Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer
The unexpected loss of a loved one is one of life’s most difficult ordeals to endure. If your loved one’s death was preventable, the loss can be even harder to bear. You should not be saddled with medical debts and funeral costs if your loved one was killed in Texas as a result of someone else’s carelessness or misconduct. A Texas wrongful death lawyer can help you.
Texas law allows close family members of the deceased person whose death was caused by others’ negligence to file a lawsuit and demand justice.
At Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., our Texas wrongful death lawyer understand the emotional struggle and financial disruption that the loss of a loved can cause. The road to recovery is difficult, especially if you are experiencing financial stress.
Let our experienced wrongful death lawyers offer guidance. Our compassionate attorneys will review the accident that took your loved one’s life and explain your legal options to move forward.
Attorney Greg Herrman and the legal team at Herrman & Herrman in Texas are ready to assist you. Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. is an established law firm that has helped thousands of people throughout Cameron County and Texas recover after serious losses.
Our compassionate attorneys understand the struggles you are facing with the loss of a loved one. If we handle your Texas wrongful death case, we will work on a contingency fee basis. You will not owe us a legal fee unless we obtain compensation for you.
Call or contact us online at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. to obtain a free review of your case and learn how we can assist you. Our Texas personal injury lawyers are committed to helping families whose lives have been disrupted by the preventable loss of a loved one.
Legal Options for Remaining Family Members: Texas Wrongful Death Claim
The close family of a person who has been killed in Texas as a result of another’s carelessness or disregard for safety has a legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit to demand compensation for their loved one’s loss.
Texas civil law allows a spouse, child or parent to bring a wrongful death lawsuit after someone else causes the death of their family member. The law recognizes as spouses both married and common law spouses.
A wide range of preventable accidents leading to fatal injuries may be the basis of a wrongful death claim in Cameron County District Court including:
- Car accidents
- Slip and Fall accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Truck accidents
- Oilfield accidents
- Motorcycle crashes
- Construction accidents
- Defective products
- Auto defects
- Workplace accidents
- Offshore accidents
Our Texas fatal accident attorneys at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. are committed to investigating the circumstances of your loved one’s death and demanding justice. We are available to discuss the legal options that your family may use to seek compensation. Our attorneys bring more than 100 years of collective experience to each case we handle.
After a fatal workplace accident, the immediate family of the deceased worker in Texas may be eligible for death benefits through the employer’s worker’s compensation insurance and also have a right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault third party who caused the fatal accident.
For example, the family of a delivery driver killed in a crash may receive workers compensation benefits from their loved one’s employer and in some instances file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault motorist who caused the accident.
The state of Texas does not require employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, so some employers do not have coverage for their employees. Our experienced Texas wrongful death lawyer can identify the sources of insurance available to provide compensation and the potentially liable parties.
While it may be hard to contemplate legal action after the death of a loved one, it is important to speak with a Texas lawyer after a family member’s death.
Texas civil law allows two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit in most situations. Talking with a knowledgeable Texas wrongful death attorney will give you the information needed to make a well-informed decision with your family’s future in mind.
Wrongful death claims can involve sizable amounts of money. Unfortunately, insurance companies focus on limiting payouts and protecting their profits. Most insurers will try to pay the smallest amount possible to settle a claim.
When the stakes are high, you need the representation of an experienced Texas attorney to negotiate with the insurance company and resolve your wrongful death claim. You will need a seasoned attorney fighting for your interests to have the best chance of obtaining a full settlement. Our attorneys will explore all legal options to help provide your family a secure future in Texas.
What Compensation Can I Get from My Texas Wrongful Death Case?
A bereaved spouse, parent, or child who proves a wrongful death claim in Cameron County District Court may obtain compensation for:
- Expenses such as doctor and hospital bills and burial costs;
- Loss of the deceased person’s household support, services and future earning capacity;
- Loss of parental guidance, instruction and affection that a parent would have provided a child;
- Pain and suffering;
- Exemplary damages in special situations when a death was caused by an intentional act such as an act of violence or grossly negligent conduct.
The types of wrongful death compensation that may be sought depend on the specific facts of the case. Our attorneys can review the circumstances of your loved one’s death and explain the types of compensation that your family may seek.
Factors Considered In Wrongful Death Damage Awards
Wrongful death actions can be the result of many situations, including motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, unsafe work environments or the use of unsafe products. Though no amount of money can fully compensate the loss of a loved one, juries in wrongful death actions have the difficult task in determining what to award those left behind when a family member dies due to another’s wrongdoing or carelessness. As such, juries take many factors into consideration in making that determination. Such factors include the loss of financial support, advice, and counsel from a spouse, parent or child, medical cost, funeral cost, loss of companionship and mental anguish caused by the death of a loved one. Factors such as the decedent’s age and health are also taken into account.
Types Of Damages In a Wrongful Death Claim
Typical jury awards focus on what is known as pecuniary damages, which cover financial losses for medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, lost wage-earning capacity and loss of services. However, juries can also award exemplary or punitive damages in cases where the death was the result of gross negligence or by willful acts or omissions. These damages are meant to serve as a form of punishment and to deter other reckless behavior.
Issues surrounding wrongful death claims are difficult to sort through and often require attention during times when a loved one has recently died. As a result, it is important to discuss your concerns and obtain an answer to your questions with an attorney experienced in handling wrongful death cases.
When Can I Claim Wrongful Death?
You can make a wrongful death claim against someone if you’re a surviving family member of the deceased party and you have reason to believe that their death was a result of negligence or intentional harm. There are several common types of wrongful death claims. The first is after a person is murdered by another person. This is a clear and obvious intentional cause of death and, as a family member of the deceased, you may sue. Another common type of wrongful death suit is after someone is killed as a result of medical malpractice. That is, if someone dies as a result of a doctor’s negligence or improper care. The third most common wrongful death situation is after car accidents that cause significant enough injuries to kill someone.
What Damages am I Eligible to Recover?
As a surviving family member or member of the deceased’s estate, there are a few different categories of costs that you may be eligible to recover or be compensated for. One claim is the deceased party’s pain and suffering, which is quantified differently across different states. You can also recover medical treatment costs, funeral and burial expenses, and any loss of income from the deceased party being unable to work. The more emotional expenses are loss of care, guidance, or nurturing that the deceased would have provided and loss of love or companionship the person would have provided.
If you believe a loved one was killed wrongfully and you could recover some of the costs associated with their death, you should enlist the help of an experienced wrongful death attorney in your area.
How a Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Help?
You need to understand your legal rights after the loss of a loved one and whether you have a valid wrongful death case. Our attorneys will answer your questions and explain your legal options in your preferred language so that your family has the information needed to make well-informed decisions.
If your primary language is Spanish, you may feel more comfortable discussing legal matters in your first language. Our attorneys and staff are fluent in Spanish and English and try to accommodate our clients’ language preferences.
Our experienced attorneys who have handled numerous wrongful death claims will invest the time to investigate your loved one’s death and determine all the potentially liable parties. In some cases, there are liable parties that are not apparent at first.
You may not expect a law firm to do an investigation on the scene of a fatal accident. But Herrman & Herrman is committed to doing what it takes to serve clients. If we are contacted right away, we will send our Accident Investigative Team to the scene to gather important evidence. Interviewing witnesses before they leave and preserving evidence before it disappears is crucial to building the strongest claim for compensation for a wrongful death.
Our attorneys will identify all the sources of insurance that may provide compensation for your Texas wrongful death claim. We will negotiate with the insurance companies and stand up for your rights. We understand that no amount of money can replace your lost loved one.
But we will keep insurers from pressuring grieving families to accept unreasonable settlement offers and taking advantage of you after the loss of a loved one.
Our Texas attorneys are skilled negotiators and are able to settle most cases without going through a trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to agree to a fair settlement, we will consult with you about filing a lawsuit and seeking justice in Cameron County court.
Our compassionate attorneys understand your family may be facing financial stress if your lost loved one’s income helped support the household. An attorney at Herrman & Herrman will handle your wrongful death claim on a contingency fee basis. That allows you to have highly qualified legal representation without having to pay any money up front.
You will not owe a legal fee unless our attorneys obtain a settlement or a jury verdict for you. If we do obtain money for you, then we receive an agreed portion of the wrongful death lawsuit settlement as payment for our legal services and expenses.
CONTACT HERRMAN & HERRMAN IF YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF ACCIDENTS:
We can help you if you have been harmed by the following:
- Car accidents – Our lawyers have extensive experience handling car accident cases. We will work to identify the party or parties at fault for the crash and build a case to demonstrate persuasively how the parties caused the accident and your injuries. We will seek fair and full compensation through a negotiated settlement or at trial if necessary.
- Truck accidents – Thousands of large commercial trucks travel the roads of Texas every single day. Unfortunately, careless truck drivers and trucking companies disregarding safety put innocent people at risk of serious injuries. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, let our experienced Texas personal injury lawyers stand up to the trucking companies and insurers on your behalf.
- Motorcycle accidents – Motorcycle riders often suffer grievous injuries in crashes caused by other motorists. Too many motorcycle accidents in Corpus Christi are caused by careless drivers who don’t look for motorcycle riders or violate their right of way. Our personal injury lawyers will work to cut through the bias and stigma against motorcycle riders. Our goal is to seek the financial compensation that you’ll need to recover from a serious motorcycle accident and injuries such as bone fractures, road rash, or traumatic brain injury.
- Product liability – Product manufacturers have a legal obligation to make products that are safe for their intended uses and to warn consumers of any risks that may come with the product. When products have design or manufacturing defects or undisclosed dangers, the product manufacturer may be legally responsible for injuries suffered by consumers. Our attorneys can help you evaluate whether you have a valid product liability claim.
- Brain injury – Brain injuries can leave accident victims with disabilities that leave them unable to work or perform many tasks of daily living. Seeking compensation for a brain injury in an accident often proves incredibly complex. The brain injury survivor may seek compensation for anticipated future medical care and the medical care already provided. Our personal injury lawyers can help you through the difficult recovery process following a brain injury and will fight to make sure you have the resources you need.
- Spinal injury – Spinal cord injuries could cost millions of dollars of care over the course of the victim’s lifetime, especially when those injuries result in partial or complete paralysis, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. If you or your loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you deserve compassionate legal representation. Our attorney can help you determine whether you may be entitled to claim compensation for your injury and expenses related to living with the disability, such as making a home more accessible.
- Wrongful death – If you have lost a loved one due to the negligent or reckless actions of another party, your family deserves to seek accountability and compensation from those at fault for the wrongful death. Our caring and dedicated attorneys can help guide you and your family through this difficult and painful time and seek justice for your loved one.
