In Texas, the surviving spouse, children and parents may seek compensation for their own losses through a wrongful death lawsuit. They are the statutory beneficiaries. An executor or administrator may also have to bring the action for their benefit, as explained below. Siblings do not qualify as beneficiaries merely because of that relationship.
Families may be able to file a wrongful death claim, a survival action, or both, depending on the circumstances. A wrongful death claim addresses the family’s losses, while a survival action concerns the harm the deceased suffered before death.
A Texas wrongful death attorney can help clarify these legal paths, identify all eligible beneficiaries, preserve key evidence, and build a claim that reflects the full scope of the family’s loss. That support can help a grieving family pursue accountability without carrying every legal burden on their own.
Key Takeaways for Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
- Wrongful death beneficiaries are the deceased’s spouse, children and parents. An estate representative may bring the action for their benefit under the statutory rule below.
- A wrongful death case is different from a survival action, which is filed on behalf of the deceased's estate.
- The general deadline to file for wrongful death is two years from the date of death.
- Compensation may include lost financial support, loss of companionship and mental anguish, depending on the evidence.
- Proof of negligence, or another person's wrongful act, is required to hold them accountable.
Examining the Texas Wrongful Death Act and Its Beneficiaries
The Texas Wrongful Death Act recognizes that a person's death causes distinct harm to their closest family members, and it creates a path for those individuals to seek financial relief for their personal losses. It’s not about punishing a wrongdoer in a criminal sense but about providing civil justice to the family left behind.
The beneficiary list matters when a family first meets with a lawyer. Identify every surviving spouse, child and parent, including relatives who live elsewhere or do not plan to take an active role in the lawsuit.
The following parties may file:
- The Surviving Spouse: A surviving husband or wife may bring the claim. The statute also allows children and parents to bring it; a spouse does not have to file first.
- The Surviving Children: Biological and legally adopted children can bring a claim. This right extends to all children, regardless of age.
- The Surviving Parents: The mother and father of the deceased also have an independent right to file a wrongful death claim. Adoptive parents also share this right.
These three groups can file the lawsuit individually or together as a group. If none of these eligible individuals begins an action within three calendar months after the death, the deceased’s executor or administrator must bring and prosecute the action for their benefit unless all of those eligible individuals request otherwise.
What Is the Difference Between a Wrongful Death Claim and a Survival Action in Texas?
A wrongful death claim compensates the family for their own personal losses due to their loved one's passing, while a survival action compensates the deceased person’s estate for the harm they personally suffered before they died.
The same death may support both claims. A lawyer needs to keep the estate’s losses separate from each beneficiary’s losses even when the claims proceed in one lawsuit.
The Focus of a Wrongful Death Claim
This legal action addresses the direct impact the death had on the surviving family members. The goal is to recover damages for the financial and emotional voids created by the loss.
For example, the surviving spouse and children have lost the income the deceased provided, but they have also lost something intangible and deeply personal.
The recoverable damages in this claim may include:
- Lost Earning Capacity: Earnings help establish the financial support a beneficiary probably would have received. The claim is not automatically worth every dollar the deceased might have earned. Work history, expected contributions and the beneficiary’s circumstances matter.
- Lost Household Services: This covers the value of the tasks the deceased performed around the house, such as childcare, home maintenance, and financial management.
- Loss of Companionship and Society: This compensates the family for the loss of the unique love, comfort, and companionship their loved one provided.
- Mental Anguish: A wrongful death claim can address the emotional pain and suffering the beneficiaries have experienced because of the death.
- Loss of Inheritance: This concerns assets the deceased probably would have accumulated and left to a beneficiary. The calculation needs evidence about likely savings, spending and inheritance; an assumed salary total is not enough.
The Purpose of a Survival Action
A survival action continues the deceased person’s own personal injury claim. The estate’s personal representative ordinarily brings it. Texas law also permits heirs to proceed in limited circumstances, including when no administration is pending and none is necessary. The claim may include injury-related medical expenses, lost earnings and conscious pain or mental anguish before death.
A survival recovery belongs to the estate. Estate administration and valid obligations must be addressed before the remaining funds pass under a will or the applicable inheritance law. Ask counsel to explain that process before assuming an estate recovery will be distributed directly to family members.
This is an important tool in the wrongful death claim process, especially when the victim received extensive medical care before passing.
| Wrongful Death Claim | Survival Action | |
| Primary Purpose | Compensates the family for their personal losses resulting from the death | Preserves the deceased’s claim for legally recoverable injury losses, including conscious pain and suffering before death |
| Who Can File | The spouse, children or parents; an executor or administrator may act for their benefit under Section 71.004 | Ordinarily the estate’s personal representative; heirs may proceed in limited circumstances |
| Who Receives Funds | The specific family members named in the claim (spouse, children, parents) | The estate, subject to administration and valid obligations before distribution |
| Lost Wages | Covers the future income the deceased would have provided to the family | Covers the wages the deceased lost between the time of injury and the time of death |
| Medical Expenses | Does not cover medical costs | Covers the medical bills the deceased person incurred because of the final injury. |
| Pain and Suffering | Focuses on the mental anguish and emotional loss of the surviving family | Focuses on the physical pain and mental stress the deceased felt before passing |
| Statute of Limitations | Generally two years from the date of death | Generally two years from accrual of the injury claim, subject to applicable exceptions and suspension or tolling rules |
Proving Negligence in a Texas Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The claimant must establish a legal basis for holding the defendant responsible for the death. Negligence is one such basis. It generally requires proof of a duty of care, breach, proximate cause and damages. Different rules may apply to other liability theories.
For a negligence claim, evidence must connect a failure to meet the applicable duty of care with the fatal injury. An accident report or a bad outcome alone does not establish all four elements.
Here is what your legal team must prove:
- Duty: The defendant owed the deceased a legal duty to act with a certain level of care. For example, drivers on public roads have a duty to operate their vehicles safely.
- Breach: The defendant breached that duty through their actions or inaction. Texting while driving may support a breach allegation. A missed diagnosis requires analysis of the applicable medical standard of care; it does not establish negligence by itself.
- Causation: The breach must have proximately caused the death. That requires cause in fact and foreseeability; the defendant’s conduct need not be the only cause. Medical records, witness testimony and, where needed, qualified expert analysis help establish the connection.
- Damages: The surviving family members suffered legally recognized losses as a result of the death. These are the damages the lawsuit seeks to recover.
Car and bicycle collisions, workplace incidents, defective products and unsafe property can raise different liability issues. These four elements describe negligence generally. Counsel must identify the actual claim and any specialized requirements, defenses or limits that apply.
How a Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Supports Your Family
At an initial meeting, a wrongful death lawyer can identify who has a claim, review the known facts and explain which records are still needed. Bring any incident reports, insurance letters and estate documents you already have.
The family should also know who will contact witnesses, request records and respond to the insurer. Assigning those tasks helps prevent missed requests and repeated calls to grieving relatives.
Ask the lawyer to explain the next steps, likely expenses and how the family will receive updates. An investigation may reveal disputed facts, and those uncertainties should be discussed before anyone promises a result.
A Texas wrongful death lawyer helps in several key ways:
- Conducting a Thorough Investigation: Your lawyer gathers all available evidence, including accident reports, witness statements, medical records, and expert analyses, to establish causation and liability.
- Identifying All Eligible Beneficiaries: Your lawyer identifies each surviving spouse, child and parent and explains how the claim will account for their individual losses.
- Calculating Damages: Financial experts may help estimate lost support and services. Family testimony and other evidence address companionship and mental anguish. Those personal losses do not have a fixed mathematical value.
- Managing Communications: Your legal team can handle insurer requests, evaluate offers and explain what a proposed release would settle. The family should understand the evidence, unresolved issues and available choices before accepting an offer.
- Navigating the Court System: If a fair settlement cannot be reached, your attorney can file a wrongful death lawsuit and argue your case before a judge and jury.
FAQ for Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
Can a Sibling File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?
A sibling cannot recover wrongful death damages for their own loss merely as a sibling. The statutory beneficiaries are the deceased’s surviving spouse, children and parents.
Financial or emotional dependence does not add siblings, grandparents or other relatives to that beneficiary list. A relative serving as executor or administrator may have a separate role in bringing the action for eligible beneficiaries. That representative role does not create a personal right to wrongful death damages.
Does a Wrongful Death Settlement Get Split Between Family Members?
When a wrongful death settlement is reached, the funds may be divided among the eligible statutory beneficiaries. The distribution is often decided by agreement among the family members or, if they cannot agree, determined by a court.
At trial, Section 71.010 directs the jury to divide the recovery among those entitled to it. Settlement allocation and any required approval need separate attention, especially when a child’s interests are involved.
What if the At-Fault Party Also Died in the Accident?
The responsible person’s death does not automatically end the claim. Counsel must identify the proper estate representative and procedural steps for pursuing it. Naming an estate without addressing who can represent it can create problems.
An applicable insurance policy or estate assets may provide a source of payment. Coverage, policy limits, exclusions and estate procedures need to be checked; payment from either source is not assured.
Can You File a Claim if the Death Was Caused by a Crime?
You can file a civil wrongful death lawsuit in Texas even if the death resulted from a criminal act. The criminal case pursued by the state and the civil claim pursued by the family are two separate legal proceedings with different goals.
The criminal case seeks to punish the offender, while the civil case seeks to compensate the family for their losses.
What Happens if Our Family Disagrees on Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
If family members disagree, Texas law still allows a spouse, child, or parent to move forward with a wrongful death claim on behalf of all eligible beneficiaries. In practice, though, these situations can become complicated because the case may affect everyone’s financial interests and relationships.
Tell counsel about disagreements early. The lawyer can explain whose interests the lawsuit includes and how any proposed settlement would affect them. A beneficiary’s decision to stay out of day-to-day discussions does not by itself eliminate that person’s interest in the claim.
Related resources: Explore the Texas Wrongful Death Knowledge Hub and Texas Wrongful Death Claims and Litigation Strategy.
Talk to a Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney Today
If you lost a family member because of someone else's negligence, understanding your rights is the first step toward seeking justice. The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. helps families navigate the complexities of the Texas legal system with compassion and resolve.
Contact us at (214) 200-4878 or fill out our online form to discuss your case with our dedicated team.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Aaron founded The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert in 2010 to focus on developing each client's case and seeking its maximum value. For over a decade, he has represented people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial catastrophes, pursuing trial verdicts and settlements while working to reduce the stress of litigation.
Education
- Texas A&M University · B.S., Criminal Justice, 1999
- University of Oklahoma College of Law · J.D., 2002; graduated in the top of his class
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers