Austin Fatal Car Accident Attorney

Lost Someone You Love in a Car Accident? Austin Fatal Accident Attorney Michael Grossman can Help You Seek Justice

Losing someone you love in a car accident is one of the most devastating experiences most families will ever live through. Family members of fatal car accident victims often have many questions: how did my loved one’s accident occur? Who was responsible?

How can I bring those responsible to justice? Do I need to hire an experienced lawyer? May families ultimately decide that they want to file a wrongful death lawsuit, but few of them realize how difficult this process can be for those without legal experience. Calculating damages is complex, and insurance companies and their defense attorneys will be working hard to build a case against your loved one. If you are going to be successful in this legal battle, you need an experienced team of lawyers that can help you. Austin fatal car accident attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices is here to go to bat for you. Our attorneys have twenty years of experience with fatal car accident cases, and we can help you fight to protect your rights and seek justice for your family member’s death.

What Damages are my Family Entitled to in a Wrongful Death Case?

Obviously, no amount of money can truly compensate a family for the loss of someone they love. The emotional turmoil caused by such a loss can be completely overwhelming. However, the truth is that losing a loved one also puts a severe financial strain on a family. The lawyers at Grossman Law Offices want to make sure that your loved one receives justice, but we also want to help you secure the financial settlement you need to stay on your feet. Recovering from the emotional blow of losing a family member is hard enough. Your family should not have to suffer financial hardship as well.

A comprehensive wrongful death lawsuit typically seeks two different types of damages: wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages include compensation for the suffering and anguish, as well as the financial loss caused by the victim’s death. In most cases, only spouses, children, and parents can seek wrongful death damages, though in some cases, siblings can seek these damages as well. Wrongful death damages typically include:

• Medical bills paid prior to the victim’s death
• Funeral costs
• Loss of economic support that the victim previously provided
• Compensation for the mental and emotional turmoil and general loss of companionship caused by the victim’s death

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Survival damages, on the other hand, essentially allow a plaintiff to stand in for the victim in a legal sense. A survival damages claim is essentially the personal injury lawsuit that the victim could have filed if he or she had survived the incident. This claim is passed on to the closest living relative (starting with the victim’s spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings). Any family member closely related to the victim can file a wrongful death claim, but only the closest relative will inherit the survival damages claim. Survival damages generally include:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Lost wages due to time spent in the hospital
• Lost income potential due to long-term injury
• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental or emotional distress caused by the accident

Each wrongful death claim as well as the survival damages claim must be filed separately, and must be handled using unique legal strategies. The complexity of a multi-faceted lawsuit of this nature can be overwhelming to non-attorneys, but our experienced lawyers understand how these cases work, and we are not intimidated by this level of complexity. We want to ensure that every person in your family that has suffered because of the victim’s death receives the justice and the compensation that they need.

How Do I Know Whether or Not I Have a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

In order to have a valid wrongful death claim, you must prove that the defendant in your case owed a legal duty to the victim (the plaintiff) and that this legal duty was violated. Legal duty is a complex legal concept, but in general, it means that a person had some sort of responsibility for the victim’s safety. This responsibility can be largely implicit; for instance, a person driving a motor vehicle is responsible for driving responsibly so that other motorists, pedestrians, and anyone else is not endangered by the person’s driving. In other cases, a legal duty is explicitly stated. For example, a surgeon, doctor, or other medical professional is responsible for acting in the best interest of his or her patients at all times. When this legal duty is violated and that violation leads to a person’s death, that person’s family can file a wrongful death claim.

Should I Hire an Experienced Attorney to Help Me File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

While there are some car accidents that are relatively straightforward, most of them are much more complex than they initially seem. This is especially true of fatal car accidents. Furthermore, even if the actual accident that caused your loved one’s death was straightforward, you will be facing fierce legal opposition in any fatal accident case, and you would be much better off represented by an experienced lawyer. If you are still unsure, however, consider the following signs that often indicate that the accident is much more complex than it appears:

• One or more of the other drivers involved in the accident is being uncooperative
• An insurance company representative is bombarding you and your family with questions about your loved one or the accident
• An insurance adjuster wants to get a recorded statement from you (this is an absolute sign that you need to hire an attorney as soon as possible)
• An insurance company representative is offering you a sum of money if you will sign a document
  • Typically, this document waives your right to file a lawsuit or implicates your loved one in the accident. These documents are filled with legal jargon and red tape, and it is best to let an attorney handle any negotiations with insurance adjusters
• You have been offered an insurance settlement that does not fairly compensate you for your loss
• One or more of the other drivers in the accident is uninsured or is covered by an insurance company that you have not heard of
• You just do not like the way the investigation or the insurance claim is being handled

Insurance adjusters are possibly the biggest threat you will face immediately after your loved one’s accident. Though they may appear cooperative and friendly, insurance adjusters have one goal: to pay you as little as possible. They often attempt to take advantage of a family’s grief and try to get them to throw away their right to sue within hours after their loved one’s death. They likely knew about the accident before you did, and they started building a case against your family member immediately. They may approach your family at the hospital or the morgue and bombard you with questions. They know that, at this point, you are overwhelmed with grief and you likely have not yet spoken to an attorney.

Insurance adjusters are very good at getting families to inadvertently damage their claim or throw it away entirely, and many victims do not realize that they need professional legal help until it is too late. Unfortunately, families for these underhanded tactics every day, but our lawyers want to make sure that this does not happen to you. Do not speak to insurance adjusters without a legal professional at your side. Let our experienced lawyers make sure that your rights are protected.

Austin Fatal Car Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman Will Help You Seek Justice

Some people mistakenly believe that, if they threaten to file a wrongful death suit on their own, the insurance company will be frightened into offering them the settlement they deserve. However, the truth is that insurance companies are not afraid of lawsuits unless they are filed by experienced legal professionals. Insurance companies have a team of defense lawyers on retainer who have shut down hundreds of car accident lawsuits filed by non-attorneys. Knowing the law is not much help when you do not know how to respond to lists of admissions, submit demand packets, or prove up damages. Winning a lawsuit comes down to litigation experience, and insurance companies know that non-attorneys have no chance of success against their team of professionals.

However, the aggressive fatal car accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices can frighten insurance companies into cooperating. We have twenty years of experience helping people who have lost loved ones in fatal car accidents. We have successfully litigated and resolved hundreds of high-profile cases against almost every major insurance company and defense lawyer firm in the country. We also know how to conduct the thorough investigations needed to identify all potential defendants in your case. If your loved one was killed by a drunk driver, can you file a claim against a bar under a dram shop cause of action? Can you file a product liability claim due to a defective tire or a malfunctioning traffic light? Our attorneys can find out and help you build a comprehensive case that ensures that all negligent parties are held accountable.

Insurance companies are aware of our successful track record, and in many cases, they offer our clients large settlements simply to avoid facing our lawyers in court. In other words, we may be able to help you and your family get back on your feet quickly, without the stress of going to trial. However, if insurance companies are still not cooperating, we will fight aggressively to defend your rights in court. We will do everything we can to bring those responsible for your loved one’s death to justice and help you get the compensation you need. So if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident, contact Austin fatal car accident attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today for a free consultation.