Wrongful Death Truck Accidents Texas | Fatal Collision Claims

Published by J.A. Davis & Associates – San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers – Truck/18 Wheeler Accidents

Wrongful Death Claims in Truck Accidents

Wrongful death claims in truck accidents involve complex legal issues and substantial damages when fatal collisions devastate families and create long-term financial hardships. Understanding wrongful death and survival action requirements helps attorneys pursue maximum compensation for grieving families while addressing the unique damages that fatal truck accidents create. “If you’ve been hurt in a truck / 18 wheeler accident in San Antonio or McAllen, J.A. Davis & Associates provides experienced legal support to ensure you receive fair compensation and can get back on your feet.”

Fatal truck accidents often involve catastrophic collision forces that result in immediate deaths or injuries so severe that victims succumb despite emergency medical treatment, creating tragic losses that destroy families and require comprehensive legal remedies.

Texas Wrongful Death Statute

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71 creates wrongful death causes of action for surviving family members when negligent conduct causes deaths.

Wrongful death claims seek compensation for losses sustained by surviving family members, while survival actions pursue damages the deceased could have recovered if death hadn’t occurred.

Eligible Claimants

Wrongful death claims may be brought by surviving spouses, children, and parents of deceased victims, with specific priority rules governing who may file suits.

If no statutory beneficiaries exist, the deceased’s estate representative may bring wrongful death claims for the benefit of heirs.

Survival Action Components

Survival actions recover damages the deceased experienced before death including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earnings from injury to death.

These actions continue the deceased’s personal injury claim and recover damages for conscious pain and suffering before death occurred.

Pecuniary Loss Calculations

Wrongful death damages include pecuniary losses such as lost earnings, lost inheritance, and the economic value of services the deceased provided to family members.

Economic experts typically calculate the present value of lost future earnings based on work life expectancy, earning capacity, and economic growth projections.

Loss of Companionship and Society

Wrongful death claims include compensation for loss of companionship, society, comfort, and consortium that surviving family members suffer due to the death.

These non-economic damages recognize the intangible but real losses that families experience when losing loved ones in preventable accidents.

Mental Anguish Damages

Surviving family members may recover damages for mental anguish and emotional suffering caused by their loved one’s death and the circumstances surrounding fatal accidents.

The traumatic nature of truck accident deaths often creates severe psychological impacts that warrant substantial mental anguish awards.

Funeral and Burial Expenses

Wrongful death claims include reasonable funeral and burial expenses incurred by surviving family members following a death.

Loss of Inheritance

Calculations may include lost inheritance that the deceased would have accumulated and left to heirs if death hadn’t occurred.

This requires analysis of the deceased’s earning capacity, savings patterns, and likely wealth accumulation over normal life expectancy.

Household Services Value

The economic value of household services, childcare, and other contributions the deceased made to family welfare may be included in damage calculations.

These services often have substantial economic value that must be replaced through paid providers or additional family member efforts.

Age and Life Expectancy Factors

Younger victims typically generate higher wrongful death awards due to longer life expectancies and greater lost earning potential.

However, older victims may have established higher earning patterns and more concrete financial contributions that also support substantial awards.

Dependency Relationships

The degree of financial and emotional dependency between deceased victims and surviving family members affects damage calculations and award amounts.

Multiple Beneficiary Allocation

When multiple family members have wrongful death claims, courts must allocate awards among beneficiaries based on their relationships and dependency levels.

Survival vs. Wrongful Death Damages

Understanding the distinction between survival action damages (for the deceased) and wrongful death damages (for survivors) helps maximize total recovery.

Conscious Pain and Suffering

Survival actions require evidence that deceased victims experienced conscious pain and suffering between injury and death for recovery of these damages.

Medical records, emergency responder testimony, and expert medical opinions help establish conscious suffering periods.

Statutory Limitations

Texas’s wrongful death statute has specific procedural requirements and limitation periods that must be followed to preserve claims.

Comparative Negligence Application

Wrongful death awards may be reduced by the deceased’s percentage of fault under Texas comparative negligence rules.

Insurance Coverage Coordination

Fatal truck accidents often involve substantial insurance coverage that may exceed typical auto accident policies due to commercial insurance requirements.

Multiple insurance policies, including primary liability, excess coverage, and umbrella policies, may provide cumulative coverage for wrongful death claims.

Punitive Damage Availability

Wrongful death claims may include punitive damages when evidence establishes gross negligence or malice by trucking companies or drivers.

Settlement vs. Trial Considerations

Fatal truck accident cases often have strong trial value that encourages reasonable settlement negotiations due to jury sympathy and clear damages.

Estate Administration Requirements

Wrongful death claims may require estate administration and appointment of representatives to pursue claims on behalf of deceased victims.

Tax Implications

Wrongful death settlements typically aren’t taxable income, but specific components may have different tax treatment requiring careful structuring.

Structured Settlements

Large wrongful death awards may benefit from structured settlement arrangements that provide long-term income security for surviving family members.

Life Insurance Coordination

Life insurance benefits typically don’t offset wrongful death recoveries but may affect family financial needs and settlement considerations.

Criminal Case Coordination

Fatal truck accidents may trigger criminal prosecution that proceeds independently from civil wrongful death claims.

Criminal case outcomes may provide evidence for civil cases, but don’t determine civil liability or damage amounts.

Expert Testimony Requirements

Wrongful death cases often require expert testimony from economists, vocational specialists, and medical professionals to establish damages and causation.

Discovery and Evidence

Fatal accident investigation requires immediate evidence preservation and comprehensive discovery of all factors contributing to the deaths.

Family Impact Assessment

Understanding the full impact of deaths on surviving family members helps present compelling cases that achieve maximum compensation.

Grief Counseling and Support

Wrongful death cases often involve recommendations for grief counseling and support services that help families cope with devastating losses.

Memorial and Legacy Considerations

Some wrongful death settlements include provisions for memorials or charitable contributions that honor deceased victims’ memories.

Prevention and Safety Advocacy

Wrongful death litigation often promotes safety improvements that prevent future fatal accidents and honor victims’ legacies.

Long-Term Financial Planning

Substantial wrongful death awards require careful financial planning to ensure long-term security for surviving family members.

Wrongful death claims in truck accidents require comprehensive damage analysis and sensitive legal representation that helps grieving families achieve justice while securing financial stability for their futures.

San Antonio Truck Accident Attorney

This Blog was brought to you by the Laredo’s Truck-18 Wheeler Accident lawyer The Carabin Shaw Law Firm, Principal Office in San Antonio

San Antonio Truck Accident Attorney – San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers

Have You Been Injured in an Accident With a 18-Wheeler Truck?

Our firm has dedicated over 30 years of practice to helping truck accident victims in Texas. This makes Carabin Shaw one of the most experienced truck accident firms, not only in San Antonio, but throughout the state. With our vast experience and a proven record of excellence, our dedicated legal team is devoted to helping you win your claim and receive the financial compensation you may be entitled to. We also believe that you should be well informed about what your truck accident lawsuit might entail and how we plan on specifically helping you.

How Truck Accident Cases Work

The most important thing you must understand about 18-wheeler accident cases is that they are some of the most complex and challenging claims an attorney can handle. We face numerous legal challenges and tons of technically based evidence which we must battle in order for you to win. Our attorneys fully understand the legal complexities of these cases and we also know that a successful outcome is crucial to your well-being. This is why we are so dedicated to helping you because we know that we have a special ability to fight the counter-claims of 18-wheeler truck companies.

Trucking companies spend huge amounts of money on teams of attorneys who are specialized in protecting and advancing their interests. They spend all of their time solely trying to defeat claims like yours. These companies have absolutely no interest in making the ethical choice and helping innocent victims like you with your recovery. Although trucking companies companies are required by law to retain a great deal of insurance, these companies will do absolutely everything they can to make sure you receive none of it.

Think about it. When you are involved in a car accident and you must pay through your insurance, your insurance premiums go up. This is also true for trucking companies when they are forced to pay your for damages they have negligently caused. They have absolutely no sympathy that you are no longer able to work following your accident, and they do not care that your loved one was tragically killed due to their negligence. They care about money first and foremost. Consequently, they will use every despicable and deceitful tactic in order to escape payment for your suffering even if it means deflecting the blame elsewhere, including you.

Examples of Trucking Companies Trying to Skirt Their Liability

Our firm was hired by a client who was severely hurt when her car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler truck. Although she had debilitating back injuries caused by the truck driver’s negligence, the trucking company was initially only willing to offer her an insultingly small amount for her pain and suffering. With the assistance of our team she was awarded more than ten times that amount. Luckily for her, even though she waited to contact us, we were still able to reach a successful outcome. Regrettably, not everyone is so fortunate.

Many trucking companies and insurance companies representing the trucking company do everything within their power to delay your claim by dragging it out until you have no other option but to take their inadequate and insulting offer. Many law firms will refuse to help you at this point because the evidence proving your claim will be destroyed or lost due to the amount of time that has passed. This is why it is so important that you call us immediately after your accident. We can make sure that your evidence is properly preserved and you ultimately receive a fair and just payment for your injuries.

Examples of Trucking Companies Trying to Shift Blame Elsewhere

The best defense, and probably the most frequently used defense, is the argument that another person is responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries, therefore, shifting the blame elsewhere. Trucking companies have no problem blatantly lying in order to deflect blame and often make false claims in an effort to defeat your allegations. For instance, we previously represented the family of a man who was sadly killed when his car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler truck. The truck driver had driven well over his limited amount of hours in which he was allowed to operate the large vehicle, and he was high on illegal drugs when the accident occurred. The deceased driver was only trying to obey the law and give the right of way to an ambulance entering the freeway. The negligent truck driver failed to slow down and hit the car in front of him killing the driver. In an effort to shift blame the trucking company listed the ambulance as a responsible third party and attempted to argue that the ambulance was the actual cause of the accident. It was completely false, and the trucking company absolutely knew that to be true, but they still tried to use it as a defense in order to not pay the victim’s family. We sued the trucking company and won.

To Sue or Not to Sue

While we can usually reach a successful and fair agreement outside of court, it is sometimes necessary to take your case to trial in order to make sure that you receive everything you deserve. As mentioned before, these trucking companies have entire teams of lawyers working around the clock dedicated to protecting their interests. They pay hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to these lawyers just so that they do not have to pay you that money. As a result, these lawyers extend the claim and delay your payment for as long as possible. The trucking company has absolutely no motivation to settle because they seem to have a never ending supply of money and have no incentive to settle your claim. They would rather drag it out as long as possible and then may be forced to pay you in court, but this rests solely on your ability to find a qualified attorney to represent you in trial. Our firm has a proven track record of winning big in court against these unethical trucking companies and we will do it again for you.

Our Experience

We have won hundreds of truck accident cases, including a claim in which a young woman suffered a crushed vertebra when her car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler truck. A father of two was tragically killed when a disabled 18-wheeler blocked off the entire roadway. A young man lost his life when a commercial vehicle ran a red light. Several people were killed and numerous others injured when an 18-wheeler driver who was under the influence crashed into numerous parked cars. In another case, a 22-year-old mother was killed when her vehicle collided with a disabled tanker truck that did not have any warning lights while blocking the highway at night.

What We Hope to Accomplish in Every Truck Accident Case

Our end goals in every case are to make sure that our client is happy, healthy, and can move forward in their life. For you this ultimately means getting you the money you deserve to adequately compensate you for your injuries. We want to make sure that you receive the medical treatment and ongoing healthcare that is necessary for your recovery. We want to make sure that you can pay your bills while the case is still ongoing. And we want to make sure that the negligent defendant reimburses you for any lost wages or lost future income since they are the sole reason why your life has been turned upside down. What we hope to accomplish in your truck accident case is to restore you to a level of health and well-being you enjoyed prior to your unfortunate accident.

Before we can do anything on your case, we need you to call us. We are anxious to get started on helping you with your recovery and are dedicated to performing all necessary research in order to prove your damages. For a free over-the-phone consultation, Call

Oklahoma City Tractor Trailer Accidents

In a single moment, an Oklahoma City tractor-trailer accident can change your life. Every year, millions of Americans are injured in automobile accidents. Regardless of how safely you drive, a negligent truck driver can cause you serious injury. Following are tips on what to do if you are involved in an Oklahoma City semi truck accident:

Tips for tractor trailer accidents in Oklahoma

Stay calm and call 911: If you are in a tractor trailer accident in Oklahoma City it is important that you do not panic. If you have a cell phone, immediately call 911. Emergency services can quickly assist you, your passengers, and the other driver.

Seek medical attention: Regardless of how minor you may perceive your injuries to be, you must seek medical attention immediately. A doctor can assess your wounds and prevent smaller injuries from becoming worse. Additionally, if you plan on filing a lawsuit, your medical record will prove to be invaluable to your case. Your tractor trailer accident attorney in Oklahoma City will explain more.

Call an attorney: Second to seeing a doctor, calling a tractor trialer accident attorney in Oklahoma City is the most important decision you can make after being in a tractor-trailer accident in Oklahoma. First, an experienced attorney can negotiate with insurers. Many insurance companies will offer you a significantly low settlement in order to resolve the issue as cost-effectively as possible. A skilled tractor-trailer accident lawyer in Oklahoma City can preserve your best interests and help you receive just compensation. Additionally, your attorney can also hire investigators to collect evidence and reconstruct the accident. By using other expert witnesses, a knowledgeable lawyer can greatly increase the strength of your case.

Keep a journal: After the accident, you should start keeping a journal detailing your injuries on a daily basis. Make sure you note any changes in your condition. You should also write down any special events or work days you have missed as a result of your tractor trailer accident in Oklahoma City.