Texas car accident claims: deadlines, fault rules and insurance, explained
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Two separate claims arise from a death caused by another’s negligence, and they belong to different people. Knowing which is which is the first thing that matters.
The short answer
In Texas a wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents — nobody else. A separate survival action belongs to the estate and recovers what the person who died suffered before dying. The deadline is two years from the death, not from the injury.
In this guide
Who may bring it
Texas limits wrongful death beneficiaries more narrowly than most people expect.
The action is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children and parents of the person who died. Any one of them may file alone for the benefit of all, or they may file together.
Brothers, sisters, grandparents and other relatives cannot bring or benefit from a Texas wrongful death claim. This is one of the most common misunderstandings about the statute.
An adoption order creates the parent-child relationship for all purposes, and “child” includes an adopted child unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Chapter 71 itself does not define either term, so this rests on the Family Code rather than express wrongful death language.
If none of those family members has begun the action within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must bring it — unless all of them request that it not be brought. One objection is not enough.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004(a)–(c); Tex. Fam. Code § 162.017(a), (c).
Two claims, not one
These run in parallel, are pleaded together, and are frequently confused. They compensate different losses suffered by different people.
Belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents. It compensates their losses caused by the death. It exists only if the person who died could have brought a personal injury action had they lived.
Belongs to the estate. A personal injury claim does not die with the injured person: it survives to and in favour of the heirs, legal representatives and estate, and survives against the person liable and their representatives.
One captures what the family lost by the death. The other captures what the person themselves endured between the injury and the death. A claim that pleads only one leaves the other on the table.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.002, § 71.003(a), § 71.021(a)–(b).
What each recovers
Damages proportionate to the injury resulting from the death, divided in shares set by the jury among the beneficiaries then living. Texas courts recognise pecuniary loss, loss of inheritance, mental anguish, and loss of society and companionship.
What the person sustained while still alive: pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and mental anguish, plus funeral expenses where not already awarded in the wrongful death claim. These categories come from case law; the statute itself lists none.
Recoverable in addition to actual damages where the death was caused by a wilful act or omission or gross negligence. The Texas Constitution separately guarantees exemplary damages for a homicide through wilful act, omission or gross neglect, payable to the surviving spouse and heirs of the body, whether or not any criminal case is brought.
Funeral expenses can arise in both contexts and cannot be recovered twice. How the statutory caps on exemplary damages interact with the constitutional guarantee is a genuinely contested question and not one to resolve from a web page.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.009, § 71.010(a)–(b), § 71.021; Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 26; Moore v. Lillebo, 722 S.W.2d 683 (Tex. 1986); Russell v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 841 S.W.2d 343 (Tex. 1992).
The deadlines
A Texas wrongful death suit must be filed within two years of the day the cause of action accrues, and that cause of action accrues on the death — not on the date of the injury. Where someone survives an injury for a period before dying, that distinction can matter a great deal.
A beneficiary under 18 is under a legal disability, and the time of that disability is not counted in the limitation period, so a minor’s deadline is tolled. Two cautions on that: a disability beginning after the period has already started running does not suspend it, and one disability cannot be tacked onto another to extend the deadline.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b), § 16.001(a)(1), (b)–(d).
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Common questions
Only the surviving spouse, children and parents. Any one of them may file alone for the benefit of all.
No. Siblings, grandparents and other relatives cannot bring or benefit from a Texas wrongful death claim.
If none of the eligible family members has begun the action within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator must bring it — unless all of those family members request that it not be brought.
The wrongful death claim belongs to the spouse, children and parents and compensates their losses from the death. The survival claim belongs to the estate and recovers what the person themselves suffered before dying.
On the date of death, not the date of the injury. A minor beneficiary’s deadline is tolled while they are under 18.
Sources
Every Texas rule stated here is taken from the primary source named below. Where a damages category comes from case law rather than statute, the case is named.
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Two claims arise, and they belong to different people. See how the Texas rules apply. General information only, not legal advice.
Texas-specific information on crash deadlines, fault rules and insurance, with the statute cited on every page. Operated by National Claim Network. Not a law firm, insurer, or government agency.
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