Home Β» Odessa Β» Wrongful Death Attorneys. Many insurance companies representing negligent parties in wrongful death cases will be quick to contact the victims left behind and claim that they are willing to help families deal with many of the costs they are now facing, but such insurers will instead focus on minimizing their costs and may only offer victims a fraction of what they are actually entitled to.
You will want to retain legal counsel so you can be sure that you are getting every last dollar you need and deserve. Surviving spouses, children, or parents are able to bring these actions individually or for the benefit of all parties. Siblings or friends of deceased people thus cannot file wrongful death actions.
Such actions, however, will not be allowable when a surviving spouse, children, and parents specifically request that the executor or administrator not do so. There are several different causes of wrongful deaths in Texas. A very common kind of wrongful death claim often involves workplace accidents. Many people suffer fatal injuries while on the job, and it is possible that employers could be liable for fatal injuries.
Even when an employer is not liable, there could be other third parties that bear liability. Victims have very little control over criminal cases, and you should understand some of the other significant differences between a criminal case and a civil claim. In a criminal case, a prosecutor for the state will have to have to prove that a negligent party was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, often considered one of the highest levels of proof.
The difference is critical because it is always possible that a person could earn an acquittal as it relates to criminal charges but still be found civilly liable for damages.
