Midland Wrongful Death Lawyer
Midland Texas Wrongful Death Attorney Michael Grossman Can Assist Your Family After the Death of a Loved One
- The Purpose of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
- Compensation to Recover in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
- Do You Have Grounds for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
- Limits to the Amount of Recoverable Damages
- Obstacles to a Successful Lawsuit
People who lose loved ones in accidents are left missing a vital part of their life and wondering about several different questions. How did the accident occur? Who caused the accident? Are there grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit to bring the responsible parties to justice? Do I need an experienced Texas wrongful death attorney?
At Grossman Law Offices, our lawyers have been litigating wrongful death cases for 20 years, so we know all about the devastation you are feeling after the loss of your loved one. If you’re interested in seeking justice, we want to inform you of your legal rights and the obstacles you may face, so that you stand the best chance of recovering the compensation you deserve for the loss of your family member.
What is the Purpose of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?
Three main goals serve as motivation for any Texas wrongful death lawsuit:
- Holding the negligent party or parties responsible for negligent actions or inaction that resulted in the death of an innocent person.
- Using monetary incentive to force the negligent party to alter its behavior so that more people are not injured in the future.
- Making sure that the victim’s loved ones obtain equitable restitution, so they don’t have to suffer financial losses on top of their emotional distress.
We know that there is no amount of money that can truly replace the loved one that you’ve lost. However, particularly if the deceased loved one was the primary wage earner, then your family has suffered a severe financial strain due to the loss of your beloved, and our attorneys can help you relieve the monetary setback you’ve experienced. Our attorneys have dedicated their lives to trying to help grieving families recover from their economic hardships. While we want to bring the negligent parties to justice for snatching your loved one from you, we also recognized the vital importance of recovering financially. Only by recovering from your monetary losses can you concentrate on recovering mentally and emotionally.
What Compensation Can You Recover in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?
Legally speaking, damages refer to monetary compensation grieving loved ones can recover after the loss of a family member and not the harm that had been done to the family member. There are two types of damages that can be pursued in a comprehensive wrongful death civil suit: wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages are intended to compensate the grieving loved ones for the financial and emotional strain they have endured due to their loved one’s death. Spouses, children, parents and certain other dependents of the victim can all pursue wrongful death claims, and a single wrongful death lawsuit contain several wrongful death damage claims. Recoverable wrongful death damages include compensation for:
- Medical expenses incurred prior to the victim’s death.
- Funeral bills.
- Loss of the monetary support supplied by the deceased prior to his or her death.
- Mental and emotional trauma suffered due to the loss of the loved one.
- Loss of the unique love and consortium provided only by the deceased loved one.
Survival damages, on the contrary, are intended to provide only the closest living relative compensation for the value of the lawsuit the deceased would have been able to file had her or she survived the accident and only been injured. More or less, the closest living relative serves as a proxy for the deceased loved one and inherits the personal injury lawsuit the victim would have been able to file. Anyone who pursues survival damages can also seek wrongful death damages, but a victim’s sibling can seek survival damages if he or she is the closest living relative; whereas, they cannot obtain wrongful death damages. The order of ascension for the right to pursue survival damages goes from spouse to children to parents to siblings. Just to clarify – only the one of these family members has the right to file a survival damages lawsuit; whereas, all the grieving family members can seek wrongful death damages. Possible survival damages include:
- Any medical expenses the victim paid before dying.
- Property damage.
- Lost salary due to time that would have been spent in the hospital recovering had the victim survived.
- Loss of future earning capacity due to long-term debilitating injuries.
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Mental and emotional strain caused by the accident.
- Compensation for disfigurement.
Wrongful death claims and survival damages claims are completely different and must be pursued using entirely different legal strategies. Moreover, the plaintiffs have suffered varying amounts of damages, so each wrongful death damages claim must be handled individually. Wrongful death claims and survival damages claims are intricate and highly technical issues before you even consider taking on the opposition and the obstacles the defense lawyers will present. People without legal experience lack the necessary procedural and litigation familiarity to handle such a lawsuit successfully. Over the 20 years we’ve been litigating wrongful death lawsuits, our attorneys have encountered countless incidents of people who attempt to represent themselves only to have their claim dismissed due to a minor technicality that an inexperienced first-timer had no way of foreseeing.
You are smarter than that. Midland wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman and his team of legal specialists at Grossman Law Offices can safeguard your ability to recover the damages you deserve by using our extensive experience and know-how to make sure all of the procedural requirements are handled properly. We will close all of the legal loopholes and make sure the negligent party pays for the death of your loved one – not only so that you recover damages but also so that the liable party reforms his or her negligent ways. That’s the only way some shred of good comes out of your loved one’s tragic death. We’re not solely interested in making money, but we’re devoted to preventing more accidents from happening in the future. This is an essential component of Texas wrongful death law, and our attorneys take it very seriously.
How do You Know Whether or Not You Have Grounds for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
In many cases, wrongful death cases are not cut and dry, and the grieving family may not recognize whether or not they have grounds for filing a wrongful death lawsuit. It’s important to remember that wrongful death lawsuits are civil in nature, so the negligent party does not have to break a law in order to file a suit against him or her. Consider the case of a motorist who is speeding down the road when he strikes a pedestrian in a crosswalk and kills her. Since the driver was just committing standard negligence, criminal charges are not likely to be filed against him. However, the loved ones of the pedestrian could bring a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the driver. In fact, since criminal charges will not be filed, this is the only way to pursue justice against the negligent driver.
Furthermore, a wrongful death civil suit can be filed against a negligent party even when that party faces criminal charges for killing the victim. If the driver in the above scenario was drunk at the time of the accident, then the motorist will likely face criminal charges for killing the victim, such as intoxication manslaughter. The family of the deceased can still file a civil suit even if the motorist is convicted of criminal charges. Texas law requires a wrongful death to meet four conditions in order for the loved ones of the deceased to file a legitimate wrongful death claim:
- The actions or inactions of another party or parties led to the death of the victim.
- The party or parties committed some form of negligence at the time of the accident.
- The deceased is survived by family members who are eligible to seek survival or wrongful death damages.
- The loved ones have incurred some sort of measurable economic damages as a result of the death of the victim.
Limits to the Amount of Recoverable Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and Necessary Standards of Proof to Meet
In some cases, a plaintiff’s ability to recover damages with a lawsuit may be contained by limitations, and in other instances the plaintiff must meet a higher standard of proof than in typical wrongful death lawsuits. For example, legislators have been convinced through extensive lobbying that medical costs were skyrocketing due to excessive litigation, so they passed new medical malpractice laws that placed limits on the amount of damages recoverable in a medical wrongful death lawsuit and also raised the standard of proof in medical malpractice cases. While this legislation served its purpose of reducing frivolous lawsuits, it had the unfortunate side effect of also making it much more difficult for legitimate victims of medical malpractice to secure the compensation they deserve.
Moreover, much of the settlement just goes right back to the doctor to pay for outstanding medical bills. As a result, many lawyers have decided to stop handling medical malpractice lawsuits.
Similar problems can arise in a work-related wrongful death lawsuit as a result of workers’ compensation insurance. Contrary to popular opinion, the purpose of workers’ compensation laws is not to help injured employees to recover from their injuries but to protect employers against lawsuits. If your deceased family member’s employer subscribed to workers’ comp insurance, then the amount of compensation you will be able to obtain will be significantly less than the actual harm you have incurred. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t adequate compensation elsewhere. Our lawyers know how to identify negligent third parties who are not protected by workers’ comp laws, and we can pursue wrongful death damages against them. For instance, if malfunctioning machinery led to your loved one’s death, then a wrongful death lawsuit could be filed against the manufacturer. Furthermore, even if your loved one’s employer carried workers’ comp coverage, you can still seek damages in a wrongful death lawsuit if the employer committed gross negligence. In that case, there are no limits for workers’ comp laws, either. The only downside is that the standard of proof for gross negligence is comparatively high.
As we stated earlier, wrongful death lawsuits are much more complex than they appear on the surface, and that’s before even considering the opposition you will face from the opposing lawyers. In order to succeed, you need the help of an experienced wrongful death lawyer. Sure, the law permits anyone to file his or her own lawsuit, but doing so will almost always result in disappointment. Due to the complexity of these cases, the best way to ensure the party who caused your loved one’s death is brought to justice is to seek the help of a knowledgeable lawyer. Midland wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman and his associates at Grossman Law Offices will protect your families right and make the negligent party pay.
Obstacles to a Successful Lawsuit
When you file a wrongful death claim, you will be taking on experienced defense lawyers and shrewd insurance adjusters. One wrongful death claim can be worth significantly more money than a personal injury claim, and if you’re filing multiple wrongful death and survival damages claim, the value of your lawsuit skyrockets. With an enormous amount of money at risk, the defendants will expend a tremendous amount of effort to avoid having to pay. Defendants will hire experienced lawyers and bring in experts at recreating accidents to attempt to prove they were not liable for the victim’s death. Insurance companies will also expend great effort to try to avoid paying a wrongful death claim and reserve their most experienced and aggressive adjusters to handle wrongful death cases. Additionally, they keep defense specialists on staff year-round who will make an effort to prove that your loved one was responsible for his or her own death with his or her own negligence. In many cases, the defense has built a case against the victim before his or her family has even mobilized to find a lawyer or file a lawsuit – especially if the deceased worked for a large corporation.
Right now, it’s imperative that you also take action to begin building your case. A timely and thorough investigation is essential to any successful wrongful death lawsuit. Evidence at the accident scene does not remain pristine after the accident. The scene of the accident evolves quickly, particularly at active locations like construction sites or roadways. Moreover, critical evidence can disappear quickly – videos can be taped over and witnesses can be hard to find and will change their stories. The sooner you hire an attorney, then the quicker your legal counsel can begin searching for evidence. Our attorneys begin investigating the accident as soon as we’re hired. We sequester and examine all vehicles or equipment involved in the accident, search for video or photographic evidence, scour over police reports, locate and interview evidence and evaluate any forensic evidence. After decades handling wrongful death cases, we recognize the critical importance of a quick and diligent investigation.
Texas Wrongful Death Attorney Michael Grossman and the Lawyers at Grossman Offices are Here to Fight for Your Rights
For over 20 years, the lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been helping grieving Texans recover wrongful death and survival damages for the loss of their deceased loved ones. We know that this is one of the most difficult times of your life, and you are grieving severely. We know that filing a lawsuit isn’t in the forefront of your mind right now, but we also know how important it is that you act now. We’re here to make sure the legal struggle does not overwhelm you. Let the Midland Texas wrongful death attorneys at Grossman Law Offices handle you case and help you recover financially so that you can concentrate on recovering emotionally. We have won millions and millions of dollars for the families of hundreds of wrongfully killed Texans and taken on every major insurance company in the country. The insurers know all about our long track record of success, and they often offer our clients fair settlements to avoid the prospect of facing our attorneys in court. This allows our clients to return to rebuilding their lives without their loved ones with as little additional stress and strain as possible. Whether you are interested in hiring a lawyer today or just want answers to the many questions you have about your case, call us today for a free consultation at 1-855-396-0000 (toll free), and we will tell you how we can help.
(policy limits) Our attorneys secured a recovery against a major trucking company for the daughter of a man who was killed after his vehicle collided into an 18-wheeler which was blocking the roadway. Litigation is ongoing against additional defendants.
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(policy limits) A husband and father of three was killed when the driver of an 18-wheeler veered into oncoming traffic, striking the young man's vehicle and several others. The defendant was employed by a small construction company that operated only a single 18-wheeler. As such, the defendants were largely underinsured and were not financially solvent.
Furthermore, the defendants had an eroding insurance policy and numerous other parties were intent upon filing claims of their own since the 18-wheeler struck multiple other vehicles. This created the need for an aggressive and rapid response before the other claimants could erode the policy.
Defense counsel made it clear that they wished to litigate the case despite the insurmountable liability arguments that our attorneys presented. They intended to designate a third party as a responsible defendant since the accident happened in a construction zone, even though it was abundantly clear that the construction zone played no role in the crash.
Additonally, the defendants made it clear that they wished to downplay the extent of the damages by virtue of a character assasination on the decedent. Fortunately for our clients, our firm has successfully litigated against the defendant's insurer in nearly a dozen cases, so the carrier was quite aware of our courtroom capabilities. We presented a sample lawsuit to the defendant's insurance carrier and informed them that the lawsuit was to be filed the moment that they refused to settle.
Additionally, our attorneys submitted a Stowers' Demand with a brief window of time for the defendants to respond. We made it abundantly clear that we intended to seek punitive damages and that we would assert the full limits of the carrier's exposure under the Stowers' Demand should the carrier not offer policy limits.
The defendant's attorney adamantly persuaded the carrier to litigate, however, our attorney's threats of litigation, past track record, and incredibly aggressive pre-litigation actions convinced the insurance carrier to disregard their own attorney's advice and to settle the case, lest they face our attorneys in court.
Had our clients been represented by virtually any other firm who did not have our specific track record or who would have not recognized that this case required special and immediate attention coupled with an abnormally aggressive stance, the client's would have certainly been tied up in litigation for years, with the limited supply of funds rapidly depleting since the other claimants who did not need to litigate would have essentially had right of first refusal.
$1,000,000.00
$333,333.00
$0.00
The family of a deceased woman hired our firm following a fatal 18-wheeler accident. The fatal accident occurred as the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle and veered out of his lane, resulting in a massive collision. The decedent, a passenger in a vehicle, died on the scene.
Her adult children consulted our firm to initially investigate the accident and make sense of the facts and circumstances since the family felt that the police report did not make it clear enough precisely what occurred. We launched a full investigation an immediately deposed the investigating officers.
Upon the completion of our investigation, it was apparent that the trucking company was indeed negligent and a lawsuit was soon filed. The defendant's launched an aggressive defense whereby they initially claimed that the truck driver was overcome by his passenger who allegedly grabbed the steering wheel and deliberately drove the truck off the road, despite the truck driver's best efforts.
We refuted this claim by illustrating that the tire marks that were present clearly show the truck gradually moving across the road and eventually onto the grass, which is entirely inconsistent with an abrupt lane change caused by someone taking control of the wheel. It was quite an unusual defense strategy that we were frankly surprised to even find ourselves having to refute.
The defendants then argued that a tire blowout may have contributed to the accident, which is significant because it would enable the defendant to offset some portion of their liability to a tire manufacturer or installer. Through deposition testimony of the investigating officer we established that there was absolutely no indication at the scene of the accident that a tire had blown out.
Finally, the defendants argued that the company which loaded the trailer may have improperly loaded the cargo. This argument was most plausible considering that the precise cause of the decedent's death was that she was essentially pummeled by cargo that broke through trailer and struck her person.
Our firm consulted several experts in the fields of heavy cargo transportation and physics. Our experts felt that the cargo was secured in a manner that is perfectly consistent with industry standards and that due to the forces involved, the cargo would not have behaved any differently irrespective of how it was secured. In short, the collision caused the cargo to break free and the negligence lay squarely on the trucking company and not any other entity. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
$2,000,000.00
$775,000.00
$25,000.00
A young handicapped woman lost her life when a long-term care facility failed to provide her with treatment for obvious symptoms of severe illness. The defendants maintained that there were no outwardly visible signs of illness. The medical evidence showed otherwise. The case was successfully resolved through litigation, though damages caps imposed by tort reform were a factor.
$400,000.00
$132,000.00
$25,000.00
(policy limits) Recovery for wrongful death/ nursing home negligence which resulted in bed sores which became infected.
$100,000.00
$33,133.00
$400.00
(policy limits) Our firm was hired to pursue an intoxicated driver who killed an elderly school crossing guard. The fatal accident occurred as the decedent was escorting a woman and her child across the roadway through a crosswalk. The defendant then sped through the school zone, in an intoxicated a state, and struck the decedent who died on the scene.
The family hired our firm to investigate and pursue the defendant under a wrongful death cause of action. Following our investigation and preliminary vehicle inspection, our attorneys issued a Stowers' demand to the defendants. A significant factor in resolving this claim is that merely days before we submitted our demand to the defendant' insurance carrier, we won a large case against the very same insurance carrier, which was one of several such victories secured against the carrier in our firm's history. Our threats of litigation were therefore heeded and the defendants offered policy limits to settle the claim without the need to file suit.
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(policy limits) A young mother was killed in an accident involving two commercial vehicles, one an 18-wheeler. The accident occurred as the young woman was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling down a highway in the early morning hours. Without warning, the vehicle in which she was a passenger collided with a stalled 18-wheeler that parked in the right of way, resulting in catastrophic injuries that claimed the young woman's life soon thereafter.
The authorities initially faulted the driver of the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, stating that he was using an electronic device rather than paying full attention to the roadway. However, the 18-wheeler was indeed blocking the roadway and plaintiff alleged that the vehicle did not follow the requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act in regard to providing adequate reflective or laminated warning at specific intervals. Further, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant failed to remove his vehicle from the roadway when he first noticed signs of mechanical failure.
Had he simply moved to the shoulder of the road, plaintiffs argued, his lack of adequate warning signs would have been inconsequential. An initial settlement has been obtained in this case, yet litigation has commenced in full against the remaining defendant, and is currently ongoing.
$250,000.00
$78,000.00
$370.00
Recovery for the father of a young man who was killed in a car accident.
$95,035.00
$31,678.00
$25.00
Our attorneys were hired to investigate a fatal motor vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler that claimed the lives of several men, the family of one in particular which our firm represented, felt that the official version of events as outlined in the police report was not an accurate portrayal of the facts and circumstances of the collision.
Our firm launched an investigation, the findings of which served as the basis for a subsequent lawsuit. We were able to determine that the defendant's accusations of contributory negligence on behalf of he driver of the vehicle did appear to be valid and plaintiffs conceded as much. However, the plaintiffs were adamant that the contributory negligence did not entirely overshadow the negligence on behalf of the defendant truck driver.
Through physical evidence and an admission of liability that our attorneys were able to importune from the defendant under oath, we were able to show that the defendant had indeed pulled into the path of the decedent's vehicle, which was of consequence irrespective of the decedent's own contributory negligence, and that icontact.com
$250,000.00
$82,500.00
$10,000.00
A young woman lost her life after a bar over served her to more than three times the legal limit resulting in her burning to death in a single-vehicle accident. Witnesses stated that she was so intoxicated that she could barely make it to her vehicle without assistance. Through litigation, our attorneys ascertained the necessary evidence to prove that the establishment provided alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person, thus resulting in her ultimate demise.
$550,000.00
$220,000.00
$25,000.00