Losing a loved one unexpectedly in a car crash or other accident is heartbreaking. Typically, you won’t have a chance to say goodbye or tie up loose ends with your loved one. Instead, they simply don’t come home one day. You’re left to deal with planning a funeral and figuring out how to move on with your life after such as sudden loss.
Grief is a strong emotion, and it’s common for people in the throes of grief to overlook practical concerns, like reduced income or the expenses associated with emergency medical care and a funeral. When someone else caused the death of your loved one, whether through negligence in caring for a property or by driving while drunk or texting at the wheel, you may be able to pursue compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit.
A wrongful death lawsuit in Texas lets you recoup financial losses
While there is no way to put a financial value on the love, companionship and support of your deceased loved one, an unexpected death often comes with a steep price tag nonetheless. Property damage from a car crash, emergency medical care and funeral costs are only the tip of the financial iceberg. You will also have to consider a lifetime’s worth of lost wages and companionship, as well as household support and duties.
A wrongful death lawsuit can help your family seek compensation for actual damages related to your loss. Those losses could include wages, property damages, medical and funeral expenses, and other provable financial consequences.
In situations where the person responsible committed a willful act endangering your loved one or an act of gross negligence, the courts may also award exemplary damages, which is another phrase for punitive damages. In other words, this amount of the award is intended as a punishment for the other party.
Wrongful death lawsuits can offer your family some form of justice
Is there anything more cruel than losing someone you love and depended on to the poor decisions of another person? Many times these losses do not result in criminal charges, leaving your family feeling like justice was not served in your case. Thankfully, wrongful death lawsuits can help remedy that unfair situation.
Even if there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the person responsible in criminal court, you may have enough evidence to prove fault in a wrongful death lawsuit. If your wrongful death lawsuit is successful, the Texas courts will award you damages and officially name the other person as the responsible party in the death.
While that can’t undo what has happened to your family, it can help you to feel like you’ve successfully sought justice for your loved one and held the other person accountable.
