There are a number of common causes of wrongful death in the United States. One of the leading ‘agents’ is vehicle crashes. While the numbers have fallen over the last thirty years – there are still over thirty thousand Americans killed annually from car and truck crashes. Nearly half are the result of drunk driving but there is a growing segment of deaths that can also be contributed to distracted driving.

A second leading cause of wrongful deaths is product liability. This may take several forms. A product may have design flaws that make it dangerous to the health of an individual to use. In other cases the flaw may be a result of manufacturing or – finally – in due diligence to warn the consumer of its dangers. No matter what the ultimate cause is shown to be – if use of the product results in the death of an individual then it is classified as ‘wrongful’ and liability will be imposed.

Surprisingly, a third very common cause of wrongful death is workplace accidents. These, too, can take many forms including such things as slip and falls, burns and explosions or equipment malfunctions. Most often this occurs in construction accidents and manufacturing accidents.

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The feelings can vary from denial, hurt, sorrow, anger, sadness and even guilt.  Individuals can differ in how they handle the stress from a wrongful death but in every case it is a very difficult process to work through.  Loss of sleep, appetite and attention are common occurrences after the loss of a loved one.

The feelings from a wrongful death can actually immobilize or paralyze a person from taking action to protect the family’s financial interest when someone else is been negligent that caused the accident that took the family member.

After a serious accident whether an eighteen wheeler crash or a construction accident or other tragedy, the insurance carriers for the negligent companies will start their investigation immediately and began looking for ways to defend the wrongful death lawsuit.  Early investigation can reveal liability factors that the insurance company would much prefer that the facts do not come out at all.

It is at this time of stress that it is important for the family to protect their financial interests by retaining a reputable and experienced wrongful death attorney to investigate the claims and protect their family’s interests.  The earlier the family acts to hire a wrongful death lawyer the better position the attorney will be to help them be successful with their wrongful death case.

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Generally, civil damage awards in wrongful death cases finds that typically male decedents are awarded higher monetary damages than their female counterparts. This demonstrates that there is the continued belief that men are generally the breadwinners of the family – a case which has been disputed time and again with studies that show the workforce is comprised of as many women as men.

The individual facts in any single wrongful death case can vary greatly as can the makeup of any particular jury. Over time however, published reports of wrongful death damages show that right or wrong, the above referenced situation favoring male decedents is a factor in how an insurance company can value a wrongful death case.

Often, wrongful death damages are also indirectly related to the severity of the conduct on the part of the wrongdoer. In other words, if the wrongful death case stems from a tragic and terrible accident but one where the defendant’s negligence did not offend the conscience of the community damages may not be as large as a situation where the conduct on the part of the defendant was willful or wanton.

In some extreme cases, punitive damages may be awarded in addition to wrongful death damages. This would be a situation such as a drunk driving accident or where a company has been particularly egregious in disregarding safety rules.

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Punitive Damage Cases

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As a Texas wrongful death lawyer one of my goals is to lighten the burden of negotiating the legal process while helping you through the grieving process. We are dually equipped to address legal issues and help direct you to those services that will provide the greatest support to you and yours in coming to terms with your loss. We take great pride in not running a volume practice instead focusing on a smaller number of serious cases to give our clients the best possible service.

If you are considering a Texas wrongful death lawsuit the following information should be helpful to you:

*In Texas, the same general liability rules govern a wrongful death claim as others  (claims).

*If a loved one has died as a result of a company’s negligence then the estate or beneficiaries will be entitled to recover from said company.

*The wrongful death statute regulates the family members’ recovery for their own damages. The survival statute regulates what damages the estate is able to seek on behalf of the deceased for those damages suffered between the time of the injury and the time of death.

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According to reports, police became suspicious about a car stopped in downtown Houston and approached the vehicle, asking its occupants to get out. One of the occupants apparently complied with the police request yet the other fled the scene in the vehicle.

While attempting to evade police the driver ran a red light and crashed into another car killing a woman and injuring two other people, before the driver fled the scene of the accident.

Houston has had a rash of hit and run fatal accidents in the last year. It is almost astonishing the number of hit-and-run accidents we have seen in our community. The accident reported by the Chronicle happened downtown about 1130 in the evening. It seems a high percentage of fatal hit-and-run accidents happen in the evening or early morning hours.

Some of the reasons for hit and run accidents are that the driver of the vehicle is afraid of being arrested for one reason or another. Frequently, intoxicated drivers for the accident scenes hoping to avoid arrest for drunken driving or intoxicated assault. Folks that are uninsured and seeking to escape financial responsibility perpetrate some hit-and-run accidents, and also there are those who may not have a driver’s license or may not have documents to be in the country legally.

For whatever the specific cause of the driver fleeing an accident scene, it is clear that Houston has reached the epidemic level in hit and run accidents.

Almost every week in my Texas personal injury practice I see folks who have been in an accident with an uninsured party and left holding the bag. In these times of uncertainty economically, it may well be in your best interest to meet with your insurance agent and discuss underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. You may be very glad you did.

The Houston Police Department’s hit and run central telephone number is 713-247-4065. If you have any information about this hit and run or any other hit and run accident please contact the Houston Police Department hit and run division.

Greg Baumgartner is a and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, a Texas personal injury law firm dedicated to helping families of people injured or killed in accidents. For a free no obligation consultation call the Baumgartner law firm at 281-587-1111.

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*A Houston Police Officer assigned to the vehicular crimes division was investigating a motorcycle accident on the Loop in the early morning hours when he was struck and killed by another driver – suspected of drunk driving.

*In another auto accident at nearly the same time a man and woman and two infants were traveling north when the driver lost control of his SUV. The vehicle left the road and rolled over in a ditch. The man who had been driving was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The female and babies were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where they are all in serious but stable condition.

*A male jogger was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver around the same time as the previous two accidents. There are no witnesses – and another who happened by and saw the man lying in the roadway notified the police. The man was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sadly, all these deaths were potentially preventable. Drunk driving accounts for nearly half of all vehicle accident fatalities. Yet knowing this – people still drink and drive. And there’s simply no excuse for not wearing your seatbelt. It is the single most valuable passive life saver in car and truck accidents. Finally, jogging in the middle of the night can be dangerous– if you jog at night sure you have on reflective gear or better yet carry a light.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston personal injury attorney and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping personal injury victims seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a Houston 18 wheeler accident lawyer call the Baumgartner firm.

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The individual services and products of a funeral include:

*the casket and other products such as a temporary grave marker and prayer cards

*professional and administrative services provided by the funeral home including such things as embalming and employee support

*rental of the facility and equipment including the funeral home visitation room and/or a chapel

*transportation to the burial site including limousine service to take the body to the grave

*incidentals including flowers, cemetery plot, and a permanent headstone

Funerals can cost as little as a thousand dollars (not likely though) to upwards of $20,000 or more depending on the amount of money a family has available and is wishes to spend. Funeral homes do not list their charges in quite so graphic and easy-to-read formats. Instead the person planning the funeral should be prepared to ask the cost of separate products and services – and frankly, this usually does not occur because it inflicts addition trauma on the survivors. Often families turn the planning and details of a funeral over completely to a funeral home and do not realize the costs until well after their loved one has been buried.

It is true that we share the common bond that we all will die. I always recommend that funeral arrangements should be planned well in advance.  If necessary it may be best for a friend, lawyer or distant relative help with the funeral arrangements as the family is very susceptible after a sudden accident that claims a loved one.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston wrongful death lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping families seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a Houston wrongful death attorney- call the Baumgartner firm for a free no obligation consultation.

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*Work-related traffic accidents are the leading cause of fatalities for both workers and the general population.

*Over a five year period it was determined that nearly a quarter of all occupational deaths were those in vehicle collisions. This amounts to nearly 8200 workers in all. The data shows that the over-65 population made up the largest segment of deaths followed by those in the 55-64 age groups.

*The majority of these deaths were semi-truck drivers killed in accidents. Jackknifed trucks, head-on collisions and rear-ended semis were several of the most common types of 18 wheeler accidents that resulted in fatalities.

*In addition, the NIH named some of the more common causes of accidents including driver fatigue and distracted driving. Too, mechanical equipment failure and unsafe driving practices played a further role in these accidents.

For more information visit the National Institute for Health homepage at www.nih.gov.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston 18 wheeler accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping personal injury victims seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a Houston wrongful death lawyer call the Baumgartner firm.

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*FIRST AND FOREMOST – invest in swimming lessons for your children. Babies as young as a few months are able to learn how to survive in the water – and there is simply no better way to spend your money than ensuring that your children can handle themselves in the water. Swimming lessons are the first line of defense to drowning accidents.

*Never leave children unsupervised near a swimming pool – not for a moment. It takes only seconds and a few inches of water for a child to drown.

*Ensure that your pool is inaccessible to neighbors and strangers. Invest in fencing that is too high to climb – and has edges that made it impossible to cross at the top. Invest in a secure locking system and allow for only one entrance to the pool.

*Inflatable toys can tip – causing a child to get stuck under the water. Keep a close eye on children if they are using pool toys.

*Never leave a pool of water sitting out. If you filled a small wading pool for your children to play in – empty it before you go inside for the day.

*Remember that water is slippery – running around a pool may cause slip and fall injuries.

*Create a list of ‘pool rules’ with your children – this will encourage them to consider safety procedures as well. Then post them and follow them!

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston pool accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping injury victims seek civil justice. For a free no obligation consultation with a pool accident attorney in Houston call the Baumgartner firm at 281-587-1111.

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Statistics on semi truck accidents abound and are pretty disturbing . One source finds that there are 2.6 deaths per every 100 million vehicle miles traveled – a rate that is 50% higher than that of any other vehicle on the road.

An average of 5000 trucks are involved in a fatal vehicle collision annually – often there are multiple deaths and it is the passengers and drivers of the other vehicle who are killed at a much higher rate than the semi truck operator. In fact, recently over 5500 wrongful deaths occurred from semi truck accidents and, of these fatalities, only 713 were the truck drivers.

Although there are numerous state and federal regulations that target big rig driving safety it is the responsibility of the truck driver and his or her company to ensure that these rules are adhered to. Such requirements as the number of hours a driver may be behind the wheel to semi truck maintenance are important not only to the truck driver but to every other driver on the road.

Having been a Texas semi truck accident lawyer for the past 25 years I make it a rule of thumb to give semi truck drivers wide berth on the roads and drive defensively.

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