Victoria Wrongful Death Lawyers

Three parties can file a wrongful death claim in Texas, either together or individually:

• Spouses
• Children
• Parents

If none of these three parties are available or want to file a wrongful death lawsuit, then the administrator of the deceased person’s estate can start a claim three months later. Although, a surviving spouse, child, or parent can request with the court to stop any wrongful death lawsuits from being filed.

Assuming that a wrongful death will be filed by a surviving family member or estate representative, it must be done within two years. Once the two-year statute of limitations ends, the court will more than likely reject any future claims, effectively making it impossible to get any compensation from the liable party.

The party liable for your loved one’s death would be named the defendant in your wrongful death claim, but they might not necessarily pay for the damages themselves. As with most personal injury claims, an insurance company representing the defendant will be the one to provide damages, either through a settlement or a verdict. Insurance caps will limit how much can be rewarded. There might be additional caps put in place by law depending on how the deceased passed away.

Damages that you can demand in your wrongful death claim can include:

• Wages the deceased would have earned in life
• Lost inheritances, including what would have likely been saved
• Lost care, companionship, and comfort provided to you and your family
• Lost benefit of around-the-house or day-to-day support and work
• Mental and emotional trauma you have suffered due to losing a loved one

Wrongful death claims are hotly contested by insurance companies because there are major consequences on the line. If the insurer admits that their client was liable, then they will be admitting that they made a mistake so severe that it cost someone their life. Furthermore, admitting liability will also open the opportunity for a massive payout to be paid to the claimant. It is not uncommon for economic and noneconomic damages in a wrongful death claim to reach six or seven figures.

You should expect that the opposition will not admit fault or make things easy. To give yourself the strength you need to take them on, you will want two things: good evidence and a great lawyer.