When you lose someone you love, the world stops making sense. Everything feels wrong, and the pain can be overwhelming. But when that death happens because someone else was careless or reckless, the hurt goes so much deeper. On top of grieving, you’re probably furious and scared about how your family will survive financially.
If you’re facing this nightmare in Texas, you need to know that state law gives certain family members the right to seek justice and compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. While money can never replace the person you’ve lost, it can help your family rebuild and hold the responsible party accountable.
The legal process might seem overwhelming when you’re already dealing with so much, but knowing your rights is the first step toward getting the help your family deserves.
Who Has the Right to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Texas is pretty strict about who gets to file these claims. According to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 71.004, only three types of family members can bring a wrongful death lawsuit:
- Your spouse
- Your children (including adopted kids)
- Your parents
That’s the complete list. It doesn’t matter how close your brother was to the person who died, or how much your grandmother depended on them. If you’re not a spouse, child, or parent, you can’t file this type of claim.
These qualifying family members can work together to file one lawsuit, or any one of them can file on behalf of everyone. Here’s something important, though – if none of the eligible family members file a lawsuit within three months after the death, the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate has to step in and file the case (unless all the family members specifically say they don’t want to pursue it).
Why the three month rule? Texas lawmakers understood that families need time to grieve before they can even think about legal matters. But they also didn’t want cases to disappear forever just because everyone was too devastated to act.
What Makes a Death a “Wrongful Death” Under Texas Law?
For a death to qualify as a wrongful death under Texas law, it has to result from someone else’s “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.” That’s the exact language from Section 71.002 of the law.
In plain English, this means someone did something wrong (or failed to do something they should have done) and that mistake or bad decision caused your loved one’s death.
Here are some real-world examples:
A drunk driver runs a red light and kills someone in a car crash. A doctor misses an obvious diagnosis that any competent physician would have caught. A construction company ignores safety rules, and a worker falls to their death. A nursing home neglects a resident who dies from preventable complications.
The key thing to remember is that if your loved one could have sued for their injuries while they were alive, then you can probably bring a wrongful death claim after they’re gone.
Some situations that often lead to wrongful death cases include:
Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents where the other driver was speeding, texting, drunk, or otherwise driving dangerously. Medical mistakes like surgical errors, wrong medications, or failure to diagnose serious conditions. Workplace accidents, especially in dangerous jobs like construction or manufacturing. Defective products that malfunction and cause fatal injuries. Dangerous property conditions that property owners knew about but didn’t fix.
The Clock Is Ticking: You Have Two Years
This is probably the most important thing you need to know: Texas gives you exactly two years from the date of death to file your wrongful death lawsuit. Not two years and one day. Not “about” two years. Exactly two years.
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(b) states that “a person must bring suit not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues in an action for injury resulting in death. The cause of action accrues on the death of the injured person.”
If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to sue forever. Texas courts are strict about this – they won’t make exceptions just because you were grieving or didn’t know about the deadline.
Special timing rules apply in some cases
If a government entity (like a city, county, or state agency) caused the death, you have to give them written notice within six months under the Texas Tort Claims Act (Chapter 101). You still have to file the actual lawsuit within two years, but that six-month notice requirement comes first.
Medical malpractice cases sometimes have additional procedural requirements that can affect timing, so don’t wait if you suspect medical negligence caused your loved one’s death.
If the person who caused the death dies while your case is pending, don’t worry – you can continue the lawsuit against their estate.
What Kind of Money Can Your Family Recover?
Texas law allows juries to award “damages in an amount proportionate to the injury resulting from the death,” according to Section 71.010. That gives juries a lot of flexibility, but here’s what they typically consider:
Lost earnings and benefits. This is usually the biggest part of any award. The jury looks at how much money your loved one would have earned over their lifetime, including salary, bonuses, retirement benefits, and health insurance. They consider the person’s age, education, work history, and career prospects.
Household services. Even if your loved one didn’t work outside the home, they probably contributed valuable services like childcare, cooking, cleaning, home maintenance, and financial management. The jury can award money to cover the cost of replacing these services.
Mental anguish. This covers the emotional pain and suffering you experience from losing your loved one. There’s no formula for calculating this – it depends on your relationship with the deceased and how their death has affected you.
Loss of companionship. This addresses the intangible things you’ve lost – the love, guidance, comfort, and protection your family member provided. Again, there’s no mathematical formula, but juries take this seriously.
Medical and funeral expenses. Any medical bills from your loved one’s final illness or injury, plus funeral and burial costs, are typically recoverable.
The jury decides how to divide the money among eligible family members. They consider factors like financial dependency, emotional closeness, and each person’s losses. A spouse who depended on the deceased for financial support might get a larger share than financially independent adult children.
When Can You Get Punitive Damages?
Sometimes you can get extra money designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior. Section 71.009 allows “exemplary as well as actual damages” when the death was caused by “willful act or omission or gross negligence.”
Gross negligence means the person acted with extreme carelessness or complete indifference to others’ safety. Think of a drunk driver with multiple DWI convictions, or a company that knowingly sold a dangerous product without warnings.
Willful acts are intentionally harmful acts. While these cases might also involve criminal charges, you still have the right to sue for civil damages.
These punitive damages can significantly increase your recovery, but you have to prove the defendant’s conduct was particularly bad.
Important Protection for Your Family
Here’s some good news: Section 71.011 protects wrongful death awards from your loved one’s creditors. The law specifically states that “damages recovered in an action under this subchapter are not subject to the debts of the deceased.”
This means that even if your loved one owed money on credit cards, medical bills, or other debts, creditors can’t touch the wrongful death settlement or judgment. This money is meant to help your family, not pay off old bills.
Criminal Cases Don’t Prevent Civil Lawsuits
If someone killed your loved one and faces criminal charges, you might wonder whether you can still file a civil lawsuit. The answer is yes. Section 71.006 makes this clear: “An action under this subchapter is not precluded because the death is caused by a felonious act or because there may be a criminal proceeding about the felony.”
Criminal and civil cases serve different purposes:
Criminal cases punish wrongdoers and protect society. The government prosecutes these cases, and they have to prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Civil wrongful death cases compensate families for their losses. You control these cases, and you only need to prove your case by “a preponderance of the evidence” (more likely than not).
You can win your civil case even if the criminal case results in an acquittal, because the standards of proof are different.
Special Rules for Unborn Children
Texas law includes specific provisions for unborn children. Section 71.001 defines “individual” to include “an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth” and defines “death” to include “the failure to be born alive.”
However, Section 71.003 carves out several exceptions. You generally can’t bring wrongful death claims for unborn children against
- The mother
- Doctors performing lawful medical procedures with proper consent
- People properly dispensing medications according to law
- Licensed healthcare providers when the death relates to lawful medical practice
If you do have a valid claim involving an unborn child, Section 71.0055 requires you to provide medical evidence that the mother was pregnant at the time of the incident.
The Difference Between Wrongful Death and Survival Claims
Texas provides two different types of legal claims when someone dies due to negligence. Understanding the difference is important because you might be able to pursue both.
Wrongful death claims compensate surviving family members for their losses. This includes things like lost financial support, lost companionship, and the mental anguish of losing your loved one. These claims belong to the surviving family members listed in the law.
Survival claims under Section 71.021 allow the deceased person’s estate to pursue claims the deceased could have brought if they had lived. These typically cover the deceased person’s pain and suffering between the time of injury and death, medical expenses, and lost wages during that period.
The key difference is that survival claims belong to the estate (and can be used to pay the deceased person’s debts), while wrongful death claims belong directly to family members and are protected from creditors.
What About Shared Fault?
Sometimes the person who died bears some responsibility for the accident that killed them. Can you still recover money? Usually, yes.
Texas follows what’s called “modified comparative negligence” under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. As long as your loved one was less than 51% at fault for their death, you can still recover damages. However, any award gets reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased.
For example, if the jury awards $1 million but finds your loved one was 20% at fault, you’d receive $800,000.
Key Things to Remember
When someone you love dies because of another person’s negligence or wrongful actions, here are the most important points to keep in mind
- Only certain family members can file. Just spouses, children, and parents have the right to bring wrongful death claims in Texas
- You have exactly two years. From the date of death, you have exactly two years to file your lawsuit – not a day longer
- Multiple types of compensation available. You can recover money for lost earnings, household services, mental anguish, and loss of companionship
- Punitive damages possible. In cases involving particularly awful conduct, you might also get extra money designed to punish the wrongdoer
- Your money is protected. Wrongful death awards can’t be touched by your loved one’s creditors – this money belongs to your family
- Criminal cases don’t prevent civil lawsuits. You can pursue your wrongful death case regardless of what happens in any criminal prosecution
- These cases are complex. They involve complicated legal procedures, strict deadlines, and detailed evidence requirements – the stakes are huge both financially and emotionally
- Legal help matters. Having experienced legal representation gives your family the best chance of getting fair compensation while you focus on healing
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the person who caused the death has no insurance or money?
This is a common concern, and it can make collecting compensation challenging. However, an attorney might identify other potential sources of recovery, such as additional liable parties you hadn’t considered, insurance policies that weren’t initially apparent, or assets the defendant tried to hide.
Can we settle the case without going to trial?
Yes, many wrongful death cases settle before trial. However, any settlement must be approved by all beneficiaries entitled to recover compensation. The settlement should fairly account for all economic and non-economic losses your family has suffered.
How do wrongful death cases work when the deceased was the family’s main income earner?
These cases often involve substantial economic calculations. Financial professionals may need to determine the present value of the deceased person’s future earnings, benefits, and other financial contributions to the family. The younger the deceased and the higher their earning potential, the larger these calculations typically become.
What if our family lives outside Texas but the death occurred here?
If you’re a qualified family member (spouse, children, or parents), your residence doesn’t affect your right to file a wrongful death claim in Texas courts when the death occurred in Texas.
Do we need a lawyer for a wrongful death case?
While Texas law doesn’t require you to have an attorney, these cases are complex and the stakes are enormous. Insurance companies and defendants have lawyers working to minimize what they pay your family. Most wrongful death attorneys work on contingency fees, meaning you pay nothing unless they recover money for your family.
What happens if we discover new information about the death after the two-year deadline?
Unfortunately, Texas courts rarely extend the two-year deadline. The “discovery rule” might apply in very limited circumstances, but don’t count on it. This is why it’s so important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after your loss.
Get the Help Your Family Deserves
Losing someone you love to another person’s negligence or wrongful actions turns your world upside down. The grief is overwhelming, and worrying about your family’s financial future only makes everything harder.
While no lawsuit can bring back the person you’ve lost, Texas wrongful death law provides a way to secure the financial resources your family needs and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. These cases require immediate attention due to strict legal deadlines and the need to preserve evidence while it’s still available.
At the Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III, P.C., we handle wrongful death cases with the compassion and attention your family deserves during this difficult time. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family.
Don’t let insurance companies or procedural deadlines prevent your family from getting the justice and financial security you deserve. Time is running out, and every day matters in preserving your legal rights. Contact our San Antonio team today to discuss your case and learn how we can help protect your family’s future.
