There’s no amount of money that can make losing a loved one “okay.” Honestly, anyone who says otherwise probably hasn’t sat across from a grieving spouse or had to explain to a child why their mom or dad isn’t coming home.
But when someone else’s negligence, carelessness, or misconduct caused that loss, Texas law gives surviving family members a way to hold the responsible party accountable. It can also help provide the financial support they may need to move forward.
If you’re researching wrongful death damages in Texas, chances are you’ve already been through more than enough. The last thing you need is a bunch of complicated legal language making things even harder to understand.
So, let’s keep it simple.
This guide explains what compensation may be available after a wrongful death, who has the right to file a claim, and what the process generally looks like. At Orange Law, we speak with families dealing with these situations regularly, and, honestly, many of them come to us with the same questions.
So, let’s walk through those questions and explain what you need to know.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim, Exactly?
A wrongful death claim is basically a civil lawsuit that surviving family members can file when someone dies because of another person or company’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions. In other words, if someone’s actions or failure to act led to a person’s death, the family may have the right to seek compensation.
This can happen in many different situations. For example, wrongful death claims may arise from fatal car or truck accidents, workplace accidents, defective products, medical negligence, or, in some cases, even criminal acts.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004, only certain family members can bring a wrongful death claim. Generally, that includes the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, and parents. Siblings, grandparents, and other relatives typically cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit on their own. That said, they may have other legal options depending on the circumstances.
One important thing to understand is that a wrongful death claim is different from a survival action. A wrongful death claim is focused on the losses suffered by the surviving family members because of their loved one’s death. A survival action, on the other hand, can seek compensation for the pain, suffering, medical expenses, and other losses the deceased person experienced between the time of the injury and their death.
So, depending on what happened, a Texas family may be able to pursue both a wrongful death claim and a survival action at the same time.
Economic Damages: The Financial Losses
Economic damages are basically the financial losses your family can actually put a number on after losing a loved one. They’re different from emotional or non-economic damages because these losses are based on things like income, expenses, and the financial support the person would have provided.
In a Texas wrongful death case, economic damages may include:
- Lost earning capacity: This covers the income and financial support your loved one would likely have provided throughout their working years.
- Loss of inheritance: If the family reasonably expected to receive assets, savings, or other financial benefits in the future, those losses may also be considered.
- Loss of household services: This can include the value of things your loved one did every day, such as taking care of the kids, maintaining the home, or providing care and support to family members.
- Medical and funeral expenses: Depending on the circumstances, the family may also seek compensation for medical bills related to the final injury or illness, as well as funeral and burial expenses.
Now, figuring out these losses isn’t always as simple as looking at someone’s last paycheck. There’s a lot more that can go into the calculation.
For example, attorneys and economic experts may look at the person’s age, health, work history, career path, past earnings, expected retirement age, and life expectancy. They use that information to estimate what the person’s financial contribution to the family could have looked like over the years.
And honestly, this is one reason many families choose to work with an attorney instead of trying to handle the claim directly with an insurance company. Insurance companies may try to minimize the value of future losses or offer less than the claim may actually be worth. An experienced attorney can review the numbers, challenge those calculations when necessary, and help make sure the family’s financial losses are properly presented.
Non-Economic Damages: Mental Anguish and Loss of Companionship
Money can’t undo grief, but Texas law recognizes that the emotional toll of losing a family member deserves compensation too. These are called non-economic damages, and unlike economic losses, they don’t come with a receipt or a pay stub – a jury determines their value based on the evidence presented.
Two of the most significant categories are:
Mental anguish – the emotional pain, trauma, and psychological suffering caused by the death. This can include grief, anxiety, depression, and the lasting emotional disruption to daily life.
Loss of companionship and society – the loss of the love, comfort, guidance, and relationship the deceased person would have continued to provide. For a spouse, this might mean the loss of partnership and intimacy. For a child, it might mean growing up without a parent’s presence and guidance.
These damages are real, and juries take them seriously – but proving their full extent requires building a genuine picture of who your loved one was and what their absence actually means for your family. That’s where experienced legal representation makes a measurable difference in case value.
Can You Recover Punitive Exemplary Damages?
In some cases, yes. Texas refers to punitive damages as exemplary damages, and they’re treated differently from the compensatory categories above. Rather than reimbursing the family for a specific loss, exemplary damages exist to punish especially egregious conduct and deter it from happening again.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.009, exemplary damages may be available when the death resulted from a willful act or omission, or gross negligence. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003 raises the bar further, requiring clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence before a jury can award them.
In practice, this category often applies in cases involving drunk driving, reckless commercial trucking, willful safety violations at a job site, or a company knowingly ignoring a known hazard. These cases require strong evidence – internal records, safety reports, prior violations – which is why early, thorough investigation matters so much in the weeks after a fatal accident.
How Are Damages Divided Among Surviving Family Members?
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.010, a jury has discretion to divide damages among the eligible beneficiaries – the surviving spouse, children, and parents – based on each person’s individual losses.
That means the payout isn’t automatically split evenly. A spouse who depended heavily on the deceased’s income, or a young child who lost a parent’s daily presence, may be allocated a different share than an adult child who lived independently. The jury looks at the nature of each relationship and the specific impact of the loss on that person.
This is one more reason why documentation matters early on – the more clearly each family member’s relationship and losses are established, the more accurately a jury (or an insurance company at the negotiation table) can value the claim.
Is There a Cap on Wrongful Death Damages in Texas?
Generally, no. Texas does not impose a blanket cap on compensatory damages in most wrongful death cases. There are exceptions – medical malpractice claims, for example, are subject to statutory damage caps under Texas law – but outside of those specific categories, families are not limited to a fixed maximum recovery.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Texas generally requires wrongful death claims to be filed within two years from the date of death. This deadline – known as the statute of limitations – can be affected by certain exceptions, so it’s worth speaking with an attorney as soon as possible rather than assuming you have unlimited time. Evidence disappears, witnesses’ memories fade, and insurance companies use delay to their advantage.
What Determines the Value of a Wrongful Death Claim?
Every case is different, but the value generally comes down to a combination of factors:
- The deceased person’s age, health, income, and career trajectory
- The number and relationship of surviving beneficiaries
- The degree of fault and whether the conduct rises to gross negligence
- The strength and clarity of available evidence
- Whether exemplary damages may apply
Because so much of this depends on financial projections, expert testimony, and how persuasively the loss is presented, two seemingly similar cases can result in very different outcomes depending on how they’re built and argued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Only the deceased’s surviving spouse, children, and parents can file, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004.
What’s the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
A wrongful death claim compensates the family’s own losses after the death. A survival action compensates for the deceased’s pain, suffering, and losses between the injury and death, and is often filed alongside the wrongful death claim.
Do you have to pay taxes on a wrongful death settlement?
Compensation tied to personal physical injury is generally excluded from federal taxable income, though certain portions – like punitive damages – may be taxable. A tax professional can review your specific settlement.
Is there a cap on how much you can recover?
Not generally, except in specific categories like medical malpractice, which carry statutory caps.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Typically two years from the date of death, though exceptions can apply – don’t wait to find out where you stand.
Talk to Orange Law About Your Family’s Claim
No settlement can ever erase what your family has lost. But it can help take care of what comes next – the income that’s no longer there, the support your children depended on, and the future you were building together.
Under Texas law, your family may have a way to hold the person responsible accountable. And honestly, you don’t have to figure all of this out on your own.
At Orange Law, we help Texas families understand what their wrongful death claim may really be worth. We also work to make sure an insurance company doesn’t get to simply put a number on your loved one’s life and decide what your family deserves.
If you’ve lost someone you love because of someone else’s negligence, reach out to Orange Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll listen to what happened, explain your options in plain, easy-to-understand language, and help you figure out what makes sense for you and your family.
There’s no pressure and no rush. We’ll take things one step at a time, on your timeline – not ours.