The Texas Wrongful Death Act (Chapter 71), Explained

You got the call no one is ever ready for. There was a crash on I-820 near Camp Bowie that took your husband, and the police report says another driver caused it. Now you are trying to understand what rights you have and whether Texas law allows you to hold the other driver accountable.

Texas Wrongful Death Act Overview

The Texas Wrongful Death Act is Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (CPRC). It creates a legal claim for a family whose loved one dies because of someone else’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.

This is a standalone cause of action. It gives certain surviving family members the right to sue for their own losses after a preventable death.

The Act covers deaths from crashes, workplace incidents, and other preventable causes, and it is the foundation for any Texas wrongful death claim.

CPRC § 71.001 sets the terms the rest of the chapter relies on, including how the law defines a corporation for wrongful death purposes. Liability extends to the wrongful conduct of a company’s agents and employees when their actions cause a death.

CPRC § 71.002 establishes the cause of action itself. Liability attaches when the wrongful act would have let your loved one sue had they lived.

Who Can File Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Texas?

Texas limits who can file to three groups of close family. Under CPRC § 71.004, only the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the person who died may bring the claim.

• Surviving spouse: A husband or wife can file, including a spouse in a common-law marriage Texas recognizes.
• Children: Biological and legally adopted children can file, whether they are minors or adults.
• Parents: Biological and adoptive parents can file, but grandparents, siblings, and other relatives cannot.

One eligible family member can file for everyone, or several can file together. The court names any eligible relative who does not join as a defendant, so that it can settle every share in one case.

If no eligible family member files within three months of the death, the estate’s personal representative may step in. They can file for the family unless a beneficiary asks them not to.

The narrower question of who exactly qualifies is covered in our guide on who can sue in a Texas wrongful death lawsuit.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Must Prove

To win, you must prove the defendant’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, or default caused your loved one’s death. This mirrors the standard in § 71.002: if your loved one could have sued for the injury, you can sue for the death.

The wrongful act looks different depending on how the death happened. If a crash caused your loss, seeing how Texas car accident claims prove fault can show you what evidence your case needs.

If a dangerous property condition caused the death, the same proof applies in Texas premises liability cases.

When a jury awards damages, CPRC § 71.010 directs them to split the award among all of the eligible family members. Each share reflects the loss that person suffered.

Your recovery can also include exemplary damages. CPRC § 71.009 allows them on top of actual damages when the death resulted from a willful act or gross negligence.

Actual damages can include lost companionship, lost financial support, and the mental anguish of losing your family member. Our overview of wrongful death damages in Texas breaks down each category.

Wrongful Death vs. Survival Claims

These two claims often get confused, but they compensate different people for different losses. A wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving family. A survival claim belongs to the estate of the person who died.

Wrongful Death Claims

A wrongful death claim under the Texas Wrongful Death Act compensates the surviving spouse, children, and parents for their own losses. That covers the companionship they lost, the financial support the family depended on, and their own mental anguish.

The Texas Survival Statute

A survival claim is different. CPRC § 71.021, the Texas survival statute, lets your loved one’s own injury claim survive their death and pass to the estate.

Instead of paying the family for their loss, it recovers what your loved one endured before dying. That means their physical pain, mental suffering, and medical bills from the injury that caused the death.

The estate brings the survival claim, and any recovery passes through the estate to the heirs. The two claims often move forward together after the same event.

Texas Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

You generally have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim in Texas. That deadline comes from the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, and missing it usually ends your claim for good.

A few narrow exceptions can change that deadline. If you are unsure how close you are, our guide to the wrongful death statute of limitations in Texas explains how it applies.

Once you know you are within the deadline, the next question is usually value. Our breakdown of wrongful death settlement maximums and damage caps covers what these claims can be worth.

Work with a Texas Wrongful Death Attorney

Losing someone to another party’s negligence leaves you with grief and a legal deadline at the same time, but you do not have to work through Chapter 71 alone.

Angel Reyes & Associates has guided Texas families through wrongful death claims for over 30 years. You can learn more about our firm and our history. We keep over 20 offices across Texas, so help stays close to home.

Families we have represented share their experiences in our client reviews and testimonials. Your first consultation is free, and we serve Texas families in English and Spanish.

We work on contingency. We advance the costs of your case, and you pay no attorney fee unless we win. Our work includes more than $1 billion recovered for clients.

When you are ready, schedule a free consultation, and we will review your options together.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.