The Texas Wrongful Death Act is the part of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, chapter 71, that lets a family hold someone responsible for a death caused by their carelessness. It is short, and most of it can be read in a few minutes on the Texas statutes site. This article walks through it section by section, in plain words, for families in Dallas and across Texas.
What makes a death wrongful
Section 71.002(b) makes a person liable for damages from an injury that causes a death if the injury was caused by their “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default”, or by that of their agent or servant. In other words, the person or company must have done something wrong, or failed to do something they should have, and that must have caused the death. It includes the acts of employees and agents, so an employer or a trucking company can be responsible for what its worker or driver did.
Who the Act protects
The claim is for “the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased” (71.004(a)). Any one of them may bring the suit for the benefit of all of them (71.004(b)). The list is exact. Brothers and sisters, grandparents and stepchildren are not on it, although they may share in the estate’s separate survival claim.
If none of the spouse, children or parents has sued within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must bring the suit, unless all of them ask that it not be filed (71.004(c)).
If a question here is about your own family, you can talk it through with us. There is no cost and no pressure.
Unborn children
Under section 71.001, the word death includes an unborn child’s failure to be born alive. A family who lost a pregnancy because of someone else’s carelessness may therefore have a claim under the Act.
Exemplary damages
When a death was caused by a “wilful act or omission or gross negligence”, exemplary damages, sometimes called punitive damages, may be recovered (71.009). The general rules for them are in chapter 41: they must be proved by clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice or gross negligence, the jury must agree unanimously (41.003), and the amount is capped by statute (41.008).
If a question here is about your own family, you can talk it through with us. There is no cost and no pressure.
How damages are shared
When a jury finds that damages are owed in a wrongful death case, it divides them among the people entitled to them, the spouse, children and parents, in the shares it decides (71.010).
The survival claim
Chapter 71 also keeps alive the claim the person who died had for their own injury. That claim “survives” and passes to the heirs, legal representatives and estate (71.021). It is separate from the family’s wrongful death claim, and the two are often brought together. We compare them in wrongful death or survival claim in Texas.
If a question here is about your own family, you can talk it through with us. There is no cost and no pressure.
The deadline
The Act itself does not set the deadline. That is in section 16.003: two years, with the cause of action accruing on the date of death (16.003(b)). Claims against a government body can need written notice within six months (101.101). Our page on the Texas wrongful death statute of limitations has the details.
What the Act does not do
The Act does not decide who was at fault in a particular case, and it does not set any amount. Those are decided by the evidence, by the rules of shared fault (a family can recover if the person who died was 50 percent or less responsible, 33.001) and, if the case goes to trial, by a jury. No one can tell a family in advance what a case will bring, and we never quote figures.
If a question here is about your own family, you can talk it through with us. There is no cost and no pressure.
If you have questions
The consultation with our Dallas office is free and private. No Fees or Costs Unless We Win. The firm advances case costs, and your family owes no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered. You can read about what a wrongful death attorney in Dallas does or ask for a call back.
Reading the Act with a lawyer
The Act is short, but each section connects to others: the deadline in chapter 16, the shared-fault rules in chapter 33 and the rules on exemplary damages in chapter 41. In a first conversation we go through the sections that matter for your family, in order, and point out the ones that do not apply.
Responsible attorney for this page: Michael Uvalle, LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC, primary practice location Dallas, Texas. This page is general information, not legal advice.
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