Wrongful Death Attorneys

McBell Personal Injury Lawyers

Overview :

The tragic death of a loved one is a heart-wrenching and grievous experience. It is one of the most devastating experiences that anyone can endure. Whether it is a spouse, parent, or child that has been killed in an accident, the loss is sudden and extremely hurtful. In addition to pain, physical and emotional loss, family members must deal with moving into the future without a loved one.

Surviving loved ones may also experience financial hardship due to this traumatic event. With the help of McBell Law’s wrongful death attorneys, overcoming family members can sue the negligent individual or party for damages caused by their loved ones death.

In a wrongful death suit, the spouse, children, siblings, and parents of the deceased may recover monetary damages for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include the decedent’s benefits such as pension plans and medical coverage, the victim’s earning capacity, services performed that must now be completed by someone else, and support/companionship the deceased would have provided to the survivor if the deceased was still alive.

These types of damages also include the decedent’s care, support, maintenance, medical expenses, funeral expenses like burial costs, lost wages, and other services provided to family members. Non-economic damages focuses on compensation for non-financial losses such as the loss of the decedent’s love, affection, advice, moral support, companionship, and sexual relations between married spouses.

Wrongful death cases are complex lawsuits that require not only experience and knowledge, but also sympathy. The lawyers at McBell Law provide skillful and compassionate representation to surviving family members of victims who were wrongfully killed due to negligence. Contact the wrongful death attorneys at McBell Law to learn more about your legal rights about this specific type of case.

What is Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death is a specific type of personal injury case in which the injured person passes away. The term refers to a death that occurs due to another person’s intentional or unintentional actions. When a person dies because of the actions of another person, the victim’s family can choose to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit.

Wrongful death lawsuits arise from a variety of scenarios, including workplace accidents, deficient products, motor vehicle accidents, faulty medical devices, occupational diseases, defective drugs, medical malpractice, premise liability, and suicide. Wrongful death can also occur due to other incidents such as drowning, boating accidents, accidental poisoning, drug overdose, pedestrian and bicycle accidents.

According to the CDC Mortality Data of 2019, there have been 173,040 unintentional deaths, 39,443 unintended fall deaths, 37,595 motor vehicle traffic deaths, and 65,773 unexpected poisoning deaths.

The attorneys at McBell Law understand that nothing can replace the life of your loved one. However, with the right lawyer in your corner, you can be comforted and find relief knowing that the financial burden may be lifted by the negligent party involved. There is nothing that can reverse the horrific accident that has occurred but there is still hope for justice.

Who Can File A Wrongful Death Suit In Texas?

Every state has its own statute of limitations in which a wrongful death claim must be filed. Texas law specifically states that the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, and parents of the decedent are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the state’s courts. One or more of the qualified individuals can file on behalf of them all. These laws allow the deceased person’s survivors to file a lawsuit contingent upon the cause of the accident, whether the person died as a result of another individual or party’s accidental or intentional actions.

Under Texas law, a wrongful death is defined as:

an injury that causes a person’s death or a fetus’s failure to be born alive;
the injury is caused by another person’s, parties, or entity’s “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default”; and
the injured person would have been entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit had he or she lived or been born alive.

Additionally, legal action must be taken within two years of losing a loved one. If you fail to file a suit within this time frame, it may result in the loss of your rights to compensation.

The statute allows surviving family members to bring a claim against the individual or party responsible for the death of their loved one. Please keep in mind that Texas does not permit surviving siblings to file a wrongful death suit for the loss of a brother or sister – only the primary relationships of the decedent can perform this action as mentioned above.

With negligence claims, wrongful death requires proof of duty, breach, causation, and damages. Duty is when the defendant owes a legal duty to the plaintiff under the circumstances and breach is when the defendant fails to uphold that legal duty or act in a certain way. Causation encompasses the defendant’s actions or inaction that caused the deceased one’s injury and because of this, the plaintiff was harmed or injured as a result which is also known as damages.

There are steps that plaintiffs have to take in order to prove negligence. The plaintiff must show that the defendant had a duty or agreement to the deceased person. Furthermore, the plaintiff must reveal how the defendant violated the already established duty or agreement. Following this, the plaintiff must verify that the violation of the duty or agreement caused damage to the decedent.

The victim’s relatives must make a connection between the breach and loss of life in order to maintain the right to compensation. A wrongful death attorney at McBell Law can help you build a strong claim.

Call The Attorneys At McBell Law Today

No amount of money can ease the pain of a broken heart when it comes to losing a loved one. Compensation can only assist with the financial burdens that surviving family members face under these devastating circumstances.

At McBell Law, our attorneys aid in securing proper financial compensation that you will need to adapt, move forward, and alleviate stress. Identifying negligence that led to death and holding individuals and/or parties accountable is our specialty.