Fort Worth Wrongful Death Lawyers
Reviewed by Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Founder · Texas Bar No. 24113438 · Updated August 2026
What this page covers
This page is for families in Fort Worth and Tarrant County who have lost someone to another person’s negligence — most often a crash on I-35W, I-30, I-20, Loop 820 or US-287, an 18-wheeler collision on the Alliance corridor, a motorcycle or pedestrian strike, but also a workplace death, a dangerous premises, a defective product or a drunk-driving crash. It explains, as plainly as we can, who is allowed to bring a Texas wrongful death claim, the separate survival claim that belongs to the estate, the two-year deadline, what the law allows a family to recover, and how the case moves through the Tarrant County courts. Nothing on this page is meant to hurry anyone. It is meant to answer the questions that come, usually at night, in the weeks after a funeral.
Where we are. Southern Injury Attorneys handles Fort Worth wrongful death cases from our Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, about 30 miles east on I-30. We do not have a Fort Worth office. Consultations are free, by phone or video or at your home, and the case is filed in Tarrant County. The Dallas wrongful death lawyers page covers the east side of the Metroplex; the national wrongful death page compares the rules across the six states where our attorneys are licensed.
Texas wrongful death law at a glance
| Who may bring a wrongful death claim | Surviving spouse, children and parents — Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004(a); any one of them may sue for the benefit of all — § 71.004(b) |
|---|---|
| If no family member sues within 3 months | The executor or administrator may bring it, unless all beneficiaries object — § 71.004(c) |
| Survival claim | The deceased’s own personal injury claim survives to the estate — § 71.021 |
| Deadline | 2 years from the date of death — § 16.003(b) |
| Fault rule | Barred if the deceased’s responsibility exceeds 50% — § 33.001; reduced by percentage — § 33.012 |
| Exemplary damages | Available for a death caused by willful act or gross negligence; clear and convincing proof — § 41.003; cap — § 41.008(b) |
| Government defendant | Written notice within 6 months — § 101.101; caps — § 101.023 |
| Where suit is filed | Tarrant County district courts, Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun St., Fort Worth 76196; estate matters in the Tarrant County probate courts |
| Our office | 4245 N Central Expy, Suite 490, Dallas, TX 75205 · (469) 253-2533 |
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Tell us what happened and a member of our Texas team will call you back — usually within minutes during business hours. Free, confidential, no fee unless we win. Prefer to talk now? Call (469) 253-2533.
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas?
The Texas Wrongful Death Act, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71, gives the claim to three classes of people and no others: the surviving spouse, the children (including adopted children), and the parents (including adoptive parents) of the person who died (§ 71.004(a)). Any one of them may file for the benefit of all (§ 71.004(b)), and the jury apportions the award among them. Siblings, grandparents, fiancés and unmarried partners cannot bring a wrongful death claim in Texas, however close the relationship. If none of the beneficiaries has filed within three months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate may bring the action unless all of the beneficiaries ask that it not be filed (§ 71.004(c)).
Two practical points follow. First, a surviving spouse and adult children sometimes have different views about whether and how to proceed; because one may file for all, those views need to be reconciled early, and we do that work. Second, because parents of an adult child are beneficiaries, a crash that kills a 30-year-old with no spouse or children still gives rise to a claim, brought by his or her parents.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival claim?
They compensate different losses and belong to different people. The wrongful death claim belongs to the family members and compensates their losses: the financial support, services, care, counsel, companionship and society they have lost, and their own mental anguish. The survival claim (§ 71.021) is the deceased’s own personal injury claim, which survives death and belongs to the estate: the deceased’s conscious pain and mental anguish before death, medical expenses from the crash to the death, and funeral and burial expenses. Where death was not instantaneous — a crash victim who lived for hours or days at JPS or Texas Health Fort Worth — the survival claim can be substantial, and it is proven with the trauma record and the accounts of those who were there. The survival recovery passes through the estate under the will or Texas intestacy law; the wrongful death recovery goes directly to the statutory beneficiaries.
How long does a family have to file in Fort Worth?
Two years from the date of death, for both the wrongful death and the survival claim (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b)). The clock runs from the death, not the crash, which matters when someone survives for a time. If the death involved a City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TxDOT, school district or transit vehicle, or a road defect, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires written notice within six months (§ 101.101) and caps damages (§ 101.023). If a commercial truck was involved, the carrier may lawfully discard its driver’s electronic logs after six months (49 C.F.R. § 395.22), and camera footage is overwritten far sooner; a preservation letter sent in the first days, before anyone is ready to think about a lawsuit, protects the family’s ability to prove what happened later. We send them quietly and without asking the family to decide anything else.
What can a Fort Worth family recover in a wrongful death case?
Wrongful death damages
Texas juries may award the beneficiaries their pecuniary loss — the earnings, support, services, advice and care the deceased would have provided, measured over a lifetime with the help of economists; loss of companionship and society; and their own mental anguish. A spouse’s loss of consortium and a child’s loss of a parent’s guidance are included. There is no statutory cap on these damages in an ordinary wrongful death case arising from a crash; caps apply only to medical malpractice and to governmental defendants.
Survival damages
The estate recovers the deceased’s conscious pain and suffering, medical expenses actually paid or incurred (§ 41.0105), and funeral and burial expenses.
Exemplary damages
Where the death was caused by a willful act or omission or by gross negligence — a drunk driver, a trucking company that dispatched a driver it knew was over hours, a property owner who ignored a known danger — exemplary damages may be awarded on clear and convincing proof (§ 41.003). They are capped under § 41.008(b) at the greater of $200,000, or twice the economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000. Where the conduct was also a felony of the kind listed in § 41.008(c), such as intoxication manslaughter, the cap does not apply.
What if the person who died was partly at fault?
The family can still recover. Texas allocates responsibility by percentage under Chapter 33, and the deceased’s percentage reduces the recovery; only if the deceased is found more than 50 percent responsible is the claim barred (§ 33.001, § 33.012). Insurers raise the deceased’s speed, seat-belt use, helmet use, alcohol or phone use in nearly every case, and the deceased is not there to answer. The answer comes from the evidence — event data recorders, reconstruction, camera footage, the other driver’s records — gathered while it still exists.
Who can be held responsible for a death in Fort Worth?
The negligent driver and, through vicarious liability, his or her employer if the driver was working. The motor carrier, broker, shipper and maintenance contractor in a truck case. The bar or restaurant that served an obviously intoxicated driver, under the Texas Dram Shop Act (Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02). The owner of a dangerous premises. The manufacturer of a defective vehicle component. A governmental unit, within the Tort Claims Act’s limits. Each defendant is generally liable only for its own percentage unless that percentage exceeds 50 (§ 33.013), and defendants may designate absent parties as responsible third parties (§ 33.004), so identifying and joining everyone who shares responsibility is directly tied to what the family can collect.
Does a wrongful death claim affect a criminal case or a workers’ compensation claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil case, separate from any criminal prosecution of the driver in the Tarrant County criminal courts. The civil case can proceed whether or not charges are filed, and it must be proven only by a preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt; a conviction or guilty plea, where one occurs, is powerful evidence. If the deceased was killed on the job and the employer subscribed to Texas workers’ compensation, death benefits are paid through that system and the family generally cannot sue the employer for ordinary negligence — but claims against third parties such as another driver, a contractor or a manufacturer remain, and a claim against a non-subscribing employer is not barred. Gross negligence claims for exemplary damages against a subscribing employer are preserved by the Texas Constitution and the Labor Code for the surviving spouse and heirs.
How does a wrongful death case move through the Tarrant County courts?
Suit is filed under § 15.002 in the county where the death occurred or the defendant resides — for Tarrant County, the district courts at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun Street. Where a survival claim is brought, an estate representative is appointed through the Tarrant County probate courts; we coordinate that. Cases against out-of-state trucking companies may be removed to the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. Settlements involving minor children require court approval. Most wrongful death cases resolve by settlement, mediated after the evidence is developed; the ones that do not are tried to a Tarrant County jury. Throughout, the family’s role is limited to what they choose it to be. The work of the case is ours.
What should a family do in the first weeks after a death in Fort Worth?
- Take care of the family first. Nothing legal needs to happen in the first days except step two.
- Preserve the evidence. Ask that the vehicle not be released or scrapped, and let counsel send preservation letters to the other driver’s insurer and any trucking company. This is the one time-critical step.
- Order the CR-3 from TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System ($6) when it is filed, and obtain the death certificate.
- Gather the practical documents as they surface: the deceased’s auto policy (UM/UIM and PIP may apply), health and life insurance, recent pay records, the will if there is one.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer or sign anything from them; the family is under no obligation to.
- Identify the beneficiaries — spouse, children, parents — so that one filing can be made for all.
- Calendar two years from the date of death, and six months if a governmental vehicle or road was involved.
Southern Injury Attorneys
4245 N Central Expy, Suite 490, Dallas, TX 75205 — about 30 miles east of downtown Fort Worth via I-30
(469) 253-2533 · Open 24 hours · Free phone and video consultations for Tarrant County clients
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Related Fort Worth, Dallas and Texas pages
Other Fort Worth pages: car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, rear-end collisions, uninsured motorist claims, pedestrian accidents and the Fort Worth personal injury overview. Across the Metroplex: Dallas wrongful death lawyers and our Dallas office. Statewide: Texas personal injury and Texas truck accident lawyers; national: wrongful death lawyer.
Fort Worth wrongful death FAQs
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas?
The surviving spouse, children and parents of the person who died, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004. Any one of them may file for the benefit of all. Siblings and unmarried partners cannot. If no beneficiary files within three months, the estate’s executor or administrator may.
How long do we have to file a wrongful death claim in Fort Worth?
Two years from the date of death under § 16.003(b). If a governmental vehicle or road defect was involved, written notice is required within six months under § 101.101.
What is a survival claim?
The deceased’s own personal injury claim, which survives death and belongs to the estate under § 71.021. It covers conscious pain and suffering before death, medical expenses, and funeral and burial costs, and passes through the estate.
What damages can a family recover?
Pecuniary loss (lost support, services, care and counsel), loss of companionship and society, and the beneficiaries’ mental anguish; plus, through the survival claim, the deceased’s pain, medical and funeral expenses. Exemplary damages may be awarded for gross negligence, subject to the cap in § 41.008(b).
Can we recover if our family member was partly at fault?
Yes, unless the deceased is found more than 50 percent responsible. The recovery is reduced by the deceased’s percentage under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001 and 33.012.
Is there a cap on wrongful death damages in Texas?
Not in an ordinary crash case. Caps apply to medical malpractice claims, to claims against governmental units under § 101.023, and to exemplary damages under § 41.008(b), except where the death was caused by certain felonies such as intoxication manslaughter.
Can we sue if the driver was charged criminally?
Yes. The civil wrongful death case is separate from the criminal prosecution and proceeds whether or not charges are filed. A conviction or guilty plea is strong evidence in the civil case.
What if our family member died at work?
If the employer subscribed to Texas workers’ compensation, death benefits are paid through that system and ordinary negligence claims against the employer are barred, but claims against third parties remain and gross negligence claims for exemplary damages are preserved. A non-subscribing employer can be sued directly.
Where would a Fort Worth wrongful death lawsuit be filed?
In the Tarrant County district courts at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun Street, Fort Worth, under § 15.002; estate matters go through the Tarrant County probate courts. Cases against out-of-state companies may be removed to the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division.
Does Southern Injury Attorneys have a Fort Worth office?
No. Fort Worth wrongful death cases are handled from our Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, about 30 miles east. Consultations are free, by phone, video or at your home, at (469) 253-2533.
What does it cost to hire a wrongful death lawyer?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, with no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. The fee agreement is provided in writing and explained before anything is signed.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened and we will call you back — usually within minutes during business hours. Free consultation, no fee unless we win. Phone and video consultations are available for Fort Worth and Tarrant County clients; we also meet clients at our Dallas office on N. Central Expressway.
Texas Bar No. 24113438. Jimmy leads a personal injury firm with attorneys licensed in Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and Georgia. Fort Worth and Tarrant County cases are handled from the firm’s Dallas office on N. Central Expressway.
This page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, regulations and case law change; every case turns on its own facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Reviewed by Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Founder, Southern Injury Attorneys, Texas Bar No. 24113438. Fort Worth matters are handled from the firm’s Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, Dallas, Texas 75205, about 30 miles east of downtown Fort Worth. Southern Injury Attorneys does not maintain an office in Fort Worth.
