Seeking Justice After Losing a Loved One in Edinburg
Your family member is gone, and you believe someone else’s carelessness caused it. You deserve straight answers. Who can take legal action? What situations does the law cover? What can your family recover, and how long do you have to act?
Texas has a wrongful death law for exactly this situation. It names who can file, what has to cause the death, how the jury sets an amount, and when the deadline falls. We take each point in turn, in plain language. Then we list the records you can start gathering now.
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Section 71.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code indicates that only the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the person who died can file a wrongful death claim in Texas. One or more of them can file. When one of them files, the claim is for the benefit of all of them.
The law does not require any family member to file. If none of them files within three months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must file the claim, unless all of the family members ask them not to.
Understanding who is eligible to file is important because Texas law limits wrongful death claims to specific family members. If you have lost a loved one due to negligence or wrongful conduct, a wrongful death attorney can help you determine whether you qualify to pursue compensation and explain the legal deadlines that may apply to your case.
| Who | Role in the claim |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Can file alone or with others, for the benefit of all |
| Children | Can file alone or with others, for the benefit of all |
| Parents | Can file alone or with others, for the benefit of all |
| Executor or administrator of the estate | Must file after three months if no family member has, unless all of the family members ask them not to |
When a death can lead to a wrongful death claim
Texas law allows a claim when someone’s wrongful act or carelessness causes an injury that leads to a death. That person is legally responsible for the damages. Two questions matter: what caused the death and who is responsible.
The circumstances the law covers include the following:
- Wrongful conduct. A person is responsible when their wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default caused the injury that led to the death. “Default” means failing to do something they were required to do. The same applies when their agent or servant caused it.
- Vehicles, plants, and machinery. The law names the proprietors, owners, charterers, and hirers of industrial or public utility plants and of vehicles that carry goods or passengers. It also names the people in charge or control of those vehicles, plants, and other machinery. They answer for the injury when their wrongful act or carelessness caused it, or their agent’s or servant’s did. A person in control of the machinery also answers for an injury that came from its bad or unsafe condition.
- A felony. Under § 71.006, a claim is allowed when a felony caused the death, and when a criminal case may follow for that felony.
- The person who died. Under § 71.003, that person must have been able to bring a claim for the injury had they lived.
This summary does not list every situation that could qualify, and the law excludes some claims. Whether a specific death meets the law’s terms depends on its facts.
What “injury” means in the law
The wrongful death law uses the word “injury” in two ways.
In § 71.002, the section that creates the claim, the injury is the harm that led to the death. The chain runs from someone’s wrongful conduct to the injury it caused, then to the death.
In § 71.010, the section on damages, the word describes what results from the death. The jury may award an amount proportionate to that injury.
The law’s definitions section covers only four terms: corporation, person, death, and individual. It does not define “injury” or list the kinds that count.
What a claim can recover, and what to do first
What the jury can award
A wrongful death claim asks for money damages. Under § 71.010, the jury may award an amount proportionate to the injury resulting from the death. It divides the award, in the shares it decides, among the family members who are entitled to recover and who are alive at that time. Under § 71.011, the money is not subject to the debts of the person who died.
The Texas Supreme Court described four kinds of damages in wrongful death cases, mainly in Moore v. Lillebo and Yowell v. Piper Aircraft Corp.:
- Financial loss. The care, support, services, advice, and contributions of money value the family member would, in reasonable probability, have received from the person who died. Texas courts call this pecuniary loss, and the exact definition varies by who is claiming (Moore).
- Loss of inheritance. The amount the person would, in reasonable probability, have added to their estate and left to the family (Yowell).
- Mental anguish. The emotional pain, torment, and suffering the family member would, in reasonable probability, experience from the death (Moore).
- Loss of companionship and society. The positive benefits of the person’s love, comfort, companionship, and society that the family member would, in reasonable probability, have received had the person lived (Moore).
Mental anguish and loss of companionship are two different losses. Mental anguish is the emotional pain you feel because of the death. Loss of companionship is the love, comfort, and company you no longer have. The jury counts each one separately.
How long you have, and what to gather
Texas sets a two-year deadline to file a lawsuit over an injury that results in death, and the clock runs from the day of the death. The law sets other deadlines for some kinds of cases. Start gathering records now:
- Death certificate. If the death happened in Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issues certified copies. For a death within the past 25 years, only immediate family members can request one. You need an application, payment, and an acceptable ID.
- Crash report. If police investigated a car crash, TxDOT holds the Texas crash records. It sells the Peace Officer’s Crash Report through its online purchase system.
- Funeral statement. The FTC’s Funeral Rule requires funeral providers to give survivors an itemized statement of the goods and services selected.
If someone’s carelessness took your family member, enough is enough. Palker Law Firm represents families across Texas. We offer bilingual advocacy, so you can talk through what happened in Spanish or English. Attorney Jason Palker is a Lifetime Charter Member of Best Attorneys of America and was named to the American Academy of Attorneys’ Top 40 Under 40.
Texas law gives your family a way to hold the responsible person accountable, and Palker Law Firm will help you use it. Get a Free Case Review with an Edinburg wrongful death lawyer. Hablamos español.
This information is general and is not legal advice.
