Losing someone because of another person's carelessness or wrongdoing is a different kind of grief. Alongside everything else a family is carrying, there are often real, practical questions: who is allowed to hold the responsible party accountable, what can actually be recovered, and how much time there is to act. None of this is meant to rush anyone through grief. It's meant to be available when a family is ready to ask.
This is an overview of how a wrongful death claim works under Texas law, written plainly and without exaggeration. If your family would like to talk through a specific situation, a free case review is a conversation, not a commitment.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil claim brought by certain surviving family members when a person dies because of someone else's negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongful act. It's important to understand what this claim actually compensates: not the deceased's own suffering, but the losses the surviving family experiences because that person is gone. A separate type of claim, discussed further below, covers the deceased's own losses.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas?
Texas law is specific about this. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004, only three categories of people have standing to bring a wrongful death claim:
- The surviving spouse.
- The children of the deceased, including adult children.
- The parents of the deceased.
These family members can file individually or together in one action. If none of them files within three months of the death, the executor or personal representative of the estate may step in and file on their behalf, unless the family specifically objects to that. Siblings, grandparents, and step-relatives generally fall outside this list and do not have standing to bring the claim themselves, regardless of how close the relationship was.
What the Family Has to Prove
Like most negligence-based claims, a wrongful death case generally requires showing that the defendant owed a duty, breached it, and that the breach caused the death, resulting in real damages to the surviving family. There's an important underlying requirement too: the conduct involved has to be the kind that would have supported a personal injury claim if the person had survived. In other words, if the deceased could have sued for their injuries had they lived, the family generally can pursue a wrongful death claim now that they didn't.
What Damages Are Available
Texas allows a fairly broad range of damages in a wrongful death case, though what actually applies depends entirely on the family's specific circumstances and losses:
- Economic losses: lost earnings the deceased would have provided, lost inheritance, funeral and burial expenses, and medical costs incurred before death.
- Noneconomic losses: loss of companionship, loss of consortium, mental anguish, and loss of the guidance and support the deceased would have provided.
- Exemplary (punitive) damages, in limited cases involving a willful act or gross negligence, not ordinary carelessness.
On that last point: exemplary damages are the exception, not a routine part of these cases. They require a higher standard of proof than the rest of the claim, and in some circumstances Texas law further limits who among the family can recover them. This is one area where the specific facts of a case matter enormously, and it's worth discussing directly with an attorney rather than assuming it applies.
Wrongful Death vs. Survival Action: Two Different Claims
Texas recognizes a second, related claim called a survival action, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.021. It's easy to confuse with wrongful death, but the two serve different purposes. A survival claim belongs to the deceased's estate, not the family directly, and it recovers for what the deceased personally experienced between the injury and death: their own pain and suffering, their medical expenses, and any lost wages during that period. A wrongful death claim, by contrast, belongs to the family and compensates their losses, not the deceased's. Many Texas cases involve both claims filed together, since they cover genuinely different harm.
The Filing Deadline
Most Texas wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. The detail that trips people up: this two-year period generally starts running from the date of death, not the date of the underlying accident or incident. If someone was injured in one event and passed away sometime later, the clock for a wrongful death claim starts at the later date, not the earlier one. Missing this deadline can bar the claim entirely, so even amid everything else a family is dealing with, it's worth knowing this timeline exists.
A Note on Medical Malpractice Cases
If the death involved a healthcare provider, a wrongful death claim connected to medical malpractice carries its own separate rules and damage limitations beyond what applies to a typical wrongful death case, on top of the procedural requirements that apply to malpractice claims generally. These cases are handled as their own category, not folded into the general framework described above.
When Your Family Is Ready to Talk
There's no need to have every question answered before reaching out. A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment, and it can help your family understand what options actually exist. Omar Darwich reviews these cases personally, not through a rotating case manager. Call (469) 960-6069 when your family is ready.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. It is not a substitute for advice from a Texas-licensed attorney. Every family's situation is different, and the rules that apply depend on the specific facts involved.