Eagle Pass Wrongful Death Legal Assistance

Losing a loved one to a preventable accident is an enormously painful experience. You not only have to process the emotional trauma of suddenly losing someone important to you, but you might also have to pay for medical expenses, coordinate funerary arrangements, and make up for lost wages. However, you may be able to find alternative arrangements when you work with a Laredo wrongful death lawyer.

In Texas, if your loved one was fatally injured due to another party’s negligence, unskillfulness, carelessness, or misconduct, and the deceased person (or decedent) would have been able to file a personal injury lawsuit had they survived, their death is considered a wrongful death.

Nothing can get rid of the pain of unexpectedly losing someone you love, but if that person was killed in a preventable accident, you have the legal right to recover monetary damages from the responsible party. Our Laredo wrongful death attorneys at Gonzalez and Associates P.C. have extensive experience in wrongful death cases and will use their knowledge and experience to pursue the compensation you deserve. 

Let us fight for justice on behalf of your loved one. If you are a family member of a wrongful death victim, call us today at (830) 445-2035 or send us a message to schedule a consultation. We have offices conveniently located in Eagle Pass, Laredo, Brownsville, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Se habla español.

How to Pursue a Wrongful Death Claim in South Texas

Understanding Wrongful Death Cases

If your loved one had survived their injury and would have been able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the individual or entity responsible, Texas law permits specific individuals to file a wrongful death claim on the decedent’s behalf. Common causes of wrongful death include, but are not limited to motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, and medical malpractice.

Under Texas law, the deceased person’s spouse, children, or parents can file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the decedent’s death. However, if none of these parties file a wrongful death claim within the first three months that they are eligible to, then the decedent’s executor may file the claim. An executor is a person identified on someone’s will as the individual responsible for administering their estate in the event of their death. The only reason the executor would not be able to file a wrongful death claim is if the decedent’s spouse, children, and parents all request that a claim not be filed. 

Strong wrongful death claims do the following:

• Prove that the defendant had an obligation to avoid high-risk behaviors
• Demonstrate that the defendant had breached this obligation out of carelessness, negligence, or misconduct
• Prove that this breach had directly caused the decedent’s death
• Show how the damages being pursued, economic and non-economic, are related to the decedent’s death

Compensation for Wrongful Death: What You Can Recover

Wrongful death claims allow the deceased person’s survivors to recover costs related to the fatal injury itself and expenses that they themselves have accrued due to their loved one’s death. 

You may be entitled to compensation related to the following: 

• Loss of income, financial support, and potential earnings
• Medical expenses
• Final arrangement costs
• Pain and suffering 

Depending on the exact situation, you may also be awarded damages related to the responsible party’s gross negligence or intentional misconduct. These awards are called punitive damages.

If you recently lost someone to a wrongful death, you are not alone. Contact our wrongful death lawyers by calling (830) 445-2035 or sending a message.