Personal Injury Lawyers » The Survival Statute in Texas vs. the Other States
How Does Texas’ Survival Statute Compare to That of Other States?
If the negligent conduct of another party has resulted in the loss of a loved one or someone significant in your life, it can be heartbreaking. Not only do you have to deal with the reality of that person no longer being in your life, but you may also have incurred a great deal of financial responsibility in the aftermath. You may not be aware of this but in the state of Texas, there is a cause of action available to you that can allow you to recover for the losses that you have suffered in losing this person and the financial strife that has resulted. This is possible through what is called the Texas Survival statute.
The Texas Survival statute is available to the representatives or family members of a person who has become deceased due to some tortuous act of another party. In order to file this lawsuit, there are certain elements that must be established that are prerequisites to your recovery. The different procedural and evidentiary factors in this claim can be difficult to comprehend if you are not familiar with them. It would be to your detriment to attempt to seek recovery for your losses through a survival action without skilled legal assistance. This is why it is in your best interest to retain an attorney that has familiarity with these types of theories of recovery. The attorneys at Our Law Offices have been handling survival actions for 22 years and have a great deal of knowledge and experience on how these claims are usually litigated to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation that your truly deserve.
What is the Texas Survival Statute?
The Texas Survival Statute permits an estate, legal representative or heirs of the deceased to bring a survival cause of action. The logic behind the name ‘survival’ is that is basically allows a personal injury lawsuit to survive the death of the party that suffered the injury. Under this theory of liability, you can recover damages in the form of funeral expenses, medical expenditures, lost wages and loss of companionship or affection. There are certain time limitations at work in survival actions that must be strictly adhered to or your ability to bring this lawsuit will extinguish entirely.
How is the Texas Survival Statute Different Than Those in the Other States?
The primary differences that may exist between the Texas Survival Statute when compared to survival statutes in other states is who may bring the cause of action and what may be inevitably recoverable. In Texas the statute only allows specific individuals to recover under this action. Only an heir or some representative of the estate is allowed to bring this theory of recovery on behalf of the deceased party.
In addition, under the Texas Survival Statute, the estate may recover for all of the damages that the deceased would have been permitted to recover if he/she were still alive. Essentially you can recover for the pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost earning capacity and wages that the deceased could have recovered if they had survived.
Survival causes of action can be confusing because of the fact that you are bringing a claim on behalf of a person that is no longer living. Therefore the elements of proof can be slightly complex. However, with the assistance of an attorney that has handled many of these personal injury survival actions, you will be in good hands. That is exactly what we can offer you at Our Law Offices. You should not be forced to live with the emotional tragedy of your loss and be burdened indefinitely with mounting medical bills. You deserve to be compensated for your loss. To discuss your claim, contact the attorneys at Our Law Offices.
