What is the first step in filing a Texas wrongful death case?
The Texas wrongful death lawyers at the Rasansky | McKenzie Law are here to help you understand and protect your rights after losing a family member due to someone’s reckless or careless actions. We know that the process of filing a wrongful death suit is unfamiliar to most victims and are here to walk you through each phase and help you avoid common mistakes that can cost you money.
Contact our Dallas-area personal injury team today to schedule a free review of your potential claim.
Texas Wrongful Death Suits
A wrongful death suit is a claim against the person or entity deemed responsible for a death. At its core, it is a personal injury claim that had to be filed by a third party because the victim died.
Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code states that an action for wrongful death can be filed if “the wrongful act, neglect, unskillfulness, carelessness, or default” of one party causes the death of another party.” The wrongful death statute in Texas permits specific surviving family members of the deceased to pursue wrongful death actions.
Those who are eligible include:
- The surviving wife or husband of the deceased
- The deceased’s children
- The deceased’s parents
Either a single eligible person can file the claim on their own, or multiple eligible people can choose to file it collectively.
Some of the most common forms of wrongful death cases in Texas arise from:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
When talking about wrongful deaths, the most obvious place to begin is with motor vehicle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data showing that almost 39,000 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2020.
The grim reality of this statistic is that the majority of these incidents were caused by driver negligence, meaning they and the deaths they caused were preventable, most likely through one of the following:
- Fatigued driving
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Reckless or illegal driving practices
- Driving while under the influence
If any one or a combination of these negligent driving behaviors played a role in a fatal car accident, the driver could be held accountable for any deaths that followed.
If a fatal accident was caused by poor roadway conditions, such as unmaintained streets or inadequate signage, the city or state could be held liable for any accrued damages.
Medical Malpractice
While we like to tell ourselves that medical professionals are and therefore are above making mistakes, the fact is that they are human beings, and human beings make mistakes. Unfortunately, when a mistake is made in the medical field, it can end up cutting someone’s life short.
A study that was recently published by the American Medical Association lists medical negligence as the third most common cause of death in the United States, trumped only by heart disease and cancer. The most common form of medical malpractice is misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose.
Defective Products
We have all heard about defective products that have caused injuries to those who try to use them, but what if a defective product causes someone to lose their life?
Companies are obligated to make sure that the products they develop and manufacture are safe for the general public before they are sold on the open market. This is accomplished through numerous kinds of safety tests and stress tests. If a company releases a product that is not safe and consumer-ready, and someone is injured or killed as a result, the company can be held responsible.
Workplace Accidents
For anyone who has ever held a job outside of the home, it should come as no great surprise that people being injured at their place of work is practically a daily occurrence.
Although high-risk jobs, such as logging workers, construction workers, and steel workers, certainly have a greater percentage of work-related deaths, it is possible for a fatal accident to take place in any occupation.
While not nearly as perilous as a construction site or an offshore oil rig, wrongful deaths can occur in:
- An office
- A retail store
- A restaurant
- A classroom
If your work contributed to a dangerous situation that led to a fatality, the company could be held liable for wrongful death. For instance, if an employee at a grocery store was made to operate a piece of machinery with no experience, supervision, or safety training and ends up being fatally injured, their employer can be held liable.
Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse
Nursing homes house some of our country’s most vulnerable citizens. Most nursing home residents are unable to go about their day-to-day lives without assistance. They live there because they need guidance and care, many of them for even the smallest of tasks.
When a nursing home resident with poor physical or mental health is neglected or abused, the results are often deadly.
Some of the most common forms of nursing home neglect and abuse are:
- Dehydration
- Malnourishment
- Physical abuse
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to monitor
- Slip and fall accidents caused by negligence
Consult a Respected Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer
If you lost a member of your family through the dereliction or negligence of another person, you do not have to face a Texas wrongful death suit alone. Contact a Texas personal injury lawyer from the Rasansky | McKenzie Law today for a free case review at (214) 651-6100 or through our online form. Our Dallas-area legal team understands how devastating this experience is for you and your family. Let us put our experience to work for you.