In the weeks and months following a loved one’s wrongful and premature death, it’s understandable to be hesitant about adding the stress of a civil lawsuit into your life or the life of your family members. That said, you have limited time under Texas state law to seek civil recovery for losses due to your family member’s untimely death. If you wait too long to formally start the process, you may be time-barred from ever seeking compensation for those losses at all.
Representation from a seasoned wrongful death attorney will be key to filing a Channelview wrongful death action that holds up to scrutiny in civil court and gets your family the compensation that you deserve for your damages. However, it can also be very helpful to prepare a little in advance for that filing process before contacting legal counsel, so here is a brief guide to the earliest stages of wrongful death litigation.
Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death?
In some states, only the person nominated as the estate representative in a fatal accident victim’s will has the legal standing to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Channelview in that deceased person’s name. After this, they would be responsible for seeking compensation on behalf of specific immediate family members of the decedent. In Texas, any combination of a deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, or parents can file this sort of claim themselves, either for solely their own benefit or for the benefit of all eligible beneficiaries.
Importantly, a decedent’s estate representative can file a wrongful death claim here if three months have passed after the decedent’s date of death without any eligible family member taking action themselves. However, if all surviving family members specifically request that a decedent’s estate representative refrain from filing such a claim, they can legally prevent them from doing so in accordance with Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004.
Important Evidence To Gather Before Filing Suit
Prior to filing a Channelview wrongful death claim, you’ll need to collect as much documentary, testimonial, and sometimes forensic evidence as possible to support your case for compensation. More specifically, you’ll need to be able to show through a preponderance—meaning majority—of that evidence that all the following things are true:
- Your family member is legally dead, which a formal death certificate or autopsy report typically establishes
- Their death stemmed primarily and directly from a specific accident, which is shown by their medical records and testimony from qualified medical professionals
- This accident may likely have been avoided altogether if not for a specific irresponsible act by the defendant being sued, which can be demonstrated, such as a dashboard camera recording the defendant running a red light and crashing into the decedent’s car
- The defendant’s actions qualified a legally actionable violation of a duty of care that they owed to the decedent, such as the duty all drivers have to obey traffic laws
In addition to guiding you through the actual filing process, your dedicated legal representative can also help you locate, preserve, and make effective use of all relevant information you’ll need to build a strong claim.
Contact an Attorney for Help Filing a Wrongful Death Claim in Channelview
Even if you have extensive evidence proving that another person’s negligence directly caused your loved one’s death, constructing a successful lawsuit or settlement demand out of that evidence can be far from simple. In fact, an unfortunate number of people who attempt filing a Channelview wrongful death action on their own end up getting little or none of the compensation they should have been entitled to receive. This is due to any number of different legal and procedural roadblocks.
Fortunately, you have assistance available from compassionate legal professionals with long track records of success handling cases much like yours. Call today for a confidential consultation.
Call or text (832) 346-9585 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
