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If someone else's negligence took your loved one, Texas law may allow your family to pursue a wrongful death claim. Right now, you may be grieving while also facing funeral costs, lost income, and calls from insurance adjusters you never expected. It is normal to feel overwhelmed, angry, or unsure whether you even have the right to ask questions.
A Texas wrongful death attorney at The Texas Chongo Personal Injury Lawyers can explain your family's rights, investigate what happened, and handle the legal work while you lean on each other. Call (972) 529-3476 for a free case evaluation in English or Spanish.
No family should have to fight an insurance company or corporation while planning a funeral. When you hire a wrongful death attorney in Texas, you deserve someone with real trial credentials. Our founding attorney's credentials include:
When your family works with us, our team typically:
From our Irving office, we represent families throughout Texas. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Fatal crashes are far too common on Texas roads. According to TxDOT's 2025 Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, one person was killed on Texas roadways every 2 hours and 19 minutes in 2025.
The same report shows some of the patterns behind those deaths:
Behind each number is a family facing the same shock and uncertainty you may feel now.
Texas limits who may bring a wrongful death claim. Under Section 71.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the claim exists for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the person who died.
Any one of those family members may file for the benefit of all of them. If none of them files within 3 calendar months after the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must bring the claim unless all of those family members ask otherwise.
If your family lost a pregnancy because of someone else's negligence, your grief deserves to be taken seriously. Section 71.001 defines an individual to include an unborn child at every stage of gestation.
Section 71.003 excludes some of these claims, including claims against the mother and claims tied to lawful medical care or lawfully administered drugs.
A wrongful death claim compensates the family for its own losses. A survival claim covers the losses your loved one suffered before death. Under Section 71.021, a personal injury claim doesn't end when the injured person dies; it passes to the heirs, legal representatives, and estate.
No one can honestly give you an average figure, because every family and every loss is different. Value depends on evidence of what your loved one meant to your family, both financially and emotionally.
Texas courts now closely examine how juries arrive at those numbers. In Gregory v. Chohan, the Supreme Court of Texas reversed an award of just over $15 million for a family's mental anguish and loss of companionship in 2023. The lead opinion said a wrongful death plaintiff must show a rational, evidence-based connection between the injuries suffered and the amount awarded.
That makes your family's story central to the case. In Moore v. Lillebo, the Supreme Court of Texas said juries may consider the following when awarding damages for mental anguish and loss of companionship:
We gather the photos, memories, and testimony that show who your loved one was, so the evidence reflects the life your family lost.
Texas law recognizes losses that can be counted in dollars and losses that cannot. A case may include the following categories.
The spouse, children, and parents may seek damages such as:
These categories come from decisions such as Sanchez v. Schindler, which allowed parents to recover for mental anguish and lost companionship after a child's death. In Yowell v. Piper Aircraft Corp., the Texas Supreme Court also recognized loss of inheritance.
A survival claim may seek losses your loved one experienced before death, such as:
When a death is caused by a defendant's willful act or omission or gross negligence, Section 71.009 allows exemplary damages in addition to actual damages. Exemplary damages, often called punitive damages, address especially reckless conduct.
Article XVI, Section 26 of the Texas Constitution also makes anyone who commits a homicide through a willful act, omission, or gross neglect responsible for exemplary damages. That responsibility extends to the surviving spouse and the body's heirs, such as children.
Hearing an insurer suggest your loved one caused their own death can be devastating. That suggestion isn't final, but Texas fault rules still apply.
The same Section 71.003 says the wrongful death law applies only if your loved one could have brought a claim for the injury had they lived. Under Section 33.011 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, your loved one's own conduct can be weighed when a jury divides responsibility for the death.
If your loved one's share is greater than 50 percent, Section 33.001 bars recovery. A smaller share reduces the damages by that percentage under Section 33.012 rather than ending the claim.
Wrongful death claims arise from many kinds of preventable harm, including:
Workplace deaths follow special rules. Under Section 408.001 of the Texas Labor Code, workers' compensation benefits are generally the exclusive remedy against an employer that carries that coverage.
That section still allows the surviving spouse or heirs of the body to seek exemplary damages when the employer's intentional act or omission, or its gross negligence, caused the death. Other companies involved in the work, such as a contractor or equipment manufacturer, may also be responsible.
Section 74.303 caps the total damages, including exemplary damages, in a wrongful death or survival action against a physician or health care provider at $500,000 for each person seeking recovery, adjusted for inflation. Amounts awarded for necessary medical, hospital, and custodial care are not subject to that cap.
Section 71.002 makes a person liable when an injury causing death results from that person's, or an agent's or employee's, wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default. In practice, we work to show what the responsible party should have done, how they fell short, and how that failure caused the death.
Helpful evidence often includes:
In most cases, your family has 2 years from the date of death to file a lawsuit. Section 16.003 sets that deadline for claims involving an injury that results in death.
Some claims, including those against health care providers or government entities, follow different notice and filing rules. Reaching out early also protects evidence that can disappear long before any deadline.
Yes. Under Section 71.006, a wrongful death claim is not barred because the death was caused by a felony or because a criminal case may follow.
No. Section 71.011 provides that damages recovered in a wrongful death action are not subject to the debts of the person who died. Survival claim money belongs to the estate and is treated differently.
The claim may still move forward. Under Section 71.008, the executor or administrator of the responsible person's estate may be made a defendant, and the case may proceed as though that person were alive.
Only in a narrow way. Section 71.005 allows evidence of an actual ceremonial remarriage if it is true. The defense may not mention a common-law marriage, an extramarital relationship, or the surviving spouse's marital prospects.
Under Section 71.010, a jury may award damages proportionate to the injury resulting from the death. The jury then divides the award into shares among eligible family members alive at the time.
We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay attorney fees only from any recovery, not out of pocket upfront. Your written agreement explains the fee and any case expenses.
Nothing can undo your family's loss, but you do not have to face the legal process alone. The Texas Chongo Personal Injury Lawyers, led by board-certified personal injury trial attorney David Sanchez, represent grieving families across Texas.
Call (972) 529-3476 to speak with a Texas wrongful death attorney in English or Spanish about your family's options.
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