Settlements, Awards and Wrongful Death from Car Wrecks

As an American, you have a disturbingly high statistical chance of dying in a car accident. Americans tend to spend a lot of time in their vehicles and, unfortunately, driving is one of the most dangerous activities that people engage in. Whether it's a 18-wheeler driver who didn't have enough sleep, a drunk who got behind the wheel without considering how they were endangering other people or somebody who just wasn't paying attention when they should have been, you never know when, where or how someone might end up getting killed on the road. It happens to thousands of people every year and, in many cases, they leave a family behind.

How the Claims Start

To understand the negligence that leads people to file lawsuits, you first have to differentiate between the words accident and crash. An accident, by definition, is something that nobody saw coming and that nobody could've avoided. Negligent people oftentimes cause vehicle crashes that could have been avoided, if they'd only done something differently. When people sue, what they're alleging is that the other driver didn't take the most basic and reasonable actions or that they took unreasonable actions and, therefore, somebody died.
The family of the person who died in the accident will generally consult with a motor vehicle accident lawyerabout whether or not negligence likely played a role in the wreck that took their loved one's life. If the lawyer believes it did, it may encourage the family to press forward with a lawsuit. The amount that the family seeks will be determined, among other things, by the lost wages and income the death cost the family, the pain and suffering the family has been put through, the property damage the family has suffered, medical expenses the family has suffered and more.
An auto accident lawyer in Dallas may be able to help you prepare a wrongful death lawsuit against a party that took the life of someone you love. There are limitations on how long you have to file a lawsuit against such an individual. If you're not ready to speak about it yet, you can always contact a personal injury attorney, see how long you have to think about it and at least give the attorney an idea of the situation. They may be able to tell you right away whether or not it's worth investigating a lawsuit.