Wrongful Death Lawyer in Longview

After a fatal crash, Texas reserves a particular kind of claim for the closest family members. This page covers who qualifies, what the claim can address, and how the deadline actually works. There’s no rush built into any of it.

Who the law allows to bring this claim

Texas generally limits this claim to three groups: the surviving spouse, the children, and the parents of the person killed. It isn’t open to any relative who feels the loss, only this specific group, and more than one of them can join together in the same case.

A claim for the family, and a separate one for the estate

A wrongful death claim covers what the family lost. A related but different claim, called a survival action, belongs to the deceased person’s estate instead, and covers what they could have claimed had they lived, things like pain endured before death or their own medical expenses. Families sometimes bring both at once, handled together but counted separately.

What this claim can address

The categories are specific, not open-ended. They generally include the financial support the person would have provided, the cost of their funeral and burial, and the loss of their companionship and guidance. None of it is meant to put a price on the person. It’s meant to address the practical and emotional loss their family is left carrying.

When the clock starts

Texas gives family two years to file, the same span as most injury claims. But the count works differently here: the deadline is set by § 16.003(b), and the clock starts at the death, which is not always the crash date. If someone survived for a period after the wreck before passing, that later date is usually what starts the clock, not the day of the crash itself. For the general rule and its exceptions, the statute of limitations guide goes deeper.

If the crash involved a drunk driver, a related drunk driving claim may run alongside this one, and a fatal truck crash often brings its own layer of responsible parties. There’s no expectation that you reach out right away. When your family is ready to ask questions, a case review is available, at no cost, and with no obligation attached to it.