Texas Wrongful Death Knowledge Hub
Evidence, family rights, damages, and trial preparation
An insurance adjuster may call the week of the funeral, before you have a crash report or know who can sign for the estate. Texas splits these cases into two claims. A wrongful death claim covers what the close family lost: a spouse, the children, the parents. A survival claim carries on the injury claim the person who died would have had, and it belongs to the estate. This hub starts with who can act and how the death happened. Then it looks at the evidence that still exists and where the money to pay a claim could come from. Lawyers and referral partners have their own section near the end.
By Aaron A. Herbert · The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C., Dallas, Texas. Texas Bar license #24036761. Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2008.
While an agency finishes its report, a vehicle may be repaired or a camera recording overwritten. A lawyer can address preservation and deadlines before the rest of your file is ready.
Keep any proposed release and let counsel read it. You need to know whose claims it would settle and who may sign for them. Do not rely on the adjuster's verbal account of the document.
Start with the question your family needs answered
Each guide below answers one question. Who caused the crash? What did your family lose? Is there enough insurance to pay for it?
A death does not by itself establish liability. An insurer's percentage of fault is its assessment, not a court ruling. And the damages supported by the evidence may exceed the money available to collect.
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Pillar guide
Texas Wrongful Death Claims and Litigation Strategy
The complete guide follows intake through investigation, discovery and settlement or trial, then distribution of the recovery. The shorter articles let you concentrate on one problem, such as beneficiary eligibility, a missing recording or the effect of prior disease on medical causation.
Read the wrongful-death guide →For families
Wrongful Death and Family Support Center
Grief support, funeral and survivor benefit resources, a needs assessment and a printable family questionnaire for the weeks after a fatal accident. Families can use it whether or not they hire a lawyer.
Visit the Family Support Center →Family rights and the first decisions
Start with Who Can File a Texas Wrongful Death Claim if the family is unsure whose rights are involved. Section 71.004 identifies the surviving spouse, children and parents. The article examines relationship questions alongside estate authority and representation, issues to resolve before discussing a settlement of everyone's claims.
A family's losses and the deceased person's injury claim belong to different legal claims. Wrongful Death and Survival Claims in Texas explains where medical expenses, conscious suffering and economic losses fit, and why the distinction affects estate administration and distribution.
Resource
What Families Should Do After a Fatal Accident in Texas
Read this one first if the funeral was last week and you have almost no paperwork. It explains what to keep and how to answer calls from insurers. It also lists what to bring to a lawyer, and it explains why a release should wait. Some of these steps can't wait for the police to finish.
Read the first-days guide →
Evidence and investigation
Resource
Evidence Preservation and Spoliation in Texas Wrongful Death Cases
Say the store's camera footage is gone by the time you ask for it. That alone does not prove anyone destroyed it on purpose. The Texas Supreme Court set the test in Brookshire Brothers. First, did the store have a duty to keep the video, and did it break that duty? If so, the judge weighs how careless or deliberate the loss was and how much it hurt your case, then picks a remedy that fits.
Read the evidence preservation guide →Resource
Investigating a Fatal Accident in Texas
Agency records, witness accounts and scene documentation may describe different parts of the event. This guide explains how to bring them together in a reconstruction and evaluate what actually caused the harm. It also addresses the 2025 Werner v. Blake decision when developing a collision theory.
Read the fatal investigation guide →A recording may raise a timing question; a vehicle download may need expert interpretation. Digital Evidence in Texas Fatal Accident Cases addresses those problems along with phones, telematics and dispatch records. It explains lawful access and the need for original context, which a screenshot or download summary may omit.
Resource
Proving Medical Causation in a Texas Wrongful Death Case
A defense doctor may say a heart condition, not the crash, caused the death. This guide shows how the treatment timeline and the autopsy are read side by side. It also covers what an expert adds and what shows the person was conscious and in pain before death.
Read the medical causation guide →
Damages and responsibility
Financial Support and Household Service Damages After a Texas Wrongful Death covers paychecks and benefits. It also covers the unpaid work a person did at home, such as childcare or driving a parent to dialysis. You will see how future losses are projected and how taxes are handled. It also shows how to avoid counting the same loss twice. An early estimate often leaves some of this out.
Mental Anguish and Loss of Companionship in Texas Wrongful Death Cases addresses each family member’s testimony, supporting evidence, privacy, and future losses. It also discusses damages arguments after Gregory v. Chohan. The aim is to present a family’s loss compassionately while building a record that supports the requested damages.
A business connection alone does not prove corporate responsibility. Texas Wrongful Death Claims After a Truck or Commercial Vehicle Crash examines what each defendant contributed, using company relationships, equipment and electronic records. It also addresses applicable safety regulations and chapter 72.
The employer's coverage can change the analysis after a workplace death. Texas Wrongful Death Claims After a Workplace Fatality explains exclusive remedy and nonsubscriber rules, possible third-party claims and the defined exemplary-damages exception. The statutes also affect who may bring which claim.
The defendant and claim type affect the duty, deadline, proof and available recovery. Special Liability Rules in Texas Wrongful Death Cases reviews those differences for premises, products, health care and governmental cases. The size of the loss does not remove the rules.
Additional damages require additional proof. Gross Negligence and Exemplary Damages in Texas Wrongful Death Cases addresses extreme risk, actual awareness and attribution, then the burden of proof and procedural requirements. It also considers legal limits, coverage and collection. The remedy is possible only when its requirements are met.
Settlement, trial, and family safeguards
An offer needs to be compared with realistic alternatives and the amount the family would receive. Evaluating a Texas Wrongful Death Settlement covers coverage, demands and mediation before turning to the release, allocation, approval and payment. Read it to understand what accepting the offer would resolve.
For each issue at trial, counsel needs evidence that supports it. Texas Wrongful Death Trial Preparation and Family Safeguards connects that work with witnesses, experts and jury questions. It continues through argument, preservation of error, postverdict tasks and distribution, while explaining how preparation informs settlement advice.
For attorneys and referral partners
The practitioner material begins with identifying the claims and who can bring them, calendaring the applicable deadlines and logging preservation work. Examine each actor's causal contribution separately. For each legal proposition, identify the admissible evidence that supports it.
The litigation sections cover corporate testimony and electronic production, expert reliability, spoliation hearings and proportionate responsibility. They also address the damages presentation and preservation of the appellate record. Examples are hypothetical, not reported cases of the firm.
For a referral discussion, have the dates of injury and death available, along with the case posture, known beneficiaries and estate-administration information. Flag a signed release, an approaching deadline or evidence about to be lost.
A phone call about a referral does not take a filing deadline off your desk. You still own it until the receiving firm confirms that it has accepted the case. Agree on who will file what, and who is watching the next deadline. Ask for a secure way to send medical records before you send them.
Questions families often ask
Do we have to wait for the criminal investigation?
Generally, you do not have to wait. Section 71.006 addresses a death involving a felonious act and related proceedings. A civil claim has its own deadlines and evidence-preservation needs.
An arrest does not prove the civil case, and a decision not to file charges does not end it. The civil claim gets its own review.
Does every close relative have a claim?
No. Section 71.004 identifies particular beneficiary categories. Counsel should explain whether you fall within one and separately evaluate any estate claim or other possible cause of action. Those categories define legal rights; they do not measure the importance of a relationship.
Is there a standard wrongful death settlement amount?
No. The lawyer needs the evidence and applicable law, plus an assessment of coverage, collectibility and allocation. Responsibility, economic and family losses, and special liability rules all vary. Another family's verdict or settlement cannot determine what happens in your case.
Can a missing recording prove the defendant was at fault?
It can. The court first asks whether there was a duty to keep the recording and whether that duty was broken. Then it weighs how culpable the loss was and how much it hurt your case. The remedy has to fit those answers. Ask for the recording right away. A jury instruction about missing video years later is a poor substitute for the video itself.
What should we bring to a consultation?
Bring what you have, even if the pile is thin.
- The date of the crash or injury and the date of death.
- The crash or incident report number.
- Photos and videos.
- Witness names with phone numbers.
- Letters or emails from an employer or insurance company.
- Anything a family member has signed.
- Probate or estate papers.
If the vehicle or machine involved could be sold or scrapped soon, say so on the first call.
Consider Aaron Herbert for the investigation and trial work your case requires
Aaron A. Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. You can read about the firm’s jury trial experience in its background and see reported recoveries in its published case results. Consider those credentials alongside the evidence-preservation, expert, and trial work your case requires. Certification is held by the individual attorney. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
For a possible fatal-injury claim, request a free consultation or call 214-200-4878. Tell the firm about a deadline, a release awaiting signature or evidence at risk. Ask who would work on the case and how the initial work, fees and expenses would be handled. Families in Dallas or Tarrant County can also start with our Dallas wrongful death lawyer or Fort Worth wrongful death lawyer page. Our page on wrongful death and survival claims explains how the estate’s separate claim fits alongside the family’s.
Attorneys can use the same contact details for referrals or litigation discussions. The firm must agree to accept the matter before representation begins.
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 72.
Brookshire Brothers Ltd v Aldridge 438 SW3d 9 Tex 2014 docket 10 0846.
Petroleum Solutions Inc v Head 454 SW3d 482 Tex 2014 discussing Brookshire Brothers.
Gregory v Chohan 670 SW3d 546 Tex 2023 lead opinion.
Gregory v Chohan official disposition and links to separate opinions.
Werner Enterprises Inc v Blake No 23 0493 Tex June 27 2025 majority opinion.
Werner v Blake concurring opinion.
Werner v Blake opinion dissenting in part.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure current official edition.
Texas Rules of Evidence and Appellate Procedure current official index.
This is general information about Texas law. Each matter depends on its facts and the applicable law, policy, court orders and procedural posture. Examples are hypothetical, not accounts of firm cases.
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