Under Texas law, a wrongful death happens when a person dies because another person or business did something careless or failed to take reasonable care. The statute (known as the Texas Wrongful Death Act) gives specific family members the right to bring a civil claim for money damages tied to that loss.
Who qualifies to file? Texas limits that right to the surviving spouse, children (including legally adopted children), and parents. The case focuses on what their loved one’s death took from them: income the family relied on, guidance and companionship, and the loss of future inheritance.
To win, the family must prove four things: the defendant owed a duty of care, broke that duty, that breach caused the death, and the family suffered damages as a result. Think of it as a personal injury case the deceased person would have brought, now pursued by those closest to them.
The deadline to file in Texas is usually two years from the date of death under Section 16.003. Some situations change that timing, so it pays to act quickly.
Want clear, specific answers for your situation? Call Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock for a free consultation at (210) 941-1301.
Key Takeaways for Wrongful Death Claims in Texas
- Texas law lets a spouse, child, or parent file a wrongful death claim. These family members recover for their financial losses and personal loss of companionship, guidance, and support under the Wrongful Death Act.
- You generally have two years from the date of death to file suit. The statute of limitations is in Section 16.003, and specific rules may pause the clock for minors or require earlier notice when a government entity is involved.
- Many cases involve more than one claim. Families frequently bring both a wrongful death case (for the family’s losses) and a survival action (for the estate’s damages like medical bills and pain before death), which follow different rules and are paid to different parties.
What Does “Wrongful Death” Mean Under Texas Law?
Texas defines wrongful death as a death caused by a “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default” by a person or company. Simply put, if the person who died would have had a valid personal injury claim had they survived, their close family members may step in and pursue the claim.
Two examples:
- Red-light crash: A delivery driver runs a red light on Loop 410, causing a fatal collision. Running the red light breaches the duty to follow traffic laws.
- Unsafe property: A landlord ignores a known staircase hazard at an apartment complex. A tenant falls, suffers fatal injuries, and the owner’s failure to fix or warn triggers liability.
The family needs evidence that ties the wrongful conduct to the death and shows measurable harm to those allowed to file.
Who Has the Right to Bring the Claim in Texas?
Texas limits who may file to three groups:
- Surviving spouse
- Surviving children (including legally adopted children)
- Surviving parents
Texas law does not allow siblings, grandparents (unless they legally adopted the deceased), or unmarried partners to file under their own names. Any of the eligible family members may file alone or together. If no eligible family member files within three calendar months, the executor or personal representative of the estate must file the claim unless all eligible family members request otherwise.
How Is a Wrongful Death Claim Different From a Survival Action?
These two claims move in tandem but pay different people for different losses:
- Wrongful death claim (for the family): The spouse, children, and/or parents recover for their losses—lost financial support, loss of companionship and guidance, mental anguish, and, in some cases, loss of inheritance.
- Survival action (for the estate): The estate recovers what the deceased person could have claimed if they had lived, such as medical expenses, conscious pain and suffering, and funeral and burial costs .
Think of it like two buckets: one for the family’s losses and one for the deceased person’s own claims. The law keeps them separate because each set of losses is different.
What Are the Most Common Sources of Wrongful Death in San Antonio?
Wrongful death cases grow out of many settings. In and around Bexar County, we frequently see:
- Commercial truck and delivery vehicle crashes: San Antonio’s highways— I‑10, I‑35, Loop 410, and Loop 1604—see heavy freight and last‑mile delivery traffic. Evidence from a truck’s event data recorder (black box), driver logs, and maintenance files typically becomes central.
- Car and motorcycle collisions: High speeds, impairment, and distraction remain leading causes.
- Workplace incidents: Industrial sites, refineries, and construction zones carry real risks.
- Unsafe property (premises liability): Examples include negligent security at a commercial property or a known hazard left unaddressed.
- Defective products: Automotive defects (tires, brakes, airbags), industrial machinery failures, and dangerous consumer products may lead to product liability claims.
- Medical errors: Health care liability claims follow different rules, including damage caps discussed below.
What Does Your Family Need to Prove?
Most wrongful death cases are built on negligence. In Texas, negligence requires proof of four elements:
- Duty: The defendant owed a duty to act with reasonable care. Drivers must follow traffic laws. Companies must maintain safe equipment.
- Breach: The defendant broke that duty—speeding through a red light, disabling a safety alarm, skipping required maintenance.
- Causation: The breach led to the fatal injuries. We connect the dots with crash reconstruction, black box data, medical records, and expert analysis.
- Damages: The death caused real losses to the eligible family members, which Texas law allows them to recover.
We secure police reports, electronic data, company policies, safety records, and witness statements. In product cases, we retain engineers to test the product. In trucking cases, we pursue logbooks, dispatch records, and EDR downloads. The goal is clarity: what happened, why it happened, and who bears legal responsibility.
Who May Be Sued, and What if More Than One Party Shares Blame?
Defendants might include an at‑fault driver, a trucking company, a property owner, a product manufacturer, a contractor on a jobsite, or a health care provider. Texas uses a comparative responsibility system. If a jury assigns some fault to the deceased person, the award is reduced by that percentage, and recovery is barred only if the deceased’s responsibility exceeds 50% (Section 33.001).
Multiple defendants may each be responsible for a percentage of the damages. We work to identify every responsible party and every available insurance policy so the full measure of damages is on the table.
What Compensation Is Available in a Texas Wrongful Death Case?
Texas separates the family’s losses into categories so a jury, or an insurer evaluating settlement, accounts for the full harm:
- Pecuniary losses (financial support): Lost earning capacity and benefits the deceased would have provided over a normal life expectancy.
- Loss of companionship and society: The loss of love, comfort, guidance, and household support.
- Mental anguish: The emotional pain tied to the death.
- Loss of inheritance: Assets the deceased would likely have accumulated and left to the family if they had lived a full life.
Texas also allows exemplary damages (also called punitive damages) in wrongful death when the conduct rises to gross negligence or a willful act. Standards for exemplary damages live in Section 41.003, and statewide caps appear in Section 41.008.
Who Receives the Money, and How Is It Divided?
By statute, a wrongful death recovery is “for the exclusive benefit” of the spouse, children, and parents. A jury divides the total among them in proportion to each person’s loss; in a settlement, the family may agree on an allocation. The recovery in a wrongful death case generally is not part of the deceased person’s estate and is not used to pay the deceased person’s debts.
By contrast, money recovered in a survival action belongs to the estate and follows the will or intestacy rules. Those funds may be subject to valid estate debts.
How Long Do You Have to File, and Are There Other Deadlines?
The general deadline for a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas is two years from the date of death under Section 16.003. Some rules pause or extend the period—for example, minors have tolling protection under Section 16.001. Timing issues get fact‑specific, so if the deadline is close, acting now helps preserve your options.
Additional timing applies if a government entity is involved (city, county, state agency). Texas requires written notice to the governmental unit, typically within six months, describing the damage or injury, the time and place, and the incident (Section 101.101). Damage caps also apply in those cases (Section 101.023).
How Do Workplace Deaths and Workers’ Compensation Affect the Case?
Texas handles employer liability differently depending on whether the employer subscribes to workers’ compensation.
- Subscribing employers: When an employer carries workers’ compensation, the family typically may not sue the employer for negligence, but may seek exemplary damages for a death caused by the employer’s gross negligence or intentional act (Labor Code §408.001). The family may still bring claims against responsible third parties (e.g., a contractor or equipment manufacturer).
- Non‑subscriber employers: If an employer does not carry workers’ compensation, negligence claims proceed in civil court.
If workers’ compensation death benefits are paid and a third‑party lawsuit recovers money, the comp carrier typically has subrogation rights to be reimbursed from the third‑party recovery (Labor Code §417.001).
Do Special Rules Apply to Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death?
Yes. Texas places specific caps on damages in health care liability claims.
These include limits on noneconomic damages under Section 74.301 and on wrongful death damages in medical cases under Section 74.303. The statutory numbers and adjustments are set by law; how they apply depends on the facts of the case and the number of defendants.
What Does the Legal Process Look Like From Start to Finish?
Here’s a straightforward timeline of how these cases usually move:
- Step 1: Intake and strategy. We talk with you, review what is known, and identify immediate needs (preserving evidence, protecting deadlines, opening an estate if a survival action is part of the plan).
- Step 2: Preservation letters and early evidence. We send preservation letters to the defendants to stop deletion of key materials, like vehicle EDRs, surveillance video, maintenance records, and phone data. Instead of waiting for paper records, we request digital copies to speed things up.
- Step 3: Investigation. We gather police records, witness statements, photos, and expert input, then assess liability and damages.
- Step 4: Claim and negotiation. We present a detailed settlement package to the insurer(s), including liability analysis and damages support.
- Step 5: Filing suit. If settlement terms fall short, we file in court and move into discovery (depositions, document exchanges, and expert disclosures).
- Step 6: Mediation or trial. Many cases resolve at mediation. If not, we try the case and let a jury decide.
Timelines vary. Straightforward cases may resolve in several months; cases with multiple defendants, disputed liability, or expert‑heavy issues take longer.
What Evidence Should You Try to Secure Right Now?
Preserve as much as you have, even if it seems minor:
- Photos and video: Crash scene images, vehicle damage, skid marks, and nearby business or doorbell cameras.
- Medical and end‑of‑life records: EMS run sheets, hospital records, and, when applicable, the autopsy report. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office explains how to request records.
- Phone and employment records: Cell phone logs for distracted driving claims; pay stubs and benefits summaries for lost earnings calculations.
- Product or equipment: Preserve the vehicle, machinery, or product in its post‑incident condition. Do not repair or discard it.
- Names and contacts: Witnesses move and memories fade. Capture names, phone numbers, and emails as early as possible.
If evidence is in someone else’s hands (a trucking company, a property owner, or a hospital), we send formal preservation notices and, if needed, ask the court for an order requiring preservation and access.
FAQs for San Antonio Wrongful Death Claims
Does Texas allow a wrongful death claim for an unborn child?
Yes. Texas law treats the death of an unborn child as a wrongful death when caused by a wrongful act, subject to statutory exceptions. The claim follows the same basic rules for who may file.
Are wrongful death settlements taxable?
Under federal tax rules, money received for personal physical injuries or sickness is generally excluded from income, while punitive damages are taxable. The IRS explains the treatment in Publication 4345. State tax treatment may differ.
Do we need to open an estate to pursue these claims?
You do not need to open an estate to bring a wrongful death claim because it belongs to the statutory beneficiaries. A survival action, by contrast, belongs to the estate and typically requires appointing a personal representative to pursue it.
What if family members disagree about bringing or settling the case?
Any eligible family member may file. If no one files within three months, the executor or administrator must file unless every eligible family member asks them not to. Courts review settlements that affect minors to ensure their interests are protected.
How do workers’ compensation death benefits interact with a lawsuit?
Workers’ compensation death benefits are separate from wrongful death damages. If a third‑party lawsuit recovers money, the workers’ comp carrier typically has a right to reimbursement (subrogation) from that recovery.
We’re Here to Provide a Steady Path Forward
These cases involve tight deadlines, layered insurance policies, and evidence that won’t wait. Our team handles the details so you don’t have to: preserving records, interviewing witnesses, coordinating experts, and moving your case forward with care and urgency.
If you believe your family’s loss traces back to someone else’s wrongful conduct, call Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock at (210) 941-1301 for a free, no‑obligation review. We’ll listen, explain your options, and outline the next steps.