Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Texas? Ley de Janicek espera responder a estas preguntas para usted.
If you lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, you need our skilled San Antonio wrongful death attorneys. Our experienced wrongful death attorneys can help you determine if your family members can sue for wrongful death in Texas. From here, we’ll work diligently to help surviving family members file a successful wrongful death claim.
Llamar 210-366-4949 to schedule a free consultation with a wrongful death attorney.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Suit in Texas
Every state has its own laws regarding who can file wrongful death claims. Only certain family members can file a wrongful death claim in Texas. This includes the surviving spouse, children, and parents of unmarried children. Texas law does not make a distinction between legally adopted children and biological children.
More distant family members, like aunts and uncles, cousins, and unmarried partners, cannot pursue a wrongful death claim in Texas.
If an immediate family member does not file a wrongful death lawsuit within three months of the date of death, the executor of the will may file a wrongful death lawsuit. The executor of the will, sometimes referred to as a personal representative, can pursue a wrongful death claim in the deceased person’s name. The personal representative would not necessarily receive any of the compensation. It would instead be put into a special trust for the beneficiaries of the will.
¿Puede un prometido presentar una demanda por muerte por negligencia?
In most cases, a fiancé or boyfriend/girlfriend of the deceased cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit. Only an immediate family member, like the surviving spouse, can file wrongful death claims in Texas. If the family pursues a wrongful death claim, there’s no guarantee that financial dependents will receive financial compensation from a settlement.
If you find yourself in this situation, you may feel powerless. Contact an experienced attorney for a free initial consultation to discuss the legal process.
Wrongful Death Beneficiaries Texas
Under Texas law, wrongful death beneficiaries include the surviving spouse, children (including legally adopted children), and parents of the deceased person. These eligible family members can file a wrongful death claim to seek financial compensation for losses like emotional anguish, lost support, and funeral and burial expenses. If none of these beneficiaries file within three months, the representative of the deceased person’s estate may file the claim unless family members object.
Who Determines Cause of Death in Texas?
If the death is from natural causes, typically the attending physician or primary care doctor certifies the cause of death on the death certificate.
For deaths that are sudden, unexplained, occur within 24 hours of admission to a facility, or are suspicious, the Medical Examiner or a Justice of the Peace is responsible, after conducting an investigation or inquest, and potentially an autopsy, to determine the cause and manner of death.
When Can A Family Sue for Wrongful Death in Texas?
The general rule is that if the deceased person could have pursued a personal injury case if they would have survived, then eligible family members file a wrongful death claim in Texas. A wrongful death claim exists when someone dies due to the legal fault of a negligent party.
Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Texas
Medical malpractice is the result of a trusted medical provider making a mistake that results in a patient’s death. Successful wrongful death claim types include lesiones de nacimiento, errores de medicación, y abuso y negligencia en hogares de ancianos.
Consult a San Antonio malpractice attorney para una consulta inicial gratuita.
Accidente automovilistico
Incluso con equipo de seguridad actualizado, fatal accidentes automovilísticos suceder todos los días. Los conductores distraídos, discapacitados o descuidados pueden y deben ser considerados responsables en un reclamo por muerte injusta. accidentes de 18 ruedas puede causar múltiples muertes, y las familias pueden presentar un reclamo por muerte injusta por la muerte de cada persona.
Asesinato intencional
Cuando alguien mata a otra persona intencionalmente, generalmente se le acusa de un delito y se enfrenta a la cárcel. También pueden enfrentar una demanda por homicidio culposo presentada por los familiares sobrevivientes de la víctima. A diferencia de un caso penal que tiene que probar más allá de toda duda, los casos civiles solo tienen que probar que la negligencia del acusado causó la muerte de la víctima.
Can You Sue Someone for Murder in Texas?
Yes, grieving families can sue someone for murder in Texas by filing a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death lawsuit allows certain family members to seek financial compensation from the responsible party for causing a death through a wrongful act or negligence, even if that wrongful act is murder. Eligible family members include the surviving spouse, children, and parents. Wrongful death claims are separate from any criminal proceedings and do not require a conviction to move forward with a wrongful death claim in Texas.
Wrongful Death vs Survival Action Texas
So, what’s the difference between wrongful death vs survival action in Texas?
In Texas, eligible family members file a wrongful death claim for what the surviving family members lost due to the individual’s death. A survival action claim is different. The survival claim covers what the deceased person went through before they died.
If the deceased person suffered pain, had outstanding medical bills, or lost wages before the individual’s death, survival action claims let the decedent’s estate sue for those things, just like it was a personal injury claim.
Who Can File Survival Action Claims in Texas?
Only the deceased person’s estate can file a survival action claim. That means the person in charge of the decedent’s estate, like the executor (if there’s a will) or a court-appointed administrator (if there isn’t), files survival action claims.
If no one’s been appointed yet, a legal heir can step in to get the process started. The money won in a survival claim goes to the decedent’s estate and is later split up between heirs or whoever’s named in the will.
¿Cómo se prueban las muertes por negligencia?
Dependiendo del caso específico, un abogado calificado en muerte por negligencia puede seguir algunos métodos diferentes para probar la muerte por negligencia. En la mayoría de los casos, su equipo legal debe probar la Las 4 D de la negligencia: había un deber de cuidado que el acusado debía, el acusado lo incumplió y sus acciones resultaron en una muerte. Los proveedores médicos deben deber profesional de cuidado a sus pacientes. Si una enfermera de maternidad se niega a llamar al médico cuando un feto está en peligro, está incumpliendo su deber de cuidado. Si el paciente muere debido a su negligencia, eso sería motivo para una acción de muerte por negligencia.
¿Quién puede ser demandado por muerte por negligencia?
Wrongful death actions can be brought against any responsible party. This can include physicians, hospitals, bartenders, and even people who own property where the deceased person was injured. Anyone responsible in a wrongful death suit can be held financially liable.
Texas Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
Una acción de muerte por negligencia debe ser presentada dentro de los 3 meses por un miembro de la familia inmediata. Después de este período, el albacea del patrimonio de la persona fallecida puede reclamar daños y perjuicios en un caso de muerte por negligencia. En general, Demandas por muerte por negligencia en Texas tienen que ser presentados dentro de dos años.
Discovery Rule for Wrongful Death Claims in Texas Courts
In Texas courts, the discovery rule can extend the time to file a wrongful death claim if the family members did not know and could not have reasonably known that the deceased person’s death was caused by a wrongful act. Normally, the Texas wrongful death statute allows two years to file, but this rule delays that deadline until the harm is discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence. This rule may apply in wrongful death cases involving medical negligence, concealed evidence, or delayed findings of gross negligence.
Texas Wrongful Death Damages: Financial Compensation For the Victim’s Family Members
Ningún abogado puede decirle cuál puede ser la recuperación de una demanda por muerte por negligencia sin una investigación exhaustiva del reclamo. Dependiendo de las circunstancias exactas que rodean tanto la muerte como la vida de la persona fallecida, los acuerdos por muerte por negligencia pueden incluir daños económicos y no económicos.
Los daños económicos, o daños materiales, son costos fácilmente definibles. Están destinados a restaurar a alguien al estilo de vida que tenía antes de la lesión. Algunos ejemplos de daños económicos incluyen:
- Gastos médicos
- Gastos de funeral
- Salarios perdidos
- Capacidad de ganancia perdida
Non-economic damages in Texas son más difíciles de cuantificar. Estos daños incluyen:
- Dolor y sufrimiento
- compañerismo perdido
- Estrés emocional
- Pérdida de consorcio
Exemplary Damages in Texas Wrongful Death Claims
In Texas wrongful death lawsuits, a jury may award punitive damages, or exemplary damages, when a death results from a willful act or gross negligence. These damages are not meant to compensate family members but to punish the defendant. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.009, only the surviving spouse, children, or parents may recover these damages in a wrongful death case.
When Can Family Members Seek Punitive Damages Under Texas Law
Under Texas law, families can ask for punitive damages in a wrongful death case when the person who caused the death did something really bad. These are not just careless, but dangerous on purpose, or clearly didn’t care if someone got hurt.
Examples of Gross Negligence in Texas Wrongful Death Claims
- If a truck driver was falling asleep but kept driving and crashed and killed another person, and the company knew the driver was too tired to be safe, that’s gross negligence.
- If a nurse purposely gave someone the wrong medication out of anger and the person died, that’s a willful act.
- If a business ignored repeated safety warnings about a gas leak and an explosion killed a worker, that shows they knew the risk and did nothing.
Punitive damages aren’t about paying the family back. They’re about punishing the bad behavior and sending a message: don’t ever do this again. Only the person’s surviving spouse, children, or parents can ask for this under Texas law.
Texas Wrongful Death Damages Cap
Texas damage caps apply only in wrongful death cases caused by medical malpractice. Non-economic damages are capped under Texas law to $250,000 per healthcare provider, with a maximum of $500,000 total for all providers combined. These Texas wrongful death limits do not affect the actual damages arising financially, like outstanding medical bills, funeral expenses, or lost wages. In all other wrongful death claims, such as fatal car crashes or workplace accidents, there are no damage caps under Texas law.
Legal Representation for Bexar County Wrongful Death Cases: Call for a Free Consultation
At Janicek Law, we fight for families to receive fair compensation from the at-fault party. Our law firm has been fighting for injured victims and their families for over two decades; let us fight for you. For legal representation that you can trust, choose a wrongful death attorney from Janicek Law. Call us today for a free evaluation at 210-366-4949 y comience su relación abogado-cliente.
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