DID YOUR LOVED ONE SUFFER AN ACCIDENTAL DEATH?
NO FEES UNLESS YOU COLLECT
In the last four years, our firm made Top Verdict’s “Top 50” Personal Injury Settlements in Texas list 44 times, and the “Top 100” list 70 times.
YOU CAN TRUST OUR FAMILY TO FIGHT FOR YOURS™
If your loved suffered a wrongful death due to the negligence or recklessness of another person or company, our skilled Dallas attorneys are ready to assist. Obviously, no amount of money can ever undo the ultimate injustice. Rest assured, however, that we will hold the wrongdoer accountable, get the answers you deserve, and seek the maximum financial compensation available.
Mullen & Mullen is consistently recognized by TopVerdict for obtaining some of the largest recoveries in the entire state of Texas. In the last 4 years our firm made the “Top 50” list 44 times, and the “Top 100” list 70 times. Our stellar results allow us to offer a below industry standard 29% pre-suit contingency fee which means more money in your pocket.
Our experienced local team has an incredibly strong work ethic and truly cares. We’ve been privileged to serve North Texas for over 40 years. This is our backyard. Call (214) 747-5240 now for a free consultation and some excellent advice.
When the unthinkable happens, grieving families need and deserve answers. For many decades, our firm has recovered damages and held wrong-doers accountable on behalf of clients who have lost loved ones.
Most of our firm’s wrongful death case results are confidential and cannot be discussed in any detail. I can talk about one, however, that shows what our firm is all about.
We were retained by the family of a gentleman who was struck as a pedestrian while walking on the shoulder of a highway. The liability carrier for the motorist quickly disclosed their insured’s policy limits but denied liability and refused to pay the policy limits when the police report faulted our deceased client.
In his police statement, the motorist claimed our client stumbled into his lane of travel. When we ordered a toxicology report, it demonstrated their loved one had no drugs or alcohol in his system – casting serious doubt on the motorist’s suggestion that our client appeared to be stumbling prior to the incident.
We also ordered the investigating officer’s body worn camera footage. This proved key. The footage included a very brief exchange where the motorist acknowledged seeing our client prior to the incident – establishing there was sufficient time for him to react. The implication is clear – the motorist hadn’t moved far enough over to avoid striking our client even though he had a chance to do so.
Our firm submitted this brief but critical footage with our settlement demand and the carrier quickly reversed itself. More importantly, a grieving family could now rest easier knowing the full story of what happened to their loved one.
We didn’t get the police report back and give up just because it faulted our deceased client. We didn’t quit because the motorist’s insurance carrier denied liability. We dug deeper and discovered the truth. We fought for this family like we’ll fight for yours.
Gross Settlements Before Fees & Expenses
We have achieved numerous multimillion-dollar settlements across all practice areas, but we are restricted from displaying some very large results due to settlement confidentiality. Here are a few recent results without confidentiality agreements:
$6,150,000.00
Work Accident
$4,000,000.00
Wrongful Death
$2,978,104.95
Vehicle Accident
$2,550,000.00
Vehicle Accident
$2,550,000.00
Vehicle Accident
$2,250,000.00
Premises Liability
According to TopVerdict.com, our Dallas attorneys consistently achieve some of the highest recoveries in the state. As a matter of fact, in the last three years we’ve made their “Texas Top 50 Personal Injury Settlements” list 43 times. For example, in 2021 one of our claims made the Top 10 list, eight made the Top 11-20 list, and ten made the Top 21-50 list. That’s why we can say with 100% confidence that we’ll maximum your compensation. At Mullen & Mullen, we pride ourselves on fiercely fighting to achieve full policy limits results for our clients.
Even if you don’t have health insurance, or can’t afford your deductible, Mullen & Mullen can get you the medical diagnostics and treatment you need with no upfront out of pocket.
Not only has Mullen & Mullen Law Firm been in business in Dallas for 40 years, but our attorneys have 95 years of combined experience you can leverage. We know how to win against the insurance companies.
Some lawyers forget that they represent the client but we never have. Our legal team will make YOU the priority. You are the boss and we will respond quickly to your requests for case updates and assistance. And when you need to speak to your counsel, you will speak directly to your counsel, not to a paralegal or secretary, because that’s the way it should be.
Mullen & Mullen’s attorneys live and work right here in Dallas, and always have. We believe in paying our success forward by helping people in the North Texas community, and are dedicated to supporting these local charities.
Our Managing Partner, Shane V. Mullen, has been handling personal injury cases for 21 years. He is “Top-rated” by Thompson Reuters who named him as a Texas Super Lawyer 3 consecutive years. Shane is also a lifetime member of both the Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums, solidifying his expertise in handling significant cases. He is also an esteemed member of Rue Ratings’ Best Attorneys of America, further attesting to his exceptional legal prowess. Shane brings hard-won, battle born knowledge to your case.
With 18 years of personal injury experience, Attorney Joseph R. Morrison has established himself as a highly skilled legal professional. Notably, he served as counsel of record in a case that garnered recognition from VerdictSearch.com as a top 5 Premises liability (slip and fall) verdict in Texas. The defendant in this case was a Fortune 500 company with an annual revenue exceeding 11 billion. The specific case, Jeffrey Young v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., showcased Joe’s exceptional abilities in achieving favorable outcomes.
Joe is a distinguished member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers, solidifying his standing among the nation’s most esteemed legal practitioners. Furthermore, his membership in both the Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums further attests to his expertise in handling substantial cases.
Both Shane and Joseph are lifetime members of the Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums, meaning they have each settled cases in excess of two million. This solidifies their expertise in handling significant personal injury cases.
Our Founder, Attorney Regis L. Mullen, has 56 years of personal injury experience. Regis received his Admission to practice law in 1967. Previously a Litigation Supervisor at Allstate Insurance Company, he knows all the tactics liability carriers use to deny or reduce personal injury settlements. Drawing upon his profound comprehension of the inner workings of the insurance industry, Regis established a law firm dedicated to meeting the legal needs of injured individuals in North Texas.
According to our records, the result obtained by Shane V. Mullen, Joseph R. Morrison in the case Estate of Unborn Child v. Motorist was one of the Top 50 Wrongful Death Settlements in the United States in the year 2021 and has made our list of the Top 50 Wrongful Death Settlements in the Nation in 2021. See the list here.
Case: Estate of Unborn Child v. Motorist
Type: Car Accident, Motor Vehicle Accident, Wrongful Death, Negligent Tort
Attorneys: Shane V. Mullen, Joseph R. Morrison of Mullen & Mullen Law Firm
Amount: $1,510,000.00
State: Texas
When a family member dies because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, intentional actions or misconduct, the surviving family members have their own claims for mental anguish, loss of financial support, loss of household services, loss of support, loss of advice as well as loss of maintenance which the deceased family member provided prior to their untimely death. Regardless of whether your deceased family member had a Will, an estate can easily be created. Your deceased family member’s own legal damages will be pursued through a survival action case. We’ll distinguish the differences in these two types of claims below.
Not too long, so it’s important to act fast. There are two statutes of limitations governing the law in Texas:
If you wait 2 years and 1 day after the date of the incident that resulted in the loss of your loved one, Texas law will prohibit you from seeking any form of financial compensation.
The decisions you and your family make now will prove vital to the outcome of your case. You only have one chance to tell your loved one’s story the right way. A number of strategic decisions must be made immediately. Evidence must be gathered immediately. Experts may be required immediately.
A wrongful death claim is brought by certain family members that directly suffer financial and/or emotional harm because of the untimely and unjust loss of a relative caused by someone else’s negligence or gross negligence.
A survival action is brought by the deceased’s estate. The estate sues for the deceased’s own harm and damages caused directly from someone else’s negligence or gross negligence that resulted in their demise.
The answer depends on who was harmed. Was it a father who died instantly and now can’t support his children or are we dealing with a single man who suffered a long, slow and painful death?
In the former situation, the children certainly should sue for mental anguish, loss of advice as well as the financial support they’ve now lost because of their father’s untimely passing.
In the latter situation, there are no children, but the estate can sue for the pain, suffering, physical impairment, mental anguish and any medical bills sustained by the victim in the days or weeks leading up to his death.
Of course, in most situations wisdom dictates it’s best to file both causes of action.
However, when dealing with limited money to go after and large medical bills owed by the estate it can be wise to seek every dollar possible under the wrongful death claims in order to avoid large hospital liens and/or other liens from attaching to the survival action’s ultimate recovery.
When we limit the claim to only wrongful death damages, lien holders are often times prevented from intervening with a goal of obtaining some or all of your family’s compensation.
In the state of Texas, there is a legal distinction between the people able to file a suit and the people who are beneficiaries. According to the law in Texas, those who can file a claim are laid out by statute:
No, under Texas Law siblings do not have this right. However, money recovered from a survivor action goes to the estate, and if the deceased had a will and that will names a sibling as a beneficiary then the sibling will indirectly and financially benefit from the lawsuit.
The law in Texas generally is that the executor and/or administrator of the decedent’s estate may file a Wrongful death claim if one has not been filed in the ninety (90) days following the decedent’s demise by his or her surviving spouse, children, parent and/or guardian. An exception to the general rule exists if the estate has been forbidden to file a lawsuit by one of the parties referenced above.
In Texas a suit must be filed by the decedent’s surviving spouse, parent or child as discussed above. In addition, a person or corporation must have committed a wrongful act that caused injuries to the decedent resulting in his or her demise. It must also be established that the decedent would have been entitled to bring an action if he or she had survived. Also, the surviving spouse, parent, or child must also have suffered actual damages as outlined above.
You can recover “actual damages.” A surviving spouse of a decedent or surviving children of a decedent can potentially recover punitive damages but this is not true of parents of a child.
Recoverable damages include monetary damages resulting from the demise of the child (before and after the age of 18), damages for the termination of the parent-child relationship which is commonly referred to as “companionship and society”, and mental anguish (emotional pain, torment, and suffering – sometimes submitted as grief and bereavement) resulting from the demise.
The same damages as if the child was a minor. (see above)
Recoverable damages include monetary loss due to the demise of the spouse, damages for the termination of the spousal relationship (love, affection, comfort, sexual relationship), mental anguish caused by the demise and loss of inheritance (loss of future earning capacity / money that would have been added to the estate).
Recoverable damages include future monetary loss resulting from the passing of the parent, damages for the cessation of the relationship (love, compassion, etc.), mental anguish, and loss of inheritance (if any).
Jurors are typically instructed to consider the relationship between the party and the deceased, living arrangements of the parties, any periods of extended absence, family harmony, and shared interests/activities.
Yes, if the loved one’s demise was the result of willful or grossly negligent conduct. The caps on punitive damages laid out in the Tort Reform Act of 1995 are applicable. Texas law-makers have limited the recovery of punitive damages in these claims to the surviving spouse and children. (Inexplicably) Parents are not able to recover punitive damages for the passing of a child.
Potentially. This is a very case specific inquiry and support (if any) you received from the decedent during the separation period prior to his or her demise.
Yes, but (again inexplicably) generally only if the fetus would have been able to take at least one breath if removed from the womb just prior to the violent event or if the fetus is born alive and subsequently dies.
A survival action is filed by or on behalf of an estate to recover damages the decedent who was the victim of a Wrongful death sustained prior to his or her passing.
Recoverable damages include physical pain and mental anguish suffered by the victim prior to his or her death, medical expenses incurred prior to the passing, funeral and burial expenses, property damages, and punitive damages.
Yes, amounts recovered in a survival action are subject to a hospital lien, while Wrongful death damages generally are not.
Probably not. Recovery of these damages is generally limited to instances in which conscious pain and suffering can be demonstrated – even if only for a very short period of time.
The most difficult aspect of any wrongful death claim is proving negligence. If someone was driving drunk and well over the legal BAC limit, negligence is easy to prove. But in cases alleging medical malpractice, for example, it’s not always so clear and often costs lots of time and money to determine.
You might also hear this called “breach of duty” which refers to the fact the defendant is liable to the decedent for a duty of “due care.” Basically, that’s a duty to keep the other person safe or not to do something that may harm the person.
Showing causation can also be easy or amazingly difficult. If a car crash happens, it’s comparatively easy to show the defendant’s car did or did not cause the accident.
But again, in cases where medical malpractice is involved, it gets very difficult to show negligence. For example, your loved one could die months or years after a negligent act or omission happens (like prescribing the wrong medicine).
If you show intent or breach of duty and causation then damages are presumed because you showed the injured person was killed. However, in cases where harm happens but not death, you can prove both of those but still lose the suit because you didn’t prove the nature and extent of the harm (damages).
It’s sad other people make decisions which can cause the passing of your loved one, but it’s a reality we have to live with. If you find yourself in this heartbreaking situation, contact our Dallas lawyers for a free consultation and some advice.
No, it’s different. You can only be convicted of “murder” in criminal court. You cannot seek financial compensation for “murder” charges.
In Texas “wrongful death” is a civil action. Civil lawsuits seek financial damages, not jail time or execution. However, typically when there is a murder you may sue the murderer in a wrongful death lawsuit. That’s what happened to O.J. Simpson. He won his criminal trial, but he lost the wrongful death lawsuit brought by surviving family members.
For example, hypothetically prosecutors may choose not to go after a drunk driver who hit and killed your loved one. They may not have enough evidence to convict them of manslaughter. But, you can still file a claim for “Wrongful death” in Texas and potentially recover financial compensation.
With criminal cases the prosecutor must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt”, but in civil wrongful death cases we only have to prove “preponderance of the evidence” (more likely than not). This is why O.J. Simpson won his criminal trial (the jury had a doubt he didn’t kill his wife) and it’s why he lost the wrongful death claim (the civil court jury saw enough evidence to believe it was more likely than not that he killed his wife).
There are a number of avenues to recover financial compensation in Texas. Here are a few “actual damages” types of compensation you can recover for loss that actually happened (or will happen):
You can also win “exemplary” damages in Texas. Rather than compensating you for actual losses, they are meant to penalize or punish the defendant for their gross negligence.
If you are in Texas, Mullen & Mullen’s Dallas Wrongful death lawyers can and will help you. Call (214) 747-5240 now for a free consultation and some excellent advice.
Contact us now in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, or Fort Worth to discuss the facts of your potential case. There is never a fee for our legal services unless we obtain a recovery for you.
The Mullen & Mullen family is here to address your concerns and make the path to recovery smooth. There are no fees to get started and you pay $0 if we don’t settle your case.
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LICENSED BY THE STATES OF TEXAS & MISSOURI FOR THE GENERAL PRACTICE OF LAW. The information on this website is not intended to be legal advice. That can only come from a qualified personal injury lawyer who is familiar with all the circumstances and facts of your specific case and the law relevant to it.
