Wrongful Death Settlements in Houston
Wrongful death lawsuits involve significant damages. Losing a loved one is one of the worst things a family can face. The jury verdict numbers and the settlement amounts for wrongful death claims are typically noteworthy.
Let our experienced and undefeated Houston wrongful death attorneys explain your options.
Call (281) 587-1111!
How Much is a Wrongful Death Settlement?
The average settlement for a wrongful death case in Texas will vary greatly depending on many factors. Wrongful death cases can run from millions and even tens of millions or be more limited depending on the facts and the insurance available to pay. Getting a qualified wrongful death attorney in Houston is recommended.
Circumstances Matter
Wrongful death lawsuits can arise from many different circumstances. A person can be tragically lost when being struck by a semi-truck, hit by a drunk driver, premises liability, or other accidents. Different types of cases can have different liability factors that may impact values for the loss of a family member.
Why it happened are issues that can impact the liability portion of a wrongful death case evaluation.
Insurance Issues
Insurance issues will impact the value of a wrongful death case. Very seldom, in Texas, is a plaintiff able to collect more than the available insurance coverage. The settlement value will also likely be limited if all available insurance is limited.
Every case is unique, and getting a value on a wrongful death case is nearly impossible without knowing all the facts. Even then, the most skilled wrongful death lawyer in Houston can only give the family a range of potential settlements or verdicts.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Often, it is only after a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed, and discovery in the case conducted that an experienced wrongful death lawyer determines a wrongful death settlement amount.
When it comes down to a jury trial, there is never any crystal ball on what a jury could do. However, the best wrongful death attorneys with a wealth of experience can estimate a value for the family.
Liability considerations in a wrongful death lawsuit
The cause of the accident will have a significant impact on the value of a wrongful death settlement. Wrongful death lawsuits with clear liability will have a larger wrongful death settlement value. Cases with contributory negligence by the deceased will have smaller wrongful death settlements.
For instance, if your loved one was stopped at a red light with numerous witnesses and was struck from the rear by a drunk driver, liability will not be in much dispute. But because Texas is a comparative responsibility state, if the decedent were partly at fault, damages would be reduced.
A wrongful death lawsuit in Houston with strong evidence and adequate liability insurance can lead to significant wrongful death compensation for the surviving family members. Particularly with the best wrongful death lawyers at your side.
For that and other reasons, getting the best lawyer for your case is vital. Speak with an undefeated wrongful death attorney in Houston at Baumgartner Law Firm to protect your best interests.
Insurance coverage
In Texas, it is difficult to collect damages from an individual who has no money or no insurance coverage. So, the amount of insurance can impact a wrongful death claim.
A few examples:
Your family member is hit from the rear in a car accident. The negligent party had only a minimum liability policy. Unless there is other coverage, like (an underinsured motorist), another defendant or the negligent driver is independently well-off, the insurance coverage will probably be all that is reasonably recoverable.
A truck accident was caused by a negligent 18-wheeler driver who lost control of the tractor-trailer, killing an innocent family member. The insurance coverage can be substantial and maybe more than one layer.
Likewise, death is caused by a dangerous and defective product that can involve deep-pocketed defendants where the collection of the judgment is not a factor.
On the other hand, Texas has capped the damages against medical providers, and the result is that many people cannot get a good attorney to help them with this type of case.
What is an Average Wrongful Death Settlement?
Losing a loved one due to someone else’s negligence or intentional actions can be a devastating experience. In Texas, families who have suffered such a loss may seek compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. But what is the average wrongful death settlement in Texas?
The average settlement for a wrongful death case in Texas can vary greatly. Some types of cases have the potential for huge awards of millions of dollars, while others, with limited insurance coverage or liability issues, can settle for much less. At Baumgartner Law Firm, the average settlement is substantially in excess of three million dollars.
Wrongful death settlement amounts are unique to each surviving family member because it is damages for the loss of the relationship with the deceased that is valued in wrongful death compensation.
Read More: What Are My Chances of Winning a Wrongful Death Suit?
Claims of the Deceased Person’s Estate
Surviving family members can also recover compensation through the estate of the deceased. This compensation can include such damages as pain and suffering, burial expenses, medical expenses, and other personal injury damages of the deceased. Getting an experienced attorney is the first step to filing a wrongful death case.
Relationship with the deceased is a factor in determining wrongful death settlement amounts
Because a wrongful death case in Texas values the loss from the perspective of the family member suing, the relationship of the individual family member with the deceased will be assessed.
Most folks don’t understand that the value of a wrongful death claim is not putting a number on the life of the deceased but rather the amount of their own personal loss.
Wrongful death lawsuits consider individual factors for each family member involved in a lawsuit, and juries in a wrongful death suit will determine what is fair wrongful death compensation if a wrongful death settlement can’t be reached.
The closer the relationship with your lost loved one, the greater the wrongful death compensation.
Family member compensation in Texas wrongful death claims
Typically, the value of a wrongful death claim considers the family hierarchy in valuing the claim. Each person who can file a wrongful death claim has their own case. Each will be valued on its own merits.
Here is a general breakdown of which family member usually gets the most money from a jury from our experience and review of jury verdicts in Houston and settlements in Harris, County, Texas (in order):
- Spouses
- minor children who have lost a parent
- parents who have lost a minor child
- adult children who have lost a parent and
- parents of an adult child
Each surviving family member can have their own lawyer
Wrongful death lawsuits can be brought by spouses, parents, or children in Texas. All family members do not have to have the same Houston wrongful death attorney. Often, having several different attorneys in wrongful death cases can be an option if there is a conflict or the case is complex.
Wrongful death settlements are paid to family members, like surviving spouses. And include much more than burial expenses. Some attorneys seek to invent a wrongful death calculator, and in our opinion, those tools are not accurate or helpful.
Contact a Leading Wrongful Death Attorney Right Away
If you have questions about wrongful death in Texas, call the Baumgartner Law Firm and talk with an experienced wrongful death lawyer. Call 281-587-1111.
Related Resources:
What Happens When Someone Dies in a Car Wreck in Texas?
How Long do Houston Wrongful Death Lawsuits Take?
Do you make house calls or hospital visits?
What kind of cases do you accept?
We are very selective in the cases that we agree to handle to provide the best possible service to our clients. By limiting the number of cases that we accept, we can provide the time attention, and resources required to maximize compensation for our clients.
Accordingly, our practice is limited to cases involving substantial injury or a family who has lost a loved one. We have gained a reputation for handling 18-wheeler truck accidents, car and drunk driving crashes, daycare injury cases, and other serious injury and wrongful death matters. To learn more about the cases we cover, visit our practice areas page.
Do I have to pay money out of my pocket to hire you?
Do you handle all types of personal injury cases?
No, we are very selective in the cases that we agree to accept. We intentionally limit the number of cases that we handle and the practice areas for the cases we take to provide the best possible personal service for our clients. To learn more about the cases we cover, visit our practice areas page or you can contact us for individual consultation about your case. (281) 587-1111.
What is the best way to contact you?
We prefer to be contacted by telephone and also respond to our online consultation requests. You can call us 24/7 at (281) 587-1111. We offer Zoom consultations as well.
How successful have you been with your cases?
We are a personal injury law firm with over three decades of experience and are extremely proud of our winning track record of success. Our founder is nationally recognized as among the best personal injury lawyers in the USA. We are undefeated in truck accident cases, wrongful death cases, and daycare negligence and invite you to check out our results page for recent results in cases we won.
For the last 35 years, we have concentrated on maximizing our client’s compensation in serious injury and wrongful death cases. If you are looking for the best personal injury lawyers in Houston – Call us! (281) 587-1111.
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for a job well done!
"I can never express how grateful me and my family are to Greg Baumgartner and his team of truck accident lawyers in Houston. He took care of our injury case and got us a great settlement. Thank you for a job well done!"
- R. G. Client
Houston Personal Injury Victim
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"I was hit in the rear by an 18 wheeler and was lucky enough to have found Greg – I was overjoyed with the results and highly recommend him."
- Raymond
Houston Personal Injury Victim