Wrongful Death Lawyer in El Paso
Let Us Help You Get the Justice You Deserve
If a loved one has died because of the negligence of another party, a wrongful death lawyer can help you build a case against the negligent party. At the Huerta Law Firm, we understand that losing someone this way is incredibly painful. Not only can it be an emotionally trying time, but you’re also usually faced with having to make tough legal and financial decisions.
A wrongful death lawyer at the Huerta Law Firm can help you build a case to not only bring awareness to your situation, which may be dangerous to others, but to help you receive the compensation you deserve.
To speak to with a top wrongful death lawyer in El Paso for FREE, call (915) 629-9988 today.
What Qualifies as a Wrongful Death?
When someone dies at the hands of another person–deliberately, accidentally, or negligently–their death can legally be classified as a homicide, manslaughter, or wrongful death.
Homicide: A death is considered a homicide when a person deliberately and unlawfully kills another person.
Manslaughter: When someone kills someone without any premeditation, it is considered manslaughter.
Wrongful death: Typically, wrongful death happens when someone dies because of the negligence of another person and no criminal action is sought after the situation.
It can be hard to differentiate between manslaughter and wrongful death. Typically, wrongful death is determined by statutes, or previous cases involving similar situations. Some examples of wrongful deaths include faulty car parts being responsible for a deadly accident, accidents at amusement parks due to improper safety protocols, and medical malpractice.
Common Causes of Wrongful Death
As a surviving spouse, parent, or child, it’s extremely difficult to comprehend how this terrible accident could have happened in the first place. Causes of wrongful death can range from vehicle accidents to slip and falls. There are some common categories and patterns behind many of these lawsuits.
The following are a few examples of causes:
Car accidents – Drunk drivers, distracted drivers, aggressive drivers, and tired drivers are among one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. today.
Truck accidents – Many drivers of 18 wheelers and other commercial trucks are forced to work long hours and abide to strict schedules, which causes them to fall asleep behind the wheel.
Medical malpractice – Medical professionals are expected to provide a certain level of care to patients. Failure to do so may result in a wrongful death case. Examples include surgical error, prescription error, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or a medical equipment malfunction.
Work-related accidents – Unsafe work environments, faulty equipment, improper or lack of training, explosions, fires, and even illness from exposure to toxic chemicals can lead to wrongful death in the workplace.
Criminal acts – Being sexually molested, assaulted, or bullied often leads people to take their own lives. There are ramifications for offenders.
Filing a Wrongful Claim
There are many steps you must take in order to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Our El Paso wrongful death lawyer will help you navigate them. First, you must have proof of negligence. In other words, had the victim lived, he or she would need to prove negligence as well. To do so, you must be able to establish the following:
Duty: In order to file a claim, you must be able to prove that the defendant owed the deceased due care, or duty. For example, if you’re filing a wrongful death due to medical malpractice, there is an understanding that doctors and nurses are supposed to take care of their patients. Therefore, they have a duty. When that duty is compromised and a patient is injured or killed, they may be served with a lawsuit.
Breach of duty: Once you’ve established a duty existed, you must be able to prove that the person breached the duty. For instance, if someone has passed away because of a car accident, your personal injury lawyer in El Paso would have to prove that the other driver had been distracted or something else that would lead them to crash. This would be a breach of duty. The duty would be to drive safe. The breach of duty is that they didn’t.
Causation: You must be able to prove that it was indeed that person who caused the wrongful death. Using the medical malpractice example, you would have to prove that a specific doctor or nurse caused it and another one.
Damages: Damages prove that a person was actually wrongfully affected by another person’s actions. In this case, the damages would be that the person was killed.
We’re Here for You — Contact Our El Paso Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
There is no amount of money that can truly compensate you and your family for the loss of your loved one. Our goal is to help you seek justice for the horrible wrongdoing of someone else. At the Huerta Law Firm, we are committed to fighting your case until a fair and adequate settlement is reached. A wrongful death lawyer in El Paso will be able to help you accurately build a case while also navigating the legal system. Contact us online or call (915) 629-9988 to arrange your FREE, no-obligation case review.