Practice · Wrongful death
Grief should not come with a legal deadline attached
Losing a family member to another person’s negligence brings legal questions on top of grief, at the worst possible time to be answering them. I handle wrongful death and survival claims arising from car accidents, truck accidents, and premises negligence across the Austin to San Antonio corridor.
At a glance: This page covers Texas wrongful death and survival claims handled by The Carrier Firm, PLLC, arising from car accidents, truck accidents, and premises negligence. Texas treats wrongful death and survival claims as legally distinct, brought by different people for different losses. The firm serves families across the Austin to San Antonio corridor. Consultations are free and confidential, with no fee unless the firm recovers. Phone: (210) 468-3377.
Two distinct claims
Wrongful death and survival claims are not the same thing
Texas law treats these as separate claims, brought for different losses and by different people, even when they arise from the same incident.
Wrongful death claim
Belongs to the surviving spouse, children, and parents, for their own losses — grief, lost companionship, lost financial support, and similar harm suffered by the family itself.
Survival claim
Belongs to the deceased's estate, for what the deceased could have claimed had they lived — their own pain, medical expenses, and lost earnings between the injury and death.
Which family members are entitled to bring which claim is not always intuitive, and getting it right affects both who receives a recovery and how the claim is valued.
Why timing matters
Evidence does not wait for a family to be ready
A vehicle's data recorder, surveillance footage, and physical evidence at a scene do not pause while a grieving family decides whether to call an attorney. By the time many families are ready for that conversation, some of it is already gone.
I handle these cases personally and directly, not through a case management team, and I try to make the legal process as unobtrusive as it can be during an impossible time. If you are unsure whether a death qualifies for a claim, that is worth a conversation soon rather than later.
General information about Texas law, not advice about your situation. Who may bring a claim, and on what timeline, depends on the specific facts.
Next step
A conversation, when you're ready
Free, confidential, and no obligation. I will tell you plainly whether a claim exists.