What Families Should Do After a Fatal Accident in Texas

The first days of preservation, investigation, and legal decisions

After a fatal accident, protect the evidence, ask a lawyer about deadlines and read every paper before you sign it.

Identify the evidence that could disappear first

• The vehicle or part. Where is it, and who controls repair or disposal?
• Nearby cameras. Which business, which direction, what time window. Ask them to keep the original footage.
• Your loved one's phone and accounts. Keep what you have, delete nothing and don't log in as someone else.

Keep communications complete

• Save every letter, email, text thread and voicemail from insurers, employers and agencies, with attachments and dates.
• If an insurer asks for a recorded statement, find out whose insurer it is before you agree. Don't guess about your loved one's conduct or medical history.
• An adjuster who keeps talking hasn't extended any filing deadline.

Review documents before accepting assistance

Funeral help or a partial claim payment can carry a release, an indemnity or a confidentiality clause. Read it first. The relative who arranged the funeral can't necessarily release the spouse's, children's or estate's claims, and a small payment can come with a broad release. Have a lawyer read the papers and keep every version.

A hypothetical vehicle disposal problem

Say a family learns the car from a fatal crash will be sold for salvage in a few days. A lawyer should find out who has custody right away and whether an agreed inspection or court relief is needed. Don't try to take the vehicle yourself. (This is a hypothetical, not a reported case.)

Protect legal deadlines while investigating the death

• Texas generally gives two years for personal injury and wrongful death claims (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003). A wrongful death claim generally runs from the date of death, and a survival claim may run from an earlier date.
• Extra time for minors under section 16.001 applies only to the child, not to the spouse, parents or estate.
• Government defendants fall under the Tort Claims Act and often require notice within six months (section 101.101). Medical allegations may fall under chapter 74.
• Negotiating, or an adjuster asking for records, doesn't pause the clock. A tolling agreement has to be signed and specific.
• Serving the defendant on time matters, and so does naming the right company.

Build an evidence preservation plan that can be carried out

• Rank by how fast it could disappear. A recording that overwrites tonight comes first.
• Be specific in the request: incident date, place, equipment and time window.
• Keep your own original photos and full message threads.
• Get lawful access. A preservation request doesn't let anyone enter property or open someone's phone.

Discuss the work your family claim requires

This work helps the firm decide what has to be preserved now and what the family should decide first.

Aaron A. Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His trial history is on the firm's published background page, and reported recoveries are on its case results page. Compare them with what your own case needs. Results differ because facts, proof, law and insurance differ.

To talk with the firm, request a free consultation with The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert PC or call 214 200 4878. Mention the incident and death dates, any deadline coming up, and whether anyone has offered a release or is about to repair or dispose of evidence. Ask who would handle your matter and how fees and expenses work.

Attorneys and referral partners can use the same contact information. Confirm the firm has accepted the matter before handing off responsibility. See also the Texas Wrongful Death Knowledge Hub and Texas Wrongful Death Claims and Litigation Strategy.

Related resources: Read Evidence Preservation and Spoliation in Texas Wrongful Death Cases and Investigating a Fatal Accident in Texas.

Families who need grief programs, funeral and survivor benefit help, or a needs assessment can use our Wrongful Death and Family Support Center.

Legal sources

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 71 sections 71.002 through 71.011 and 71.021.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 16, sections 16.001, 16.003, and 16.062.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 74.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 101.

Petroleum Solutions Inc v Head 454 SW3d 482 Tex 2014 discussing Brookshire Brothers.

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure current official edition.

Texas Rules of Evidence and Appellate Procedure current official index.

This material provides general information about Texas law. The applicable facts, law, policy, court orders, and procedural posture govern each matter. Hypothetical examples illustrate analysis rather than reported firm cases.