How do you prove wrongful death in Texas?

Nothing can replace the loss of your loved one, and your grief may be compounded when their death was caused by the negligence of another party. Nevertheless, seeking financial compensation for the wrongful death of a loved one can help to ease the financial burden caused by their death. Proving wrongful death in Texas requires that a wrongful death claim meet the standards set forth in the state statutes.

If the death of your loved one qualifies for liability under Texas statutes, you or certain other close family members may bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent party or parties in Texas civil court. The death of a loved one does not have to be intentional or deliberate to be a wrongful death. You and your attorney only need to show that the death occurred through some type of negligence in the action or inaction of another party.

Contact Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 to discuss your wrongful death claim.

How Do You Prove Wrongful Death in Texas?

Negligence is the primary factor that must be proved in a wrongful death claim in Texas. You and your attorney must show that another party was negligent, liable, and at fault for causing the death of a close family member to have a successful wrongful death claim.

Texas Statutes, Title 4, Chapter 71, Subchapter A of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code governs wrongful death in the State of Texas and sets forth a cause of action and who may bring a claim for wrongful death.

What are the Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?

Your wrongful death claim must meet the elements that are required for a successful claim in Texas. Your caring, experienced attorney at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law will work to prove the required elements for a wrongful death case, which includes:

• The defendant, the party that you are suing, owed a duty of care to the deceased person. One example is that all drivers have a duty of care to drive carefully and obey the rules of the road.
• The defendant breached that duty of care by doing something wrong or by neglecting to do something. An example is that the driver drove through a red light, or the driver failed to stop at a stop sign.
• The breach of the duty of care caused an injury that led to the person’s death. For example, a person who drove through the red light or the stop sign crashed into another vehicle, killing the vehicle’s passenger.
• You, the surviving spouse, for example, of the deceased party suffered monetary damages such as ambulance bills, emergency room bills, other medical bills, funeral and burial costs, and property damage from the death. Your attorney will likely ask for non-monetary damages as well, such as for pain and suffering.

These elements must be proven, no matter the type of wrongful death.

What Qualifies as Wrongful Death in Texas?

Motor vehicle accidents that are caused by someone else’s negligence often qualify for wrongful death cases. The Texas Department of Transportation reported that in one recent year, there were “no deathless days on Texas roadways.” More than 1,000 people in Texas lost their lives that year in motor vehicle crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol.

Some other common areas that may qualify for wrongful death claims include:

• Accidents at work that occur due to an employer’s irresponsibility
• Medical malpractice
• Defective products that lead to death
• Accidents such as trips and falls and crimes that occur on someone else’s property.

Accidents at Work

Certain situations may occur when the employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance. Employers are legally responsible for providing a safe working environment for all their employees.

If an employer fails to provide a safe working environment and an employee is killed as a result, the employer can be held liable for the employee’s death in a wrongful death case.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice typically occurs because of medical mistakes such as misdiagnosis or leaving surgical equipment in the body. Failure to diagnose or failure to treat may also qualify as medical malpractice claims in a wrongful death if they result in the death of someone.

Medical professionals and medical institutions have a duty to treat their patients according to a reasonable standard of care for their profession. If they fail to provide that reasonable standard of care and their actions or inactions lead to a patient’s death, the medical professional or institution may be held liable for a wrongful death.

Defective Products

Defective products that have issues such as with their design, or because they are faulty, can create problems that can lead to the death of a person. Some examples include faulty surgical devices that cause infections or faulty brakes that fail.

Product manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and salespeople have a duty to ensure that their products are safe for public consumption and use and may be held liable if the unsafe, defective product leads to someone’s death.

Accidents Such as Trips and Falls and Crimes

Accidents such as trips and falls, and crimes that happen on someone else’s property may lead to a wrongful death.

Property owners and property managers are responsible for making sure their premises are safely maintained and problems that they know about or should have known about are promptly taken care of so that people who are legally on their property do not get injured or killed.

Wrongful death claims where family members seek compensation are actions brought in civil court. If a crime was deliberately committed, such as murder, manslaughter, or assault and battery, charges may also be brought by a prosecutor in criminal court, but the criminal case does not financially benefit survivors of the deceased person.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?

Texas statutes are very specific about who may bring a wrongful death claim. Section 71.004 Benefitting From and Bringing Action specifically states that:

(a) An action to recover damages as provided by this subchapter is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased.

(b) The surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased may bring the action or one or more of those individuals may bring the action for the benefit of all.

Are you a surviving family member and believe that you may have a wrongful death claim? You and your attorney would have to prove liability when filing a wrongful death claim, just as the deceased would have in a personal injury claim if they had survived the negligent or wrongful act.

You are allowed to file for wrongful death if you are a surviving spouse, child, parent, or personal representative of the deceased. Siblings do not have the benefit of filing a wrongful death claim under Texas Law.

If none of the individuals who are eligible to bring a wrongful death action have done so within three calendar months after the death of the individual, Texas law states that the deceased person’s executor or administrator “shall bring and prosecute the action unless requested not to by all those individuals.”

Wrongful death lawsuits are complicated and complex. A wrongful death claim must be filed correctly under the requirements of Texas law. There is a statute of limitations in Texas of two years from the date of the death to file a wrongful death claim, with some exceptions.

The exceptions include:

• The plaintiff is a minor child or had a mental or physical impairment that prevented filing within two years.
• Negligence was not discovered until after the expiration of the two-year period.
• Fraud was involved.

Always speak directly to an attorney to understand the exact statute of limitations and other deadlines that apply to your potential claims.

The lawyers for the defendant, or alleged at-fault party, often try to prove that their clients were not at fault. They even try to allege that the deceased caused or contributed to the incident that led to their death. Your wrongful death attorney will refute, or disprove, these arguments and attempt to prove negligence by taking several steps and actions, including:

• Interviewing witnesses, first responders, and police officers
• Gathering evidence, and examining records and incident reports about the conditions that led to the death
• Negotiating with and handling communications with insurance companies and their lawyers
• Taking your case to court and arguing in front of a jury if necessary
• Hiring relevant expert witnesses to demonstrate negligence and to assess damages and costs that you and your family sustained, including grief, anguish, loss of love, loss of emotional and financial support and companionship.

Expert witnesses may include safety compliance and OSHA consultants, experts who reconstruct accidents, psychologists, psychiatrists, grief counselors, and forensic accountants.

Contact Us to Discuss How to Prove Wrongful Death in Your Case

Proving a wrongful death claim is complicated, and although they usually result in high damage awards, the insurance companies will try to get you to accept the lowest possible settlement.

You may be eligible for money damages, called economic damages, which includes compensation for actual losses, and non-economic damages, such as your suffering over the loss of your loved one. The experienced and compassionate wrongful death lawyers at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law will make every effort to obtain the full compensation settlement your family deserves at this difficult time while you are grieving the loss of your loved one.

You pay no fee if there is no recovery. Call us now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 for your free case evaluation.

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