Criminal charges can only be levied by a district attorney, whereas your case is filed in civil court. The criminal proceedings are to determine whether or not the defendant is guilty and, if so, how they should be punished. In your case, your wrongful death attorney will be seeking damages from the other party to help you and your family work toward recovering from the trauma you have just suffered. The criminal case should not affect the proceedings in your civil case, and in fact, your attorney might be able to use evidence from that case to help with yours.