Fatal Houston Work Injury Lawyer
After a fatal work injury, the spouse, children, and parents of the deceased victim can bring wrongful death actions.
Losing a loved one in any type of accident is a tragedy beyond comparison. However, when a loved one dies while at work, it adds a level of frustration. Your loved one went to work to provide for their family, and you trusted that their employers took your loved one’s safety seriously. Sadly, that is not always the case. While nothing will bring a loved one back, families who lost a loved one in a Houston workplace accident can pursue a wrongful death claim against an employer or any other party who caused or contributed to their loved one’s death.
Mario de la Garza personally assisted in all legal matters pertaining to/and getting settlements for all medical bills and restitution for the family. We highly recommend this firm. - Mariann B.
What Is a Wrongful Death Action?
After a fatal work injury, the spouse, children, and parents of the deceased victim can bring wrongful death actions for their harms that result from the death of their loved one. Also, the estate of the deceased victim can bring a survival action, for the pain and anguish that the deceased suffered prior to dying and for medical expenses and funeral expenses.
Who Can File a Texas Wrongful Death Lawsuit After a Fatal Work Accident?
Under Texas law, a spouse, child, and parent can bring a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death action is a type of Texas personal injury cause of action or claim that family members can bring to obtain compensation for the loss of their loved one.
To establish liability in a Texas wrongful death claim, the claimant must show that their loved one died as a result of the defendant's “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.”
Damages Available to Surviving Family Members After a Fatal Work Accident
Nothing can bring back a family member who was killed in a senseless workplace accident. However, the surviving spouses, children, and parents may seek damages through wrongful death claims. Monetary damages consist of actual damages, and in some cases, exemplary (punitive) damages.
Actual damages include (1) pecuniary losses, (2) mental anguish, (3) loss of companionship and society, and (4) loss of inheritance. Pecuniary losses, in turn, include the loss of the decedent’s earning capacity, advice, counsel, services, care, maintenance and support; they may also include expenses for the family member’s psychological treatment that resulted.
Loss of inheritance is defined as the present value that the victim would, in reasonable probability, have added to the estate and left at natural death to the statutory beneficiaries, bur for the wrongful conduct that resulted in the death.
In some cases, a judge or jury can award exemplary (punitive) damages. Unlike actual damages, punitive damages are not designed to compensate the plaintiff for their injuries. Instead, punitive damages focus on punishing the defendant for their especially egregious behavior. Punitive damages are rare and are awarded when the plaintiff can prove that the death was caused by the wrongdoer’s willful act or omission or gross negligence.
Texas Survival Action
When a company’s negligence causes a fatal work accident, the victim’s estate can recover damages that the deceased victim herself suffered as a result of the wrongdoing. The “survival” action is brought on behalf of the deceased for the deceased’s damages, including their physical pain and mental anguish that preceded the death, their medical bills, and their funeral expenses. It is called a “survival” action because the claim “survives” the death of the deceased, allowing the deceased’s estate to bring the claim.
Economic/ Non-economic Damages Available After a Fatal Work Accident
In Texas, there are two types of actual or “compensatory” damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are meant to compensate a claimant for actual economic or pecuniary loss and can often be determined by presenting receipts, medical bills or through the testimony of an expert witness. Examples of economic damages include the following:
- Medical expenses in the past and future
- Loss of earning capacity in the past and future
Non-economic damages are more subjective in nature. Examples of non-economic damages include the following:
- Physical pain in the past and future
- Mental anguish in the past and future
- Physical impairment in the past and future
- Disfigurement
In a wrongful death claim after a work accident, the claimant’s non-economic damages include: loss of consortium and the loss of companionship and society.
Both economic and non-economic damages are crucial to ensuring that an accident victim is fully compensated for their physical and emotional injuries.
Contact a Texas Fatal Work Injury Lawyer to Schedule a Free Consultation
At The de la Garza Law Group, we know that no two cases are the same. Every client is special. Every case is personal. We know that in order to help our clients obtain the justice they deserve, we must get to know our clients and how the accident has impacted their lives. For this reason, we spend significant time getting to know the details of each client’s case and always maintain awareness of the client’s goals for the representation.
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I fully recommend The de la Garza Law Group for any legal representation. Attorney Mario de la Garza, who is fluent in English and Spanish, is very professional and passionate about his work.
- Desiree
The de la Garza Law Group can help
If a loved one died in a work-related accident, contact The de la Garza Law Group today. We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation. To learn more, call 713-784-1010, or call toll-free at 844-784-1010.
We proudly represent clients throughout Texas, including all major metropolitan areas. We represent many clients throughout the greater Houston area, including Harris County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Jefferson County, Chambers County, Waller County, and Montgomery County, including The Woodlands, Pearland, Pasadena, Baytown, Clear Lake, Galveston, Conroe, and Sugar Land.