsible Parties Accountable for Their Wrongful Actions?

To prove a wrongful death claim, you frequently need various pieces of evidence to support your case both in and out of a court of law. Lacking convincing evidence could result in your case being devalued or dismissed by insurance companies. For assistance gathering evidence in your wrongful death case, please contact our law office to speak with our experienced attorneys.

Examples of the many pieces of evidence that can help you in your wrongful death lawsuit include the following:

• Photographic and video evidence taken from the accident scene detailing injuries, environmental conditions, and other relevant factors.
• Eyewitness statements from those who saw how the incident occurred and can attest to support your claims in the courtroom.
• Police reports and accident reports can be valuable evidence for your lawyers. When law enforcement arrives on the scene of the accident, provide them with a thorough account of what occurred so that the accident report is as comprehensive as possible.
• Past medical records and test results relevant to the injuries sustained in the accident or assault can help detail how the injuries proved fatal and cost your loved one their life.
• Expert testimonies can help illustrate the cause of the accident and show the severity of the fatal injuries, as well as establish gross negligence on the part of the responsible individuals.
• Other evidence that could be helpful in your case includes blood and alcohol tests of the defendant, criminal charges related to the case, and any previous violations or convictions for wrongful acts and reckless behavior.

What Types of Wrongful Death Cases Do Our Experienced Attorneys Represent? 

There are many causes of wrongful death, and each one requires dedicated legal representation to ensure that surviving family members recover the settlements they deserve. Our McAllen-based law firm represents clients in a variety of wrongful death matters, including deaths caused by accidents as well as those caused by intentional harm.

Examples of the types of wrongful death cases we represent include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Motor vehicle accidents, including car crashes, commercial truck accidents, and rideshare accidents
• Defective products and dangerous drugs
• Poor maintenance leading to premises liability accidents that result in death
• Medical malpractice and medical negligence, including birth-related injuries, failure to diagnose incidents, and failure to provide a reasonable amount of care in surgery
• Pedestrian, motorcycle, and bicycle accidents
• Maritime accidents, incidents on oil drilling platforms, and other types of accidents that occur offshore
• Construction site accidents, including crane collapses, falls from great heights, and falling objects
• Factory and refinery accidents, including explosions and toxic chemical exposure
• Workplace accidents, either caused by unsafe work conditions, defective equipment, or a failure to follow appropriate safety measures and protocols
• Criminal acts of violence, such as gunshots, assaults, beatings, domestic violence, and more
• Fires and explosions
• Drunk driving accidents and accidents caused by drivers operating their vehicles under the influence of drugs
• And more

According to studies, unintentional fatal accidents and their associated injuries have been one of the leading causes of death for Texans under the age of 45 since the year 2000. On average, over 50 Texans die every day due to fatal injuries.

What Sort of Financial Compensation Can Be Recovered with a Successful Wrongful Death Lawsuit? 

With a successful wrongful death lawsuit, qualifying family members can recover compensation from the at-fault parties or their insurance company providers. Typically, wrongful death damages are provided in the form of both economic and non-economic damages. The value of your case will be dependent on several factors, including shared negligence, insurance policy limits, medical bills incurred before death, and more. In most wrongful death cases, it’s easier to calculate economic damages as compared to non-economic damages, because receipts and other records can support economic or financial damages. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, represent compensation for non-financial losses, which can be more difficult to quantify without the help of experienced professionals.

Examples of the type of damages you stand to recover with a successful claim include the following:

• Past medical expenses related to the accident that caused the fatal injuries
• Compensation for funeral costs, memorial expenses, and burial costs
• Estimated loss of the deceased individual’s expected future earnings
• Loss of household services that the decedent would have provided
• Compensation for a loss of companionship, consortium, guidance, and support
• Lost inheritance or lost benefits
• Grief, emotional distress, psychological trauma, and mental anguish suffered by the surviving family members
• And potentially other forms of financial recovery

In some cases of intentional violence and especially gross negligence, a judge may award the claimants exemplary damages (also known as punitive damages). These damages are meant to punish the at-fault party for their actions and deter others from committing similar wrongful acts. Such damages are not guaranteed in every wrongful death case and are primarily dependent on the specific circumstances of the case.

While most wrongful death cases are settled out of court, it may be necessary to take your case to trial. In such cases, you need lawyers with extensive trial experience to represent you and fight for what you are rightfully owed. To learn more about our trial experience and discuss the possibility of your case going to court, please contact our law firm for assistance.

Should You Accept the Initial Settlement Offer from the Insurance Company? 

In many wrongful death cases, insurance companies will offer the family of the deceased individual a settlement proposal that is worth far less than what they could potentially recover with the help of an experienced attorney. It is in the interest of insurance companies for plaintiffs to accept lowball settlement offers, allowing the wrongful death case to be resolved without paying the maximum compensation the case may be worth.

You must understand that you need not accept the initial settlement offer from the insurance company. In fact, we encourage you not to do so, at least not before consulting with our legal team about the potential for negotiating more favorable terms. Insurance companies can almost always do better than their initial offer would suggest, and our wrongful death lawyers will fight to maximize your total compensation.

What is a Survival Action and How Does it Differ from a Wrongful Death Claim? 

Wrongful death lawsuits hold negligent parties accountable for their actions and take steps to prevent the same wrongful actions from being committed by others in the future. Additionally, a wrongful death lawsuit is meant to compensate surviving family members for their financial losses, emotional suffering, and other types of pain or loss.

Surviving family members file survival actions to recover pain and suffering damages that the deceased individual experienced in the hours and days leading up to their passing. Unlike the financial recovery in a wrongful death case, the damages recovered via a survival claim belong exclusively to the estate of the decedent and are then divided among the survivors.

To file a survival action in Texas, you must demonstrate that you represent the decedent’s estate, that a personal injury caused their death, that, had the decedent survived, they would have been able to sue with a personal injury claim, and that the defendant’s wrongful actions were the direct cause of the fatal injuries.

Is There a Deadline for Seeking Wrongful Death Damages from the At-Fault Party and Their Insurance Company?

There is a strict deadline for filing wrongful death lawsuits in Texas. The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in the Lone Star State was two years from the date of the death of the injured victim.

While the two-year time window for surviving spouses, children, and parents of the deceased may seem like plenty of time to consider your legal options, we must encourage you to act as quickly as possible. The sooner you speak with our attorneys about your wrongful death legal issues, the better our chances of compiling convincing evidence to support your claims and help you maximize your total compensation.

Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm to Schedule a Free Consultation with Experienced Texas Wrongful Death Lawyers Today

 If you have lost a loved one in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence or an incident of violence, our wrongful death accident lawyers are here to represent your interests and help you pursue justice and a fair financial settlement. 

We fully understand that this is an especially difficult time for you and your family. You should be allowed the chance to grieve instead of worrying about the complexities of the legal process. Let us worry about how to proceed with your wrongful death lawsuit while you are given a chance to mourn your loss. While we navigate the legal system in pursuit of full and fair compensation for your case, we will keep you informed at every stage about any new developments or challenges that arise.

In addition to offering free consultations to prospective new clients, our compassionate legal team also offers contingency fee services. Our contingency fee basis of legal representation means that you will not incur any legal fees until we secure a settlement in your case.

To begin the attorney-client relationship, schedule your risk-free case review by contacting our offices today at (956) 201-7787.