Damages in Houston Wrongful Death Cases

Money is never an adequate substitute for lost companionship when a beloved family member suffers a fatal accident. Nonetheless, an unexpected death often adds financial stress to the trauma experienced by the victim’s family.

At Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys, we help ease the financial stress of families by fighting to recover damages in Houston wrongful death cases. Whether the fatality happened in a car accident, a slip-and-fall mishap, or some other incident involving negligence, our wrongful death attorneys are ready to pursue the compensation you need to reduce your unexpected financial burdens.

What Damages Can Be Claimed in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?

Under state law, a fatal accident victim’s surviving spouse, parents, or children can file a wrongful death lawsuit to claim both economic and non-economic damages, including:

• Burial expenses
• End-of-life medical bills
• Salary and wages that the deceased victim could have earned
• The monetary value of the other support that the victim would have added to their family
• The family’s psychological suffering
• Loss of the victim’s guidance and friendship

In extreme cases involving gross negligence or willful misconduct by the party that caused the death, the surviving family may have a valid claim for punitive or exemplary damages. State law imposes a cap on these damages, which are meant to punish the wrongdoer for egregious conduct. An experienced Houston personal injury lawyer can explain more about available damages in a wrongful death claim.

How Are Wrongful Death Damages Determined?

If your wrongful death lawsuit does not settle but instead goes to trial, the judge will instruct the jury to determine the amount of damages as a function of:

• The accident victim’s age and occupation
• How close a relationship the victim had with his or her family
• Details about the fatal accident
• The negligent party’s degree of carelessness in causing that accident

A skillful Houston attorney will aggressively use the specific facts of each case to influence a jury’s decision on wrongful death damages. When you are looking for a wrongful death lawyer to handle your case, make sure you ask about their trial experience and their success in convincing juries to award significant compensation to aggrieved families.

Is Other Compensation Available?

An accident victim’s family can file a wrongful death lawsuit, and the victim’s estate can simultaneously pursue a survival action for losses that are not recoverable with a wrongful death claim. The executor or administrator of the victim’s estate can file a survival action to recover damages that the victim could have claimed if they had not passed away. Those damages may include non-economic damages for the victim’s pain and suffering and medical expenses that are not recoverable through a wrongful death lawsuit.

It can take several weeks or months for a probate court to approve and appoint an executor for an accident victim’s estate. Survival actions must be filed within two years after the event that caused the fatality. A Houston accident victim’s family should promptly contact a wrongful death and survival action lawyer after a fatal accident to avoid missing important case filing deadlines and the chance to recover damages.

Contact a Houston Attorney To Discuss Damages in a Wrongful Death Claim

Call Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys for answers to your questions about recovering damages in Houston wrongful death cases. We have more than 30 years of combined experience and have recovered millions of dollars in damages for families of wrongful death accident victims. Schedule a consultation and let us help you pursue justice.