When you lose a loved one in an accident, your first thoughts turn toward your family. How will you organize a burial or memorial? How will you move forward without this person? Sometimes, your questions about family turn to finances – particularly if you lost a spouse. How will you pay all of the medical debt? Can you afford to keep the house? The death of someone in your family is not only tragic, it devastates your way of life and can leave your finances in shambles. But, if your loved one was killed because of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to recover damages. These will not fix the situation, but they are key to being able to pay your bills and move forward with your life. For more information on filing a wrongful death claim, contact the skilled New Braunfels wrongful death attorney of The Bettersworth Law Firm.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?

Certain family members or a person’s estate can file a civil wrongful death claim if a person was killed due to someone’s negligence, carelessness, or wrongful act. Texas statute Sections 71.002 and 71.003 explain that an individual has a right to file this type of suit if the person who was killed would have been able to sue the other party for a personal injury had he or she lived. Additionally, the person who files the suit must be able to show that he or she suffered actual injuries from the decedent’s death.

An area man faces serious charges after he was allegedly intoxicated while traveling on the wrong side of the road just before smashing into an oncoming vehicle.

The wreck took place near the intersection of West Military and Chinook. A male driver of a compact car collided head-on with another car. Three people – the male driver and the two occupants of the other vehicle – were all rushed to an area hospital. One victim, a 50-year-old woman, was subsequently pronounced dead. Police are unsure how long the male driver, who was described as “heavily intoxicated,” had been driving on the wrong side of the road.

The driver is currently facing one count of intoxication manslaughter along with one count of intoxication assault, and the charges could be upgraded later.

One person is dead after two trucks collided near the intersection of Borgfeld Road and U.S. 281 in northern Bexar County.

Sherriff’s deputies reported that one vehicle was pulling out of a subdivision and onto the highway, directly into the path of a speeding truck. The force of the impact propelled both vehicles down the highway, leaving a trail of debris on the roadway before they eventually came to rest not far from each other. One victim was airlifted to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead en route.

Authorities have yet to determine fault in the crash.

Even if you share some legal responsibility in a car crash or other negligence case, you may still be entitled to significant compensation. Comparative fault is an issue in many different circumstances, regardless of the number of parties involved. Consider the following examples:

• While Plaintiff Driver was distracted by adjusting the radio volume and Defendant Driver was speeding, the two vehicles collide in an intersection.
• Plaintiff is injured by a dangerous drug combination, although the manufacturer included a rather vague warning label on the box detailing possible risks.

In these situations, and others like them, judges may ask the jurors to apportion fault between plaintiffs and defendants on a percentage basis. To obtain such a result, the defendants must convince the judges that the plaintiffs shared some legal responsibility in the case.

Comparative Fault in The Lone Star State

Officers nearly always ask this question of intoxicated motorists who cause a car crash. The answer can lead the attorney to the correct third party liability theory.

For various reasons, it is extremely difficult, though not impossible, to link a retail alcohol sale to a subsequent intoxication episode. However, if the driver’s most recent stop was at a bar or restaurant, there is a very good chance that the person was already intoxicated at that time, and the server may be liable for damages under the dram shop law. There is a third possibility. Like most states, Texas has a social host liability law.

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