When someone dies because of another person’s negligence, a dangerous product, an unsafe workplace, or the conduct of a company, the surviving family is suddenly faced with questions they never expected to ask. What happened? Who was responsible? Could the death have been prevented? Who has the right to bring a lawsuit? What compensation may be available?
A wrongful death lawsuit can help a family investigate those questions and hold responsible parties financially accountable. These cases may arise from 18-wheeler crashes, industrial and refinery accidents, defective products, construction accidents, oilfield incidents, vehicle defects, maritime accidents, fires, explosions, and many other preventable events.
Attorney David P. Willis has represented seriously injured people and families following fatal accidents for more than 40 years. His practice is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Wrongful death cases in other states may be handled through association with qualified local counsel when required.
Every fatal accident is different. A meaningful investigation starts with determining how the death occurred, identifying the people and companies whose conduct contributed to it, and preserving evidence before it disappears.
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil claim that may arise when a person’s death was caused by negligence, a wrongful act, a defective product, an unsafe condition, or other legally actionable conduct. The law governing the claim depends on the state where the case is brought and the circumstances surrounding the death.
These cases can involve much more than the person or company that appears responsible at first. A commercial truck collision, for example, may require investigation of the driver, trucking company, maintenance contractors, cargo companies, and potentially manufacturers of failed equipment. An industrial death may involve a plant owner, general contractor, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, maintenance companies, or engineering firms.
Product-related deaths can require examination of a product’s design, manufacturing history, warnings, testing, recalls, and prior similar incidents. Workplace fatalities can raise additional questions about whether a company other than the deceased person’s employer created or controlled a dangerous condition.
The purpose of an investigation is not simply to establish that a fatal accident occurred. The critical questions are why it happened, who contributed to it, and whether reasonable actions could have prevented the death.
A preventable death can cause both financial and deeply personal losses. The compensation available depends upon applicable state law, the relationship between the deceased person and surviving family members, and the evidence developed in the case.
Financial losses can include income and support the deceased person would probably have provided. Employment benefits, retirement contributions, household services, childcare, and other economic contributions may also be relevant in appropriate cases.
The personal consequences of a death can be equally significant. A spouse may lose decades of companionship and support. Children may lose the care, advice, encouragement, and guidance of a parent. Parents may suffer the permanent loss of their relationship with a child.
Our discussion of wrongful death damages explains several categories of compensation that may be available to qualifying family members.
No legitimate lawyer can determine the value of a wrongful death case from a website description or a simple mathematical formula. The evidence, applicable law, family relationships, age and circumstances of the deceased person, insurance coverage, responsible defendants, and strength of the liability case can all affect the outcome.
Some cases may also involve survival claims belonging to the deceased person’s estate or punitive damages when permitted by law and supported by particularly serious misconduct.
Families are understandably focused on grief, funeral arrangements, children, finances, and simply getting through the weeks following an unexpected death. At the same time, corporations and insurance companies may begin investigating immediately.
Important evidence can disappear quickly. Vehicles may be repaired, sold, or destroyed. Electronic information may be overwritten. Surveillance recordings can be erased. Machinery can return to service. Accident scenes change, and witnesses’ memories become less precise.
Depending on the accident, important evidence may include photographs and video, electronic vehicle information, inspection and maintenance records, employment files, safety procedures, contracts, engineering documents, product components, electronic communications, witness statements, medical records, and governmental investigation materials.
A lawyer may be able to take steps to preserve evidence and determine whether experts should inspect vehicles, machinery, products, workplaces, or other physical evidence. Beginning an investigation does not mean a family must ultimately file a lawsuit. It can provide information needed to make that decision intelligently.
Families should also be aware of the wrongful death statute of limitations. Legal deadlines can differ depending on the state, the type of defendant involved, and the circumstances surrounding the death. Certain defendants or claims may also involve special rules or notice requirements.
A family should therefore avoid assuming that it has a particular number of years to act without determining which law actually applies.
One of the most important questions following a fatal accident is often: Who can be held responsible?
The obvious defendant is not necessarily the only defendant. A commercial driver may have caused a collision, but evidence could show that a trucking company contributed through unsafe hiring, supervision, scheduling, maintenance, or operating practices. A worker may have been killed by machinery, while an investigation later identifies problems involving the equipment’s design, guarding, maintenance, or another contractor’s conduct.
A defective-product case may require investigation of manufacturers, distributors, component suppliers, and other companies. Industrial and construction deaths can involve several contractors operating at the same location under different contracts and safety responsibilities.
Identifying potentially responsible parties matters because different defendants may possess different evidence, insurance coverage, witnesses, and legal responsibilities. An investigation can also help answer the question many families care about most: Could this death have been prevented?
When litigation becomes necessary, evidence may be developed through company records, documents, depositions, inspections, expert analysis, electronic information, and witness testimony.
A family does not need to know exactly who was responsible before speaking with a lawyer. Determining responsibility is one of the purposes of a wrongful death investigation.
If someone you love was killed in an 18-wheeler crash, industrial accident, refinery or oilfield incident, construction accident, maritime accident, defective product failure, vehicle rollover, fire, explosion, or another preventable event, the first questions may simply be what happened and what your family should do next.
Families who are still trying to understand the legal process can also review our wrongful death frequently asked questions for straightforward answers about claims, damages, deadlines, evidence, and what may happen next.
David P. Willis has practiced law since 1983 and has spent decades representing injured people and families in serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Families seeking representation in the Houston area can also learn more about working with a wrongful death lawyer and the investigation of serious fatal-accident cases.
The firm can review the circumstances surrounding a death, discuss the law that may apply, identify potential defendants, and determine whether additional investigation is appropriate.
A lawsuit cannot undo the death of a family member. When another person or company caused a preventable death, however, the civil justice system provides a way to investigate what happened, establish responsibility, and seek compensation for family members whose lives have been permanently changed.
Many ask if there is a wrongful death lawsuit calculator to help determine how much a to sue for when a loved one dies in an accident. We will try and explain the average value or payout in a wrongful death. Though the damages in a claim may vary slightly from state to state, typically three types of legal compensation or damages are recoverable by survivors of the deceased person.
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