A Texas wrongful death attorney helps the surviving spouse, children and parents of a person killed by another’s wrongful act bring a claim and seek compensation under the Texas Wrongful Death Act. Texas law decides who can file a wrongful death claim, how long the family has, what damages a jury can award and when shared fault ends the case.
Each rule is in the table below with the statute behind it. Most of the deadlines count from the date of the loved one’s death.
Article summary
Key things to know
- Only the surviving spouse, children and parents can bring a Texas wrongful death claim, and any one of them may file for all of them.
- Wrongful death and survival claims are two claims.
- Texas law splits compensation into economic and noneconomic damages and treats exemplary damages separately.
- A claimant more than 50 percent responsible cannot recover, and a smaller share of fault reduces the award.
- Every claim has its own filing deadline.
Filing deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Texas wrongful death law at a glance
The Texas wrongful death statute sits in Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (CPRC). The rules below cover most claims.
| Question | Texas rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who can bring the claim | The spouse, children and parents. Any one of them may file for all of them. | CPRC 71.004(a), (b). |
| If no family member files | After three calendar months, the executor or administrator must file unless all of the family members ask the representative not to. | CPRC 71.004(c). |
| Deadline to file | Generally two years from the date of death. The discovery rule does not extend it. | CPRC 16.003(b) and Moreno v. Sterling Drug, 1990. |
| Survival claim | A separate claim for the estate, for what the person could have recovered had they lived, such as medical expenses. | CPRC 71.021. |
| Damages for the family | An amount proportionate to the injury from the death, divided by the jury among the family members. | CPRC 71.010(a), (b). |
| Exemplary damages | Allowed for a willful act or omission or gross negligence, proved by clear and convincing evidence, with a unanimous jury. | CPRC 71.009 and 41.003. |
| Cap on exemplary damages | The greater of $200,000, or two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000. Listed felonies are excepted. | CPRC 41.008(b), (c). |
| Shared fault | No recovery if the claimant is more than 50 percent responsible. A smaller share reduces the award. | CPRC 33.001. |
| Death caused by health care | A separate per-claimant limit applies, adjusted for inflation. | CPRC 74.303. |
| Claims against a government unit | Notice generally due within six months of the incident. Damages capped at $250,000 per person for the state and cities, $100,000 for other local units. | CPRC 101.101 and 101.023. |
| Death at work, employer carries comp | Comp death benefits. Exemplary damages remain for the spouse and children if the employer’s intentional act or gross negligence caused the death. | Tex. Labor Code 408.001. |
General rules current as of September 2026. Exceptions apply. Reviewed by Jack Zinda, licensed in Texas since 2006.
The deadline starts on the date the death occurred. A family that learns months later what caused a loved one’s passing does not get more time. A claim against a city, a county or a state agency needs notice first. A city charter can set its own notice period.
Understanding wrongful death claims in Texas
Texas wrongful death law allows a claim when a person’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness or default causes a death. The claim belongs to the surviving family members and pays for what they lost.
The claim exists only if the person who died could have brought a claim for the injury had they lived. That rule shapes the whole wrongful death action. Any defense the responsible party could have raised against that person can be raised against the surviving family members too.
What the family has to prove
Many wrongful death cases rest on someone else’s negligence. The family shows that the defendant owed the person a legal duty and that the defendant’s breach of that duty caused the death. Put simply, the defendant’s wrongful act caused the death and the losses that followed. Wrongful conduct such as a willful act or intentional misconduct can support the same claim.
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Texas limits who may recover after a death and how long the family has to act.
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas
A Texas wrongful death claim is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children and parents of the person who died. These are the only eligible family members. Any one of them, such as the deceased person’s spouse, may file a wrongful death lawsuit for all of them.
Brothers, sisters and grandparents are not on the list. Questions about an adopted child, an adult child or a stepparent come from Texas case law, so ask a lawyer.
The estate’s three-month rule
When none of the immediate family members has filed within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must file a wrongful death claim. The personal representative files for the same surviving family members and steps aside only if all of them ask.
Wrongful death and survival claims are two claims
One death in Texas can support two claims. The wrongful death claim pays the family for their own losses. The survival claim belongs to the decedent’s estate and carries the personal injury claim the person could have brought had they lived.
The survival claim covers losses such as the person’s medical expenses before death and the pain they suffered. Texas limits recovery of medical bills to the amount actually paid or incurred. A family that plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit should ask about the survival claim at the same time.
Wrongful death compensation in a Texas case
A Texas jury may award damages proportionate to the injury resulting from the death. Texas law splits compensation into economic and noneconomic damages. It treats exemplary damages separately.
Financial losses
Economic damages compensate actual financial loss, such as lost support, the lost income the person would have provided and loss of inheritance. Keep pay stubs, tax returns, medical and funeral bills and every receipt for burial expenses.
Mental anguish and loss of companionship
A family may recover compensation for mental anguish and for loss of companionship and society. Texas law treats mental anguish, emotional pain and emotional suffering as noneconomic damages. No bill measures a loved one’s untimely death, so the jury decides the amount from the evidence of the relationship.
Punitive damages and the Texas cap
Texas calls punitive damages exemplary damages. They are available when a willful act or omission or grossly negligent conduct caused the death, proved by clear and convincing evidence to a unanimous jury. The cap on punitive damages applies to each defendant. It does not apply when the claim rests on conduct the statute lists as a felony, which includes intoxication manslaughter.
Outside health care claims and claims against a government unit, Texas law does not cap the actual damages a family can recover in a wrongful death suit. Deaths caused by medical care follow their own limits, covered on our Texas medical malpractice page.
How shared fault affects a wrongful death lawsuit
Texas uses proportionate responsibility. A claimant more than 50 percent responsible cannot recover, and a smaller share of fault reduces the award.
In wrongful death cases, the person who died is measured too. The defense can argue that their own conduct caused the death. A lawyer answers with evidence of what the responsible parties did.
Fatal accidents behind a wrongful death lawsuit
Wrongful death occurs in many settings. Each one changes who the responsible parties are.
Crash deaths on Texas roads
A fatal car accident leads to a claim against the at-fault driver and that driver’s insurer. Truck crash deaths bring in the trucking company, covered on our truck accident wrongful death page. A crash caused by a drunk driver can support exemplary damages.
Workplace and oilfield deaths
If the employer carried workers’ compensation, the family generally receives comp death benefits and burial benefits, which pay some of the funeral and burial costs. The spouse and children may still seek exemplary damages when the employer’s intentional act or grossly negligent conduct caused the death. A Texas nonsubscriber employer can be sued for negligence and cannot blame the worker’s own fault. Deaths on drilling rigs and well sites have their own page on oilfield wrongful death, under our oilfield injury practice.
What to ask an experienced wrongful death attorney in Texas
Families of wrongful death victims can meet with more than one law firm. Ask an experienced wrongful death attorney how many of these cases the lawyer has taken to trial in Texas. An experienced wrongful death lawyer should also explain the survival claim and the shared fault argument the other side is likely to make. The same questions apply whether a family calls a Houston wrongful death lawyer or a firm in Lubbock.
Zinda Law Group is a personal injury law firm founded in 2008 by Jack Zinda, licensed in Texas since 2006. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
How a wrongful death case moves forward in Texas
The legal process starts with a free consultation. A wrongful death attorney identifies every responsible party. The legal team gathers the incident report, medical records and witness statements, then measures the family’s losses. Wrongful death settlements can be reached with the insurance companies. When an offer falls short of a fair settlement, the case can go to trial.
The legal process can seek justice for a tragic loss and hold the responsible party accountable. It cannot promise a result.
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Texas wrongful death lawyers by city
Zinda Law Group handles wrongful death cases across Texas. A Houston wrongful death lawyer and a lawyer in El Paso work under the same statute and the same deadline.
- Houston and the Gulf Coast. Houston, Baytown, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, College Station
- Dallas and Fort Worth. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Carrollton, Richardson, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Lewisville
- Austin, San Antonio and Central Texas. Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, San Marcos, San Antonio, Killeen, Waco
- West Texas. El Paso, Lubbock
Families in the Houston area can start with our Houston wrongful death lawyer page. Families outside Texas can start from the firm’s national wrongful death overview.
Reviewed by Jack Zinda, founder of Zinda Law Group, September 2026. Call (800) 863-5312 with questions about a Texas death claim.
