Losing someone you love because of another person’s actions is one of the hardest experiences a family can face. Your wrongful death lawyer in Hurst with The Texas Law Dog can guide you through the legal process while treating you with the care and respect you deserve.
Your Hurst personal injury lawyer is available 24/7, so you can reach out whenever you are ready to talk about what happened and learn about your options moving forward.
Circumstances That Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim in Hurst
Wrongful death cases can arise from many different preventable situations. The details of what happened to your loved one will determine where we focus, what evidence we gather, and who can be held responsible.
A wrongful death attorney in Hurst at The Texas Law Dog can explain how the law applies to your situation and guide you through each stage of the process.
Fatal Motor Vehicle Collisions
If your loved one was killed in a car, truck, or motorcycle crash, it may have been caused by a driver making dangerous choices. Speeding, texting while driving, or getting behind the wheel while impaired are all examples of reckless behavior that can lead to a fatal collision.
In these cases, we can use police reports, witness statements, and photographs from the crash scene to piece together exactly what happened. This type of evidence can help show that another driver’s actions caused the loss your family has suffered.
Workplace and Construction Site Accidents
Certain jobs carry a higher risk of serious injury or death, especially when safety rules are ignored. Falls from heights, contact with heavy machinery, and exposure to hazardous materials can all result in fatal accidents.
Responsibility is not always limited to the employer. Contractors, equipment manufacturers, or property owners may also be accountable if their negligence contributed to the conditions that caused the death.
Dangerous or Defective Products
Products should be safe to use, but design flaws, manufacturing mistakes, or inadequate warnings can make them dangerous. Defective auto parts, unsafe machinery, and faulty household products have all been linked to fatal injuries.
If a dangerous product caused your loved one’s death, we can investigate the circumstances to find out whether the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer played a role. Expert analysis can reveal how the defect occurred and connect it to the harm that was done.
Who May Be Eligible to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004, only certain people have the legal right to file a wrongful death claim. Whether you can bring a case depends on your relationship to your loved one and the facts surrounding their death. Your catastrophic injury lawyer in Hurst can walk you through the statute and help you understand precisely where you fit. You may be able to file if you are:
- The surviving spouse
- A biological child
- An adopted child
- A parent of the deceased
- An adoptive parent
- An adult or minor child
- The executor of the estate
- A family member filing jointly with others who are eligible
- A representative filing because no family member has filed
- Someone receiving proceeds distributed by court order
If you are unsure whether you qualify, our firm can review your situation, explain your options, and ensure you meet all claim deadlines.
Hurst Wrongful Death Lawyer Near Me (817) 775-5364
Key Elements to Prove in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
To succeed with a wrongful death case, you must prove several specific points using strong evidence. These cases can arise from many situations, including fatal crashes where another driver’s actions caused the loss of a loved one. In situations like that, your car accident lawyer in Hurst will focus on the facts that matter most and gather what is needed to prove each element.
Duty of Care Owed to the Deceased
The first step is showing that the person or company you are taking action against had a legal duty to act with care toward your loved one. This duty can exist in many situations, such as driving a vehicle, following workplace safety rules, or providing medical care.
How this applies will depend on your case. For example, drivers must follow traffic laws to protect others, and doctors must meet accepted medical standards when treating patients.
Breach of Duty and Negligence
Next, you must show that this duty was broken. A breach can happen when someone acts carelessly or fails to act as a reasonable person would.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, fault can be divided among different parties. You must prove that the other party’s share of fault is large enough to make them legally responsible for the death.
Causation and Damages
You will also need to prove that the breach of duty directly caused your loved one’s death. This means showing that the harm would not have happened without the other party’s actions or failure to act.
Damages can include financial losses, such as lost income and funeral expenses, along with personal losses, such as the absence of companionship and guidance. Proving these damages involves showing records, statements, and other details that help explain how this loss has affected you and your family.
Defenses Commonly Raised in Wrongful Death Cases
When you bring a wrongful death claim, the other side will often look for ways to limit or avoid responsibility. These defenses can vary based on the details of your case and the approach taken by their legal team. Here are some of the more common strategies you might see:
- Comparative fault claims saying your loved one was partly responsible for what happened.
- Assumption of risk arguments suggesting your loved one knew the activity was dangerous and accepted the risk.
- Challenges to causation claiming the death was caused by something other than the defendant’s actions.
- Disputes over damages trying to reduce the amount of compensation awarded.
- Procedural defenses, such as arguing the lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations expired.
- Lack of legal duty, saying the defendant did not have a responsibility to act with care toward your loved one.
Knowing about these tactics ahead of time gives you the chance to work with our firm to address each one directly. The better prepared your case is, the harder it will be for the defense to use these arguments to weaken it.
Connect With Your Hurst Wrongful Death Attorney for Compassionate Support
Your Hurst wrongful death lawyer from The Texas Law Dog knows this is one of the hardest things you will ever face. We will listen to what happened, answer your questions, and take on the legal work so you can focus on your family.
Contact us today, and we can talk about what happened, the steps we can take together, and how to start holding the responsible party accountable.
