Alvin Wrongful Death Lawyer | DeKeyzer Law

Alvin Wrongful Death Lawyer With the Compassion and Expertise to Maximize Your Financial Recovery and Help Give Your Family Closure

When a loved one suffers an untimely death that could have been prevented, family members may be entitled to receive compensation through a wrongful death claim, a survival action, or possibly both. No amount of money can erase the suffering or bring back the loved one you’ve lost, but legal action can deliver a sense of justice and provide resources to cover not only medical expenses and funeral expenses but also to compensate you for emotional distress and help meet future needs for your family.

Wrongful death claims are complex and require a skilled trial lawyer with a passionate, empathic heart.  When a family member is wrongfully killed, the family deserves answers as to how the death occurred. The family also deserves complete financial compensation that includes loss of the decedent’s earning capacity, emotional damages to the family, the decedent’s pain and suffering, medical bills, and the loss of the decedent’s companionship to the family.

Both wrongful death lawsuits and survival actions are high-stakes litigation because of the emotional toll on the family and the multi-million dollars that are in dispute. Holland and Meagan DeKeyzer have successfully handled many death cases resulting from motor vehicle collisions, construction site deaths, railroad crashes, pool drownings, and medical malpractice. An experienced Alvin wrongful death attorney at DeKeyzer Law can help you and your family navigate this complex and emotional situation to receive justice and maximum compensation.      

What Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?

Texas law offers the survivors of those wrongfully killed two ways to obtain justice, and a wrongful death claim is by far the most common. The surviving family members often need to take legal action to help them gain financial security because the loved one wrongfully killed is usually the breadwinner of the family. A wrongful death lawsuit also offers a sense of closure for the aggrieved family members because they know that those responsible for their loved one’s death will be held accountable by a court of law.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a claim filed by the family of the deceased person that enables them to obtain compensation for the losses they have suffered because their loved one has been wrongfully taken out of their lives. It is designed to provide compensation for intangible factors such as emotional distress and loss of guidance as well as financial factors, including the loss of income support the deceased person would have provided to the family. An Alvin wrongful death lawyer focuses on the anticipated losses of the family when preparing a wrongful death claim and works to obtain maximum compensation for each and every loss.

How Do I Know if I Have a Wrongful Death Case?

Family members have the right to bring a wrongful death case in Texas when a loved one is killed due to the negligence, recklessness, or deliberate wrongdoing of another person or company. In most cases, negligence is what gives rise to a wrongful death claim. In a negligence situation, the harm is caused accidentally, but the reason it occurred is that someone failed to act responsibly. They either did something they weren’t supposed to do—like texting while driving—or they didn’t do something they should have done, such as training employees properly before allowing them to operate dangerous machinery.

Negligence can cause fatal accidents in numerous different ways, so a wrongful death claim could be the result of many situations, including:

Legal negligence is a complex concept that often hinges on tiny details of evidence and nuanced legal arguments. To succeed with a claim based on negligence, an Alvin wrongful death lawyer needs to be well-versed in the law and skilled in litigation strategy. At DeKeyzer Law, Holland and Meagan DeKeyzer honed their trial skills in high-stakes cases, and they know how to succeed with wrongful death claims and other personal injury cases based on negligence. At the same time, they know that a family going through a wrongful death case is suffering in numerous ways, and they respect the emotions and needs of the family at all times.

How Much Will It Cost to Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?

There are few things more painful than losing a loved one. When a family member dies due to another party’s negligence or wrongdoing, processing your emotions can be even more difficult. If you have lost a loved one due to the carelessness of another person, company, or government entity, even though you know an experienced Alvin wrongful death lawyer may be able to help, you may be worried about the cost. But you don’t need to be concerned.

To begin with, aAn Alvin wrongful death attorney at DeKeyzer Law is available for free consultations about your legal options and remedies. So there is no risk in calling to learn about your legal options.

Second, all wrongful death cases we accept are handled on a contingency basis. A contingency basis means that DeKeyzer Law only gets paid if the client receives fair compensation, and DeKeyzer Law will finance the lawsuit. In other words, you will pay nothing up front, and if you enter into an agreement for legal representation with DeKeyzer Law, you will not have to pay unless we win. At the end, we take our fee from the compensation you receive.

How Do I Prove a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?

Wrongful death claims typically revolve around negligence. Negligence means that the defendant acted in such a way that a reasonable person would not, and that the actions directly caused injuries to others. The four elements that the deceased person’s family must prove are:

  • A legal duty was owed. For instance, all drivers have a legal duty to operate their vehicles in a way that a reasonable person would.
  • The legal duty was breached. For example, driving while intoxicated.
  • The breach caused an accident.
  • The accident caused the damages associated with the wrongful death, such as hospital bills, surgeries, loss of work, and even loss of inheritance.

Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in Texas?

In Texas state courts, the family members that have the right to file a wrongful death claim are the spouse, children, and parents of a deceased person. If they do not file a wrongful death lawsuit within three months, then the administrator of the deceased person’s estate can work with an Alvin wrongful death lawyer to file a claim for the benefit of these family members.

A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against any person or company responsible for the death of a loved one. In some cases, a wrongful death lawsuit can be brought against the government. Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed after any kind of accident, including those involving medical malpractice or defective products.

What Damages Are Available in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

The term “damages” refers to an amount of money awarded by a judge or jury (or received through a settlement) to compensate the family members of the person who was wrongfully killed. Damages in a Texas wrongful death lawsuit include many different types of losses, including both economic and non-economic factors. An economic loss is one that has a monetary value you can calculate, like funeral expenses, while a non-economic loss covers intangible factors such as emotional distress. Even though they don’t have a direct financial equivalent, an experienced Alvin wrongful death lawyer can calculate a value for each of these factors, and that value is often very high.

Family members may be entitled to receive compensation for:

  • The loss of their deceased family member’s income and financial support
  • The loss of the deceased family member’s service around the household
  • Funeral expenses
  • Medical expenses for the deceased family member
  • The loss of the deceased family member’s companionship
  • The loss of an expected inheritance
  • The loss of the teaching and guidance the deceased family member would have provided
  • Their mental anguish and suffering

Alvin wrongful death lawyer Holland DeKeyzer is experienced in handling the complexities of Texas wrongful death lawsuits and knows how to fight effectively to gain maximum compensation for each type of loss, whether through settlement negotiations or in court.

What Is a Survivorship Claim?

In addition to or instead of a wrongful death action, it may also be possible to file a survivor action. Under Texas law, a survivorship claim is a legal cause of action filed by the estate of the deceased person. Unlike a wrongful death claim, which focuses on the losses of the family members, a survival action focuses on the losses suffered by the deceased person.

Through a survival action, the deceased person’s estate can recover the costs of medical expenses, burial and funeral expenses, and pain and anguish the deceased person suffered before they died. A survivorship claim is different from a wrongful death lawsuit primarily because it provides compensation for pain and emotional distress the deceased person suffered before death, as opposed to the emotional distress suffered by the family.

An Alvin wrongful death lawyer files a survival action on behalf of the estate with the assistance of the executor or estate administrator. Although compensation recovered through a survival action goes to the estate rather than the family, in most cases the family members are the beneficiaries of the estate, so they receive the compensation indirectly.

Holland and Meagan DeKeyzer can explain whether a survivorship claim is right for your family and when it makes sense to file this type of claim, they know how to ensure all factors are accounted for to obtain maximum compensation.

Time Limitations for Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Texas law requires that the surviving family members file a wrongful death lawsuit within a certain period of time, and this time limit is known as the statute of limitations. Typically, family members must file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the date on which their loved one died. The same time limit applies to survival actions.

In some cases, this time requirement limit is measured from the date on which your loved one’s fatal injury occurred. In other rare situations, the time limit is extended when a minor is one of the surviving family members. If you fail to file your case before the limitation period expires, you permanently lose the right to seek compensation, so it is important to contact an experienced Alvin wrongful death attorney as quickly as possible to preserve your rights to seek justice. Insurance companies have been known to delay acting on cases for so long that the statute of limitations expires before there is time to file a lawsuit. At DeKeyzer Law, we are well aware of these and other unfair strategies used by insurance companies and corporate legal teams, and we know how to fight effectively for justice and maximum compensation.

Let an Experienced Alvin Wrongful Death Attorney Help If You’ve Suffered the Loss of a Loved One

A skilled and experienced Alvin wrongful death lawyer at DeKeyzer Law will help you with all aspects of a wrongful death claim or survival action. Our goal is to obtain the best possible outcome for you, and we’ll fight until we can get that, whether it’s in the form of a favorable settlement or a successful trial verdict.

We can handle all of your insurance and legal claims, allowing you to focus on your recovery or the care of surviving loved ones. Contact us, and we’ll represent you to any insurance companies or legal adversaries so that you can focus on recovery and grieving appropriately.  An experienced Alvin wrongful death lawyer can help with your claim in Harris County, Brazoria County, Galveston County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, or anywhere in Texas.

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