How Do You Prove Wrongful Death in Texas?

  • March 4, 2024
  • Evans/Reilley

Losing a loved one is always a devastating experience, but when someone's negligence causes the death, normal grief may be compounded by anger and the desire to punish the wrongdoer. In addition, after the death, survivors may be left without income or support at a time when they are facing medical bills and funeral costs. While money can never replace a loved one, if you have lost a family member due to another party's negligence or fault, you may be entitled to compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. A settlement award can ease your financial burdens and help your family function, pay their bills, and move on with their lives. You may be wondering how to prove wrongful death. Under Texas law, wrongful death exists when a pers[...]

How Long Does It Take To Settle A Wrongful Death Suit?

  • January 5, 2023
  • Evans/Reilley

No one expects their loved one to be taken too soon by a careless or reckless accident. Wrongful deaths are heartbreaking, senseless, and unfair. Picking up the pieces and attempting to move forward can be challenging in the aftermath of a wrongful death tragedy. The potential payout from a wrongful death settlement can provide a glimmer of hope. Find out how long these settlements take and how a Texas personal injury lawyer can help. How a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Can Help Your Family A wrongful death is one of the most tragic personal injuries a law firm takes on. No amount of money can ever replace your loved one. However, a wrongful death settlement can help you and your family in other ways. A wrongful death settlement can provi[...]

What Qualifies as a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

  • January 14, 2021
  • Evans/Reilley

What qualifies as a wrongful death lawsuit varies on the facts of the accident and the laws that apply. What doesn’t change is the grief, sadness, sense of loss, and anger when a loved one is suddenly taken away. If your loved one was killed by negligence or an intentional act, your family might obtain compensation for your losses through a wrongful death lawsuit. A cause of action for wrongful death exists in Texas when a person is killed because of another’s “neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.” The person’s spouse, children, or parents, or the executor of the estate may be able to file a wrongful death claim. It would be filed against the responsible parties to cover financial losses and emotional suffering. [...]

Who Gets the Money in a Wrongful Death Settlement?

  • October 16, 2020
  • Evans/Reilley

Who gets the money in a wrongful death settlement is based on Texas law. If your family member died due to the negligence or intentional act of another party, you might be able to file a wrongful death claim against those responsible. The settlement money is paid to a surviving spouse, children, parents, or estate. If your family suffered the loss of a loved one because of the actions of another party, Evans/Reilley may be able to help. There’s practically no limit to the situations that can be the basis of a wrongful death lawsuit. Loved ones are killed every day due to the negligence or intentional acts of others. These lawsuits try to hold the responsible parties accountable and provide compensation for the losses suffered by family[...]

Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death?

  • September 3, 2020
  • Evans/Reilley

It’s a fact of life that some hospital patients will die, but if the death of your family member was caused by negligence, you may be asking yourself, can you sue a hospital for wrongful death? You can if the facts and law support such a claim. You can talk to the attorneys at Evans/Reilley to discuss whether this kind of lawsuit is right for your family. You may file a wrongful death lawsuit if, under Texas law, a family member dies because of another’s “neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.” A case could involve the hospital if it played a role in your loved one’s death. If the hospital’s actions causing the death were grossly negligent or willful, you might be entitled to a punitive damages award. It would[...]

Can You Sue a Nursing Home for Wrongful Death?

  • August 12, 2020
  • Evans/Reilley

If a member of your family died in a nursing home because of negligence or an intentional act, can you sue a nursing home for wrongful death? How that may play out depends on the facts and applicable laws. There may be an arbitration clause in the admission paperwork. That clause can’t stop a wrongful death claim, but it might not go to court. Under Texas law, there can be liability for a wrongful death claim if you can show: An injury caused a person’s death. The injury was caused by an individual, a group of individuals, a company, or a corporation, or an agent or employee of the individual, company, or corporation. The party committed a wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, or unskillfulness. When can you sue a nursing[...]

Can Lawmakers Make Texas Roads Less Deadly?

  • June 3, 2019
  • Evans/Reilley

While traffic fatalities in Texas decreased slightly from 2016 to 2017 — from 3,794 to 3,721, a decline of 1.92% — the state still holds the disgraceful distinction of leading the nation in motor vehicle deaths. In 2017: One reportable accident happened every 59 seconds. One person was injured every 2 minutes, 4 seconds. One person was killed every 2 hours, 21 minutes. Clearly, we have a long way to go in making the roads safer. If you’ve been hurt in a car wreck or you’ve lost a loved one in a collision, call the Texas car accident and wrongful death lawyers at the Evans/Reilley Law Firm. Can the Government Help Eliminate Traffic Deaths? Lawmakers and state agencies are well aware of our dismal record when it comes to[...]

Pay Attention, Texas: Observing Distracted Driving Awareness Month

  • April 2, 2019
  • Evans/Reilley

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month As the Evans/Reilley Law Firm and the National Safety Council observe Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, help us by doing your part to keep Texas roads safe. Distracted driving is nothing new. People have been eating, touching up makeup, and fiddling with the radio dial while behind the wheel since long before cell phones became part of the equation. But as much as advancements in technology have improved our lives and ability to communicate, they haven’t done many favors for our driving. In addition to all of the old-school distractions, we now have dashboard touch-screens, GPS devices, and those ever-present smartphones to tempt our eyes away from the road. Don’t enda[...]

Duck Boat Incidents in Other Cities Raise Concern in Austin

  • October 1, 2018
  • Evans/Reilley

You’re riding in a vehicle with dozens of other people, when it suddenly veers off the road and into a body of water. It sounds alarming, but it’s an experience tourists pay for all the time when they board a “duck tour.” Duck boats—vehicles that can operate on land and in water—have been operated as tourist attractions in harbor, river, or lake cities in the U.S. since 1946, many using surplus military amphibious landing vehicles from World War II. And while the majority of duck tours go off without a hitch, there have been exceptions with sometimes deadly results. Since 1999, there have been 12 incidents in the U.S. involving duck boats, resulting in 44 deaths. The most recent of these has also been the deadliest: th[...]

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Case in Texas?

  • July 27, 2017
  • Evans/Reilley

In September 2016, the family of Sandra Bland settled a wrongful death lawsuit involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County jail. Bland, an Illinois resident who came to Texas for a job interview, died in the jail – the medical examiner determined the cause of death as suicide by asphyxiation. As part of the $1.9 million settlement, the jail must have emergency nurses on staff at all times, perform timely and accurate cell checks with automated electronic sensors, and seek state funding for staff training and inmate screening. Bland was just 28 years old, and while many details of the settlement were not disclosed, one can assume that it accounted for the wages she could have earned in her lifetime. Texas d[...]