FREE WRONGFUL DEATH CASE REVIEW · DALLAS, TEXAS
Dallas Wrongful Death
Case Review
Aaron A. Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. What board certification means
Lost someone in a Dallas crash, a job-site accident, or a fall? Ask for a free review of what happened and which family members Texas lets bring the claim.
No fees or expenses unless you recover
Trial lawyerLicensed in Texas since 2002
A Dallas office.8330 LBJ Freeway, Suite 700
Free first callDay or night
NO FEES OR EXPENSES UNLESS YOU RECOVER
Lost a loved one in Dallas?
A free conversation can help you understand your next step.
IN OUR CLIENTS’ WORDS
Personal attention.
Remembered by our clients.
Communication was above and beyond!
Aaron was awesome, polite and patient.
I am very content, outstanding staff
Excerpts from testimonials published by the firm. Individual experiences vary; these are not promises of a particular result.
KNOW WHO IS IN YOUR CORNER
Aaron A. Herbert
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
YOUR RECOVERY. OUR FOCUS.
What a free review
looks at first.
The trooper came to the door on a Sunday night. Your dad’s pickup had been hit on I-20 near Balch Springs. Two weeks later there is a funeral bill on the counter and a voicemail from an adjuster who wants “just a few minutes.”
We start small. Where did it happen, and when? Who was he to you, and who else is in the family? Who has called you since? With those answers we can tell you who owns the claim and how much time is left.
Let’s talk about your situationA trial lawyer reads your file.
Aaron Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Look him up on the State Bar of Texas site before you call. Then ask how your family’s story would sound to a Dallas County jury.
We ask for the records early.
Tow yards sell wrecked cars for scrap. Store cameras loop over old video. Our first letters ask each company to keep what it has.
You set the pace.
Some families call the week of the service. Others call months later, once the estate mail piles up. Either way, we watch the two-year date for you.
A RECORD OF ADVOCACY
Real cases.
Meaningful results.
Selected outcomes published by the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert. Every case begins with its own facts.
A collision involving a tractor-trailer that failed to control its speed.
A rear-end collision involving a commercial van.
A pedestrian struck by a van in a crosswalk.
An employee injured by defective machinery.
A grocery-store fall involving a substance on the floor.
A fall involving a defective walkway at a private event venue.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. These are not identified as wrongful death cases. Figures are as published by the firm, not amounts clients necessarily received after fees and expenses.
View all published resultsDALLAS AND DALLAS COUNTY
What Texas law says
after a death in
Dallas County.
TxDOT counted 274 traffic deaths in Dallas County in 2025. Behind each one is a family with the same first questions.
Which family members can bring the claim?
The spouse, the children, and the parents (CPRC §71.004). A son who is 45 still counts as a child. One of them can file for all of them. Brothers and sisters are not on the list.
If none of them files within three months of the death, the executor or administrator must, unless every one of them asks the representative not to.
Where does the estate go to court?
The survival claim belongs to the estate (CPRC §71.021). It covers what your loved one went through before death, such as ER bills and pain. Dallas County estates are handled by Probate Courts No. 1, 2 and 3, on the 7th floor at 600 Commerce Street.
Bring the will if there is one.
When does the two-year clock start?
On the date of death (CPRC §16.003(b)). Your mother was hurt on LBJ Freeway in January and died in April? The family’s clock started in April.
Was a city truck or a DART bus involved? Claims against a government body carry much shorter notice rules. Tell us at the start.
Where would a Dallas case be tried?
Most Dallas wrongful death suits that don’t settle go to the Dallas County civil district courts. They sit in the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building at 600 Commerce Street, the same building as the probate courts. A case against an out-of-state trucking company can end up in federal court in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.
WHY CHOOSE AARON HERBERT?
Questions to ask
at your free review.
Our Wrongful Death and Family Support Center walks through the first weeks after a loss. When you sit down with us, ask these.
From the firm: why speaking with an injury attorney matters.
Who will work on our case?
You get a name and a phone number. Aaron Herbert talks with families directly about what is happening and what comes next.
Do we need to open probate first?
Not always. Sometimes the estate needs a representative for the survival claim. We look at the will, the property, and the family tree before we answer.
What do we tell the insurer?
Nothing yet. Once you hire us, the adjuster calls us. Bring every letter, card, and voicemail so we can read them first.
Can we talk in Spanish?
Our team includes Spanish speakers. For another language, tell us, and we will set up an interpreter.
Will this go to trial?
Most cases settle. We still build each file for a jury at 600 Commerce Street. Insurers notice which lawyers are ready.
What does the review cost?
Nothing. If you hire us, you pay no fee or expenses unless you recover. Ask us to run a sample number before you sign.
BEFORE YOU CALL
What to bring to
your free case review.
A name and a date are enough to start. Bring the rest if it is easy to find, and we can request the reports.
The death certificate.
Bring a copy if the funeral home has given you one. Write down the date, the place, and how you heard.
Any report number.
A Dallas police or DPS crash report number. A medical examiner case number. The name of an OSHA inspector from a job site.
The family list.
Spouse, children, parents. Note who lives out of state. Tell us about any probate case already opened.
The insurance mail.
Every letter and check stub. Please don’t sign a release or give a recorded statement until a lawyer has read it.
Salvage yards crush cars. Phone video gets deleted. An early letter can ask people to keep it.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CLAIM
How a Dallas
death claim is built.
Three questions.
Every Dallas wrongful death review comes back to these.
What caused the death?
A tractor-trailer that couldn’t stop on I-35E near the Trinity. A driver who ran the red at Lemmon and Inwood. A scaffold with no guardrail on a Deep Ellum job. The law asks whether a wrongful act, neglect, or carelessness caused it (CPRC §71.002).
Will they blame your loved one?
Often. A jury can put a share of the blame on the person who died. Over 50% and the family recovers nothing. At 25%, the award drops by a quarter (CPRC §§33.001, 33.012).
What did your family lose?
His paycheck and the health plan through his job. Her help with the kids after school. Parents won the right to recover for lost companionship and mental anguish in Sanchez v. Schindler (Tex. 1983).
Our Dallas wrongful death practice page explains how we represent families. For depth, read the Texas wrongful death litigation guide, browse the Texas wrongful death knowledge hub, or see wrongful death vs. survival claims in Dallas. The Family Support Center helps with the first weeks. Lost someone in Tarrant County? Visit our Fort Worth wrongful death page.
CLEAR ANSWERS. A BETTER NEXT STEP.
Wrongful death
review questions.
Your situation is unique.
We’re here to listen.
Is the case review really free?
It costs nothing, and asking doesn’t sign you up for anything. If you hire us later, you pay no fee or expenses unless you recover.
My sister died. Can I file for her?
Texas leaves brothers and sisters off the wrongful death list in §71.004. A sibling can sometimes serve as the estate’s administrator, though, and bring the survival claim that way. We can check whether that fits your family.
Our mother was 82 and retired. Is there still a case?
Age doesn’t end the claim. Her children can recover for the care, advice, and company they lost, even with no paycheck involved. We ask what she did for the family week to week.
How is the money split among the family?
After a trial, the jury sets each person’s share (CPRC §71.010). In a settlement, the family agrees on the split. A child’s share usually needs a judge’s approval.
Do we have to wait for the criminal case?
The civil claim runs on its own track. It can move ahead even if nobody is charged. A conviction can help, but the family doesn’t need one to win.
How long do we have to file?
Usually two years from the date of death. Claims against a city, a county, or DART can need written notice much sooner. See CPRC §16.003 ↗.
The death happened outside Dallas County. Can you still help?
Many Dallas families lose someone on I-45 toward Houston or at a job site in another county. Where the case is filed depends on where it happened and who is sued. Bring the details, and we will tell you.
Where can we find support beyond the legal case?
Start with our Wrongful Death and Family Support Center. It explains how we help families and has a short questionnaire you can fill out when you’re ready.
FIGHTING FOR THE SERIOUSLY INJURED
Ready to take
your next step?
Tell us what happened. We’ll help you understand your options.
No fees or expenses unless you recover.