All states have protective laws

All 50 states have laws protecting survivors who lost a loved one via wrongful death, but those laws vary from state to state. Consult an attorney to determine your options depending on where you live.

To recover damages when someone has died a wrongful death, a person must be in one of several categories, including a surviving spouse or domestic partner. Such people are defined by individual criteria applied by the state in which they live.

Others can be children, stepchildren, adopted children and parents, who may qualify if they were dependent on the deceased for support, or if no other survivors exist. Often more than one person in a family qualifies to bring a lawsuit and seek damages for wrongful death.

Various damages are involved

If you are entitled to sue for wrongful death as a member of the deceased person’s family, you may be able to recover for these damages:

Loss of financial contributions – A surviving spouse, child or other dependent can collect damages based on the amount of support they would have received from the deceased if that person had not suffered a wrongful death. This includes benefits, income and support payments. Such damages are the most easily measured, being based largely on the decedent’s income and projected income.

Burial and funeral expenses – A surviving spouse, child or other dependent can be compensated for reasonable funeral and burial costs for a loved one in a wrongful death lawsuit. A “reasonable” expense can depend on the size of the estate, with a larger estate being allowed a larger expense.

Loss of love, companionship, comfort, protection and care – Such damages compensate survivors for an intangible yet still very real loss in terms of relationships. The deceased person’s life expectancy prior to death, the survivor’s age and health and the closeness of the bond can help determine such damages. In fact, the closer the relationship, the more damages which may be awarded. While such a value can be difficult to quantify with a precise dollar amount, it is often the largest part of a claim.

Such loss may not formally cover damages for a survivor’s sorrow, mental suffering, grief, anguish or other painful emotions from a loved one’s death. If so, those factors still may be considered among the damages for loss of love and companionship. In Texas, the Wrongful Death and Survivor statute does allow damages for pain and anguish.

Loss of training and advice – Such damages largely go to children, based on the loss of a parent’s guidance, advice, moral support and training in their lives.

Don’t delay in filing a claim

In some states, the statute of limitations for filing a claim can be brief. If you fail to file a claim in time, you may not be eligible. In Texas such claims must be filed within two years of the fatal event, as outlined in the state’s Wrongful Death and Survivor statute.

Your wrongful death attorney also should have special skills. He or she should be sensitive and alert not only to legal issues of the case, but to the highly emotional loss which wrongful death survivors have suffered. Attorneys who handle such cases should try not only to achieve fair compensation for their loss, but in doing so to bring them some sense of closure for their tragedy.

In addition, Jim S. Adler & Associates has other offices at City Place Building, 2711 North Haskell Ave., Suite 2100 LB40, Dallas, Texas 75204-2887; San Pedro Plaza, 7330 San Pedro Ave., Suite 700, San Antonio, Texas 78216-6237; and Bank of America, 12605 East Freeway, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77015-5619 (serving Channelview, Texas).