With our car accident lawyers, Dallas families have the opportunity to file a wrongful death claim. This form of personal injury claim helps them recover from the severe financial strain that loss causes. While we understand no amount of money fills the void of a lost loved one, we work to maximize your settlement to ease your family's financial burden. Our personal injury attorneys hand wrongful death claims that stem from auto accidents.
When you call on our Dallas car accident lawyers to handle your claim, we become advocates for you and your family. Our goal is to bear the weight of your claim so that you can find some peace. Whether you need to heal physically or grieve, we strive to make the claims process as smooth as possible and ease your burden. With a car wreck lawyer, Dallas families have someone to explain the process. Here, we cover some of the basic requirements. If you want to learn more about your legal options, schedule a free case evaluation.
The first requirement of a wrongful death claim is the same as any personal injury claim. Someone else's negligence caused the accident and the death. Then, a qualifying individual has the opportunity to file a wrongful death claim in Texas. These relatives all have the option to file a claim individually. Alternatively, they have the option to file a collective claim. When none of the above family members file the wrongful death claim within three months of the person's date of death, the executor of their estate or personal representative gains the power to file a claim. However, they lose this power when a surviving family member requests that they do not file the claim.
When a driver faces criminal charges for someone's death, it's important to understand that this does not result in damages. As experienced Dallas car accident lawyers, we recommend that families take the initiative and file a claim in civil court. This is a completely separate process and matter. Generally speaking, a criminal conviction imposes fines, jail time, and other punitive measures. While this offers a sense of justice, it does not help to protect your family's future. However, a successful car accident claim results in compensation for surviving family.
As car wreck lawyers, we work to maximize your settlement to ensure your wrongful death claim helps to establish a foundation for your family to move forward. Criminal and civil cases can happen at the same time or one after the other. Moreover, you still have the potential to prevail in your wrongful death claim even when the negligent driver receives no criminal conviction.
In any personal injury case, it is difficult to calculate appropriate damages. However, our Dallas car accident lawyers understand how to uncover every potential damage and leverage evidence to maximize your claim. For a wrongful death case, damages compensate your family and estate for the financial and emotional loss that stems from an untimely death. In Texas, these are the damages available in a wrongful death case.
When you work with our Dallas car accident lawyers, we help you explore every avenue for damages and compensation. In some wrongful death claims, the surviving family has the option to seek exemplary damages. At times, we also refer to these as punitive damages. If your car accident claim involves a wrongful death that results from a willful act or omission or due to gross negligence, you have the potential to recover exemplary damages.