After a fatal crash, the grief is especially poignant because the death is so sudden and unexpected. It’s natural to be so overwhelmed by this that thoughts of legal recourse are far from your mind. An El Paso, TX wrongful death attorney can help you decide when a lawsuit is appropriate and take on the legal tasks so you can focus on grieving and healing.
When Should El Paso, TX Families Consider a Wrongful Death Lawsuit After a Fatal Crash?
When another person’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default causes a death, the law gives certain relatives the right to bring a civil claim for actual damages. That claim is completely different from any criminal case the state may bring against the driver. The two can influence each other, but they are separate. Just because one is successful or unsuccessful does not mean the other will be the same.
You should consider a lawsuit when the facts show the death would not have happened if the other person had met the duty every driver owes to other road users. Running a red light, crossing the center line, driving impaired, or failing to yield are all examples of a failure of this duty. So are commercial-truck violations or when a commercial vehicle is sent out when the driver or owner knows that it’s not in a fit state.
Who Can Bring a Claim?
A wrongful death claim exists for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the person who died, and any one of those relatives may file for the benefit of all, so long as they do so within two years of their loved one’s death. Filing never benefits only the person who files: any award will be shared among all surviving family in the eligible categories.
Siblings, grandparents, and domestic partners who do not qualify as spouses generally cannot bring a claim or benefit from it, no matter how close the household was. If, after three months, none of the eligible family have brought a claim, then the executor of the deceased’s estate can bring a claim unless all eligible relatives request that they do not. Even though it’s technically the estate bringing a claim, everything recovered still goes to the surviving spouse, children, and parents.
The Survival Action
A survival action is a kind of companion claim to wrongful death. Essentially, this is the personal injury claim the deceased person could have brought if they had survived. Through that action, the deceased’s estate can seek recompense for their medical bills, lost earnings between the time of injury and the time of death (if those did not occur on the same day), and compensation for pain suffered before dying.
Call a Wrongful Death Attorney
The unexpected death of a loved one is one of the hardest things anyone will ever have to deal with, but you don’t have to deal with the legal aspects of this alone. Call the Labinoti Law Firm at 915-201-0132 or visit us online to set up a free consultation. We serve victims and their families across Texas and New Mexico.
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