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In Texas, surviving immediate family members of someone who has passed away in an accident can seek restitution for their financial and personal harm through a wrongful death claim. However, this type of claim is meant only to reimburse the people who are still alive for their own losses. It does not account for losses sustained by the deceased person in the time between when they were first injured and when they ultimately passed away.
Recovery for the latter type of damages is possible through a separate but related claim called a “survival action.” These claims can be uniquely difficult to pursue without guidance from a knowledgeable wrongful death attorney. Whether you are a family member seeking justice on a deceased loved one’s behalf or an estate representative trying to get a decedent’s affairs in order, working closely with a Sugar Land survival actions lawyer is the key to making the most of your legal rights and options. Reach out to our firm now for the help and sensitivity you deserve.
Both wrongful death claims and survival actions are built around the theory of legal negligence. It must be proven that one or more specific people are directly to blame for causing losses through reckless, careless, or illegal misconduct. The main difference between the two in legal terms is that a wrongful death claim is centered on someone wrongfully passing away, whereas a survival action is a personal injury claim that reimburses for the damages the decedent sustains during the time between the accident and their premature death.
For example, when someone gets hurt in an auto accident caused by a speeding driver, that injured person would usually have grounds to sue the motorist who caused their crash. They could sue for accident-related damages like medical bills, car repair costs, and physical pain and suffering. If that injured person were to pass away as a direct result of their injuries, that cause of action would not pass away with them. Instead, their estate—or their surviving family members, in some situations—would still have grounds to pursue compensation for those losses through a “survival action.”
It is worth noting that a survival action can be entirely unrelated to a wrongful death claim—for instance, when someone gets hurt in one auto accident and then is killed in an entirely different wreck before they can file suit over the first one. A Sugar Land survival actions attorney can offer more specific guidance about possible grounds for this sort of lawsuit during a private consultation.
All the same damages recoverable through a standard personal injury claim may also be recoverable through a survival action, provided that the claimant can prove a deceased person actually experienced them as a direct result of someone else’s misconduct. In other words, there must have been at least some time between when the decedent was first injured and when they ultimately passed away, or else they—and often their estate—would not have had a chance to directly sustain any compensable damages.
Additionally, for survival actions, the two-year filing period applicable to most personal injury claims in Texas begins on the date of the deceased person’s initial injury date, not the date on which they passed away. This means that the filing deadline for a survival action with an attorney in Sugar Land may not be the same as the deadline for a wrongful death claim stemming from the same incident.
For many reasons, getting fair financial recovery through a survival action can be even more challenging than doing so through a wrongful death claim. Either way, the quality of legal representation you have on your side has a huge impact on the amount of compensation you are ultimately able to obtain.
A Sugar Land survival actions lawyer is the ally you need to achieve the favorable case resolution you want. Call today to learn more and arrange a free case evaluation with our compassionate team members.
Lone Star Injury Attorneys, PLLC
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