Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer

Losing someone you love because of another person’s negligence or a company’s carelessness is a pain that words cannot capture. One moment they are here, and the next, they are gone. Whether the loss happened on a Texas highway, at a job site, in a hospital, or on someone else’s property, the shock and grief can make it hard to focus on anything beyond getting through each day.

While your family is trying to cope, the responsible parties may already be working to limit their legal exposure. No settlement or verdict can replace your loved one, but Texas wrongful death law exists to hold negligent parties accountable and help surviving families secure the financial support they need to move forward.

At Mokaram Injury Lawyers, we have walked alongside grieving families for over 30 years, and we take on these cases with the care and seriousness they demand. Every family we represent deserves a legal team that will listen first, act with purpose, and treat them with the dignity they need during the most difficult chapter of their lives. Contact us at 281-222-2222 for a free case review with a Texas wrongful death lawyer who will stand beside your family and pursue justice for your loved one.

Why Families Trust Mokaram Injury Lawyers to Fight for Justice for Their Loved Ones

Our attorneys understand deeply that no amount of money will bring a loved one back. What we can do is help families secure the financial stability they need while holding the responsible parties accountable. The sensitivity of these cases demands a legal team that knows how to be both fierce advocates and genuine human beings. For this reason, we treat every client like family and are always available 24/7. In fact, some of the strongest support we provide is after hours.

Our services to families in tragic circumstances include:

• Comprehensive Investigation: Working with forensic experts, accident reconstruction specialists, and medical professionals to establish exactly how and why the death occurred.
• Identifying All Liable Parties: Many wrongful death cases involve multiple defendants, and we trace liability through every responsible party to maximize the family’s recovery.
• Calculating Full Damages: Collaborating with economists and life care planners to document the complete financial impact of the loss, from lost income to the value of the guidance and companionship the deceased provided.
• Handling All Communication: Our team manages every conversation with insurance companies, defense attorneys, and corporate legal departments, so the family never has to deal with those parties directly.
• Trial-Ready Preparation: We prepare every case as if it will go before a jury, because that level of preparation consistently produces stronger outcomes, whether at the negotiation table or in the courtroom.

Your family did not ask for this, and you should not have to carry the legal burden on top of everything else. Let our team handle the fight while you focus on healing and being there for each other.

Who Can File for Wrongful Death in Texas?

Under Texas law, the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the decedent are the only family members with the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. These family members may file individually or jointly.

If eligible family members do not file a wrongful death claim within three months of the death, the personal representative of the estate may file the claim instead, unless the family asks that no lawsuit be brought.

Who Is Liable in a Texas Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Liability in a wrongful death case depends on the specific circumstances that led to the fatal incident. Texas allows families to pursue claims against any party whose negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct caused or contributed to the death:

• Negligent drivers
• Trucking companies
• Property owners
• Product manufacturers
• Employers and contractors
• Establishments that overserved someone under dram shop laws

Identifying every liable party early in the process is important because it directly affects the amount of compensation your family can recover. In cases involving multiple defendants, liability may be apportioned among all responsible parties under Texas’s proportionate responsibility framework.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Texas?

Texas sets a two-year deadline for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, measured from the date of the deceased person’s death. While two years may seem like plenty of time, wrongful death cases involve complex investigations, expert analysis, and significant document collection, all of which take time to complete properly.

What Compensation Can a Family Recover After the Loss of a Loved One in Texas?

Texas recognizes two separate types of claims that families may bring after a wrongful death: a wrongful death claim and a survival action. Each addresses different categories of losses and provides distinct compensation to the surviving family and the estate.

Wrongful Death Benefits

Wrongful death damages compensate the surviving spouse, children, and parents for the losses they have personally suffered as a result of their loved one’s death. These damages are forward-looking, meaning they address how the death will affect the family going forward:

• Loss of financial support and earning capacity
• Loss of companionship and society
• Loss of parental guidance, advice, and counsel
• Mental anguish and emotional suffering
• Loss of care, maintenance, and household services
• Loss of inheritance
• Funeral and burial expenses

The value of these damages varies widely depending on the deceased’s age, earning capacity, the nature of their relationship with surviving family members, and other factors. Every family’s situation is unique, and calculating damages requires a thorough analysis of the financial and personal impacts of the loss.

Survival Action Benefits

A survival action is a separate claim brought by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate. It seeks compensation for the damages the deceased person suffered between the time of the injury and the time of death:

• Physical pain and suffering endured before death
• Mental anguish experienced before death
• Medical expenses incurred before death
• Lost wages from the date of injury to the date of death
• Funeral and burial costs, if not recovered through the wrongful death claim

While wrongful death damages compensate the family for their own losses going forward, survival action damages focus exclusively on the harm the deceased person experienced personally before they died. The two claims serve different purposes but are often filed together to maximize the total recovery available to the family and the estate.

Punitive Damages

In both wrongful death and survival action claims, Texas law permits the recovery of punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, when the evidence shows that the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent, fraudulent, or malicious. For example, punitive damages may be considered if a company knowingly ignored serious safety violations that led to a fatal accident, or if a driver was extremely intoxicated and caused a deadly crash.

Punitive damages go beyond compensating the family for their losses. They are designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct in the future. These awards are not available in every case. Still, when the evidence supports them, they can substantially increase the total recovery.

FAQ: Answers for Families

What Are Examples of Wrongful Death Cases?

A wrongful death claim can arise from virtually any situation where another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a person’s death. Wrongful death cases that Mokaram Injury Lawyers represent include:

• Motor vehicle accidents (cars, trucks, and motorcycles)
• Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities
• Workplace and construction site accidents
• Defective products
• Premises liability incidents (drownings, slip and falls, dog attacks)

Can I Sue if the Deceased Was Partially at Fault?

If the deceased person was partially responsible for the incident that led to their death, the family can still pursue a wrongful death claim as long as the deceased’s share of fault does not exceed 50 percent under Texas’s modified comparative fault system. The total recovery will be reduced by the deceased’s percentage of responsibility.

Do Wrongful Death Cases Usually Go to Trial?

Most wrongful death cases in Texas resolve through settlement negotiations before reaching a courtroom. However, when a defendant or their insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, a family may need to take the case to trial in courts like the Harris County District Court, the Southern District of Texas, or other venues across the state.

How Much Does a Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Cost?

Our Texas wrongful death attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means you and your family pay no upfront costs and owe no legal fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf. The fee is a percentage of the total recovery, agreed on before representation begins.

Your Family Deserves Justice. We Are Ready to Fight for It

If your family lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence, you need to act quickly. Important records, surveillance footage, and witness statements can become harder to secure with each passing week.

Call Mokaram Injury Lawyers today at 281-222-2222 or contact us online for a free case review. We will stand beside your family, pursue justice for your loved one, and hold every responsible party accountable for what they took from you.