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Houston Wrongful Death Lawyer Brit Mitchell
Sneed & Mitchell LLP wins 99% of their cases; let our experience work for you too.
Wrongful death situations occur daily here Houston, Texas. Negligent motorists, unsafe companies, defective products, and careless property owners often cause preventable fatal accidents. If you recently lost a love one to an unexpected accident, justice should be pursued. You can speak with attorney Brit Mitchell in a free wrongful death case consultation at our local Houston law office.
Brit Mitchell is a Houston Wrongful Death Lawyer known for her high rate of success in accident cases that result in a loss of life. Ask to speak with Brit directly by calling (866)434-0014, or fill out our contact form and one of our personal injury lawyers will call you immediately. Brit has extensive experience helping family get the compensation they deserve after the death of a loved one.
Although no level of financial compensation can fix what occurred, holding a company accountable for their actions is a form of justice. Pursuing a wrongful death claim in Houston is also beneficial for your family and loves ones impacted by the death. We offer compassionate legal representation and will make sure that if any type of tort, or wrongdoing, is to blame, that you are reimbursed for the economic damages and emotional trauma caused by the other person or entity.
What Is Wrongful Death?
The Texas Wrongful Death Act defines wrongful death as a death caused by a wrongful act or neglect. These legal actions are a type of tort claim seeking financial compensation for a victims loves one's and on behalf of the deceased's estate. If a loss of life has not occurred, the deceased would have been able to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.
Common examples of wrongful death and survivorship lawsuits include abuse and negligent situations, nightclub shootings, swimming pool drownings, fall accidents, failures to maintain commercial property, as well as others. In order to successfully obtain benefits under the Texas Wrongful Death Act an attorney must prove that a party was negligent. Proving negligence under Texas law means showing the responsible person or company owed the victim a duty of care, breached that care obligation, and that the violation proximately caused the fatal accident to occur.
A proper legal claim should not only includes remedies on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased, but should include claims on behalf of the estate through the Texas Survival Statute. In most cases, both claims are pursued simultaneously and within the same legal filing.
A civil wrongful death claim does not require a criminal component or conviction in order to be successful. Your family
Common Types Of Fatal Accident Lawsuits
If a person’s negligence contributed to someone's death, that's grounds for a wrongful death claim. Claimants have to prove that the circumstances of a loved one's death were tied to the actions or inaction of the defendant. The more direct the relationship, the more responsible the at-fault party is.
The following are examples of what qualify as wrongful death claims:
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Vehicle Accidents
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Head-on collisions
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Texting and driving
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Bicycle accidents
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18-Wheeler collisions
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Rollover incidents
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Drunk driving accidents
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Workplace Fatalities
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Safety protocol violations
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Offshore injuries
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Crush accidents
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Explosions
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Defective Equipment
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Premises Liability
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Failures to safeguard
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Poorly maintained gates
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Drowning incidents
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Negligent Security
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Failure to protect
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Choking and strangulation
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Defective or unsafe toys
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Abuse and neglect
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Mass Torts
Wrongful death events is the most traumatic and devastating result of someone else’s negligence in Houston, Texas. Attorney Brit Mitchell and her team do not believe that you should have to accept a wrongful death event without a fight. Your family is entitled to justice, in the form of answers, closure, and compensation from the person of company negligent in causing the loss of your loved one. Attorney Brit Mitchell is experienced in wrongful death cases can provides clients the resources, experts, and strategies give you the ability to go up against one or more at-fault parties after a fatal accident. She will handle the complicated legal aspects of your case while your family is able to focus on your emotional healing.
Who Can File A Wrongful Death Claim?
Under Texas law, the only persons eligible to file a wrongful death claim are close family members of the victim, with spouses and children having first priority over all other relatives. The closest living relatives have the strongest claims, so distant relatives can't file an additional claim if the spouse or children have already filed. Our Texas Wrongful Death Lawyers are willing to discuss the case possibilities with your family and develop an inclusive plan for how to move forward with the case.
The law considers the eligible person, a "Qualified Beneficiary", which includes the following.
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Spouses or life partners
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Children (18 years or older)
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Siblings
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Parents
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Parents of unmarried children
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Any other dependent relatives
It is essential to keep in mind that there is a statute of limitations on wrongful death claims. You have 2 years to file a wrongful death claim after you have suffered the loss of a loved one. Contact our Texas wrongful death attorneys as quickly as possible to get started on your claim.
How Do We Prove Liability In A Personal Injury Lawsuit
To file a lawsuit, our wrongful injury lawyers show that your loved one lost his or her life as a result of another’s negligence. In a negligence claim, the attorney representing the injured party needs to prove the following:
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Duty of Care: This refers to a legal obligation that requires an individual to exercise a reasonable level of care so as to prevent harm to others. For instance, a doctor has a duty to perform up to the standard of care established by the medical community.
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Breach of Duty: An individual or entity may be considered negligent if they breach their duty of care. For example, if a doctor performs an operation in a manner considered unacceptable by the medical community’s standards, they may have breached their professional duty.
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Causation: The defendant’s negligence must have been directly responsible for the injury or damage that occurred.
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Damages: For a victim to file a claim, the injury needs to have caused either economic or non-economic damages.
It is tough to determine the average wrongful death settlement amount because the amount a family entitled to depends on a variety of factors, including the age of the deceased, the cause of death, and the financial contribution the deceased made to their family. Generally, the younger the deceased, the higher the value of the case. This is because the victim has more years ahead of them in which they could have been earning an income and contributing to their family. The cause of death is also important. If the death was caused by someone else’s negligence, such as a drunk driver, then the case may be worth more than if the death was simply due to old age. Finally, if the deceased was the primary breadwinner for their family, then their death may have a more significant financial impact on their family's future. An experienced wrongful death attorney will aid you in fighting to recovery maximum compensation for you and your family, taking into consideration the range of damages and specific facts regarding how your family is impacted by the loss.
Compassionate And Experienced Texas Trial Attorneys
If your loved one's death was caused by another person’s wrongful conduct, it’s important to take action. While contacting a lawyer may not be the first thing on your mind while dealing with the aftermath of such an unexpected tragedy, protecting your legal rights can help you recover compensation for damages caused by the death, such as medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support and more.
To file a wrongful death claim, contact the Texas wrongful death lawyers of Sneed|Mitchell LLP. We have more than 20 years of experience helping clients with their wrongful death cases.
What Clients Say About Us
Review: 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “This firm is very efficient and nice to work with. I was kept in the know on every aspect of the case. I would recommend this firm for their knowledge and expertise.”
– Valerie, actual client.
OUR LAWYERS FULLY UNDERSTAND
THE IMPACT OF DEATH CLAIMS
DAMAGES IN WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS
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Lost earning capacity
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Emotional pain and suffering
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Loss of love and companionship
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Lost care, support, & maintenance
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Lost inheritance or support
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Funeral and burial expenses
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Punitive Damages - When Possible
SERIOUS INJURIES
AND SPECIALTIES
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Automobile Collisions
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Drunk Driving Accidents