What Happens When a Victim Passes Away During a Personal Injury Suit in Texas?

Sadly, there are many instances where a victim hires a personal injury attorney to file charges only to pass away from their wounds or illness. In this situation, the victim’s surviving relatives or the estate administrator may carry on the litigation on the victim’s behalf. However, the lawsuit will change if a family member assumes control in Texas. Having an expert wrongful death attorney on your side can help you get the outcomes that your loved one and family deserve.

What is a Wrongful Death Claim?

In Texas, a person who loses a loved one to an unnecessary or avoidable cause may file a civil lawsuit to recover financial damages. The state defines wrongful death as a death brought on by another person’s wrongdoing, negligence, carelessness, or default. Even if the deceased has already filed a personal injury claim, you may be allowed to bring a wrongful death lawsuit if you lost someone close to you in a tragedy that could have been avoided, like a vehicle crash or workplace disaster.

A deceased person’s surviving spouse, child, or parent may bring a wrongful death claim in Texas. The personal representative of the victim’s estate may file in their place if these parties fail to do so within three months of the victim’s passing. But there is no room for any claim two years after the decedent’s death date.

What is a Survival Action in Personal injury?

The personal injury claim made by the deceased victim before the death date can continue through a survival action. A personal injury cause of action does not end with the passing of the injured party, according to Texas law’s Section 71.021. Instead, it “survives” and develops into a survival action, enabling the deceased’s estate, legal agent, and beneficiaries to get monetary damages against the at-fault party. A survival action will proceed as if the deceased person were still alive.

In conclusion, there can be no wrongful death claim if the plaintiff’s cause of death was unrelated to the underlying personal injury action. Instead, the victim’s relative can explore the survival action. But the defendant may be liable in a wrongful death case and a survival action when the plaintiff sustains an injury by the defendant’s actions and ultimately dies due to the injuries.