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What Is a Wrongful Death Case?
The death of a loved one is a difficult experience. That grief can be further compounded if the loved one passed away in an accident that was the fault of another person. In these cases, it is possible to file a wrongful death claim to pursue monetary damages for the loss of the deceased person.
It may sound overwhelming to go through a lawsuit process while dealing with grief and sadness, but you don’t have to do so alone. At Zinda Law Group, our experienced wrongful death lawyers will pursue compensation for you to give you the best chance of recovery. If you are looking for a Laredo, TX wrongful death lawyer, contact Zinda Law Group today for a free case consultation at our Laredo office.
John (Jack) Zinda
Founder / CEO
Over 100 years of combined experience representing injured victims across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationCommon Causes and Examples
Any death from an accident that was the fault of someone else could result in a wrongful death claim. These are some of the most common scenarios that lead to wrongful death claims:
Medical Malpractice
When a doctor or other medical professional doesn’t take proper care in doing his or her job, and a patient dies, this could be a cause for wrongful death. Common scenarios of medical malpractice might include a doctor failing to diagnose a patient, not warning a patient of all known risks from a treatment or medication, or treating a patient improperly.
Automobile Accident
Auto accidents are extremely common, and can involve trucks, cars, motorcycles, bikes, or pedestrians. Unfortunately, sometimes these accidents become deadly, and in that case a wrongful death suit could be appropriate. Different circumstances of the accident could involve different parties in a lawsuit—for example, a truck driver might be employed by a large company who will be party to any wrongful death lawsuit, whereas a trucker who is an independent contractor or a private citizen driving a car would not involve a large company in the lawsuit and will have different insurance.
Product Liability
Product liability cases involve the injury or death of someone because of a faulty product. In the case of wrongful death claims, the product malfunctioned in such a way that it caused the death of the deceased person. There are generally three types of product liability claims: design defect, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn.
A design defect means that the way the product was designed was unsafe and could have been reasonably safer. A manufacturing defect occurs when the product’s design was not inherently unsafe, but some mistake in the manufacturing process led to the product used by the deceased person being unsafe. Failure to warn occurs when the manufacturer does not adequately caution users of a product of the possible dangers of using it.
Slip and Fall Cases
The theory of premises liability means that the owners of a property have to take care to make sure the property is safe for those who occupy it. If a property owner does not maintain his property and make sure there are no dangers, he or she could be liable for the accidents someone comes to while on the property. The most common premises liability case is the slip and fall, which usually occurs at an establishment such as a retail store that carelessly allowed a hazard such as a wet floor to cause a customer to fall.
Animal Attack
People are obliged to make sure their pets do not harm anyone else. However, sometimes an aggressive dog may attack someone, and some pets are more exotic and dangerous than the usual dogs and cats. When a pet owner does not take care to prevent their pets from harming anyone, they could be liable for a wrongful death claim if their pet causes someone to die.
In 1974, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas follows the “one bite rule” in terms of dogs and other pets. This means that after the first time a dog bites a person, the owner should be put on notice that their dog is dangerous and is more liable to be held responsible if the dog later bites someone again. This does not mean that the first time a dog bites someone the owner has no liability, though; the injured party could still show that the individual acted carelessly so as to fail to control the dog and prevent the bite.
CASE RESULTS
Neil Solomon
Partner
Real results matter. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationWhat to Do After a Wrongful Death Accident?
The statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas begins to toll at the time of the deceased person’s death. In some situations, this happens at a time close to the accident that caused the death, such as an automobile crash that causes an individual to pass away instantly; other times, an individual may be injured or ill for a long period after the act that caused the death before passing away. In both cases, it is at the time of the individual’s death that the statute of limitations begins.
When a loved one passes away, families can often be overwhelmed with work such as sorting out the deceased’s persons estate, funeral arrangements, and with their own grief. However, it is important to see a lawyer for a wrongful death claim as soon as possible in order to prevent the statute of limitations from running out and the case being dismissed.
The deceased person’s estate will need to have an individual appointed to represent the estate. This will likely involve an executor being appointed to carry out the will and estate plans of the deceased individual and may require a probate lawyer. Zinda Law Group does not handle probates or settle the deceased’s estate, but we can recommend another lawyer which can assist in this process.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
Standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ready to answer in your time of need.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationHow Does a Wrongful Death Case Work?
The Elements of a Wrongful Death Case Are as Follows:
(1) A person has died. If a person has not died due to an injury, but is still hurt, a personal injury claim can be brought. The Texas Supreme Court recently confirmed that only human deaths can be considered wrongful deaths; the death of a pet is considered loss of property, not loss of life, as pets are considered property under the law.
(2) The death was caused by the negligence of someone else. Negligence refers to the idea that someone did not take proper care with their actions and that this neglect of carefulness caused an accident.
Generally, everyone is meant to act with “reasonable care” at all times—that is, the caution a reasonable person would act with to prevent their actions from harming others. Some relationships require an even higher standard of care than that, such as the duty doctors have to their patients. One common practice the court recognizes as not acting with due care is violating the law; this is always unreasonable. For example, if someone violated the law by texting and driving and caused an accident in which someone else died, this would be negligent because they acted without reasonable carefulness by texting and driving.
(3) There are surviving family members who will be monetarily harmed through the death of the deceased person.
(4) The deceased’s estate has an appointed representative.
Cole Gumm
Attorney
We are here to ensure you won’t have to face this difficult time alone.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationWho Can Be Sued?
Both private citizens and corporations can be sued in a wrongful death claim, depending on the circumstances of the accident that led to death. Of course, a corporation is not a person who commits actions—actions are committed by individuals working for corporations. However, the doctrine of vicarious liability causes employers to sometimes be liable for the harm their employees have committed.
When an employee of a company acts negligently while acting within the scope of his employment (doing something that falls within his duties as an employee), the employer may be liable for their actions. Courts have historically taken a rather broad view of what the “scope of employment” is for an employee.
Some people are working for a company, but as independent contractors, the wrongful death claim would be brought against that individual in their personal capacity. An example of this may be truck drivers who do not work as employees but who own their own truck and work on a freelance basis.
Insurance companies are also common opposing parties in wrongful death lawsuits; this can be true both of individual defendants and of large companies. Most companies and people carry some type of insurance in the event they have a lawsuit filed against them, and the insurance company may be involved in the claim.
What Damages Can Be Recovered?
There are multiple types of damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death case. Economic, non-economic, and punitive damages are the primary damages sought.
Economic damages are damages that are tangible and calculable; they are harms that have a precise economic value. In wrongful death cases, common economic damages include loss of wages of the deceased, medical treatments, funeral expenses, or retirement benefits.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to calculate, because they do not have a precise economic value. They are an attempt by the plaintiff and the court to put a value on things that are not monetary, such as pain and suffering or loss of companionship.
It is possible to recover non-economic damages for the emotional suffering of the deceased individual before their death, as well as recovery for the emotional suffering of the deceased individual’s loved ones after their loved one dies. These are two separate claims, however, and the circumstances will determine which ones can be brought—a claim for the suffering of the deceased individual can only be brought if that deceased person actually did suffer—that is, was conscious—before their death; if the deceased person died instantly, there can be no emotional suffering claim on their behalf, but it could still be possible to pursue a claim on behalf of the family of the deceased.
Punitive damages are less commonly awarded than economic and non-economic damages. These damages are not to compensate an injured party, as the previous two types of damages are, but instead serve as a punishment for the party that caused the accident. Punitive damages only occur in especially egregious cases, when the conduct of the defendant is extreme and the economic/non-economic damages awarded will not serve as a significant deterrent to acting with more care in the future; this typically occurs with very large corporations, when even a large award of damages could be relatively minor compared to their significant resources.
What Is the Statute of Limitations?
A statute of limitations is how long an individual has to file a claim and have it litigated after something that could give rise to a complaint occurs. In this case, the statute of limitations begins when the deceased individual dies and lasts for two years. This does not mean that the entire litigation process has to be finished in two years, only that the complaint must be filed within two years from the day of the deceased person’s death.
In some situations, the statute of limitations extends beyond the two years generally allowed by Texas law. For example, minor children do not have only two years to file a wrongful death claim; the minor child can wait until he is eighteen years old, and then file a wrongful death claim if he has lost a parent. However, in the case of a minor child, a surviving parent or guardian can also file a claim on behalf of a minor child, so he does not have to wait until he is eighteen.
An adult can also be incompetent to bring a wrongful death claim, either mentally or physically, and in this case the statute of limitations will begin to run when the adult becomes competent to pursue a claim again. In the case of wrongful death, this can be common when the individual who would pursue the wrongful death claim is injured in the same accident as the deceased person and needs time to recover before they are able to pursue legal action.
If the negligence that led to your loved one’s death was not obvious, that could give more time to the statute of limitations as well. If it was not reasonably apparent, or if it was purposefully hidden, that your loved one’s death was caused by the negligence of someone else, the statute of limitations will begin to run on the day you learn that the death was due to negligence.
Even though some situations allow wrongful death claims to pass two years from the date of the deceased’s death, that doesn’t mean you should wait to file a claim. You should try to contact a lawyer as soon as possible, not just because of the statute of limitations, but because your lawyer will be able to gather more evidence and make a stronger case for you to receive compensation if you engage legal representation soon after an accident. AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA BY THE NATIONAL TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (2016-2020) AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA (2009, 2011-2012, 2014-2021), & NEIL SOLOMON (2020-2021) AWARDED TO JACK ZINDA (2016-2020) LIFETIME MEMBERS JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA
Our Awards
Why Hire Zinda Law Group?
Losing a loved one is terrible no matter what the circumstance is, but when the circumstance is an accident which could have been prevented if someone had acted more carefully, that can be another painful blow. You and your family should not have to struggle through this harm without receiving just compensation. A personal injury lawyer can help you receive what you deserve after losing a loved one in an accident.
At Zinda Law Group, our experienced, hardworking wrongful death lawyers have recovered compensation for numerous clients who have lost loved ones. With Zinda Law Group, you won’t have to navigate the process of filing for a wrongful death suit alone, or with a lawyer who isn’t personally invested in the outcome of your case, or who will be paid hourly by you even if you receive nothing from the courts. Zinda Law Group has a “No-Win, No-Fee Guarantee”, which promises you will only pay if you receive a favorable outcome in your case—otherwise, you pay nothing.
At Zinda Law Group, we believe all you should have to worry about after losing a loved one is emotional recovery. We will handle of the technical legal work and negotiations for you. If you have lost a loved one in an accident caused by someone else, contact Zinda Law Group today for a free case consultation.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
We have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of cases across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
