When a wreck on US 281, Loop 1604, or Stone Oak Parkway takes a life, the case that follows is not that same as the injury lawsuit the person could have brought. Texas gives a two-year window, and that window starts on the day of death. Families often expect a longer injury period to apply. It does not.
Here is what Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003 does in the death subsection. A person must bring suit no later than two years after that claim accrues in an action for injury resulting in death. The cause of action accrues on the death of the injured person. If a person is hurt near the Rim in April and dies in June, the two-year lawsuit period for the death case begins that June. Opening a carrier file, or paying a funeral invoice, does not by itself commence that lawsuit and does not pause the period.
Chapter 71, section 71.002 allows a liability action for actual damages on account of the death or injury of an individual, when the death or injury is caused by the wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default of another. Section 71.004 names who may bring the action. The official text controls that list. A close friend is not automatically a claimant just because the grief is real. Sketch the family chart on paper early, and bring it to counsel with the certified death certificate, plus the crash-report copy, once that copy is ready to use. Section 71.021 is the survival action, which belongs to the estate for injuries the person suffered before death. The two kinds of claims can sit in the same family file, and they are not interchangeable.
Fault, coverage, and government clocks
The greater-than-50-percent cutoff in 33.001 can still apply. If a claimant may not recover because the percentage of responsibility is more than half, that argument can still decide the case. That is a reason to gather photographs and the crash report promptly, even in a season when the family is also planning a service.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage on a family auto policy, and the 30/60/25 floor in 601.072, often belong in the same discussion as a first offer. A death claim can exceed a minimum policy quickly. Personal-injury-protection benefits, when they were not rejected in writing, may also include funeral-service expenses under 1952.151. Those first-party benefits do not start the death case and do not pause 16.003.
If a municipal vehicle, a state-owned vehicle, or a public-roadway defect may belong in that story, the six-month notice in 101.101 applies, and a city charter may be shorter. Missing that notice can close the government claim even if the two-year death window is still open. Use the city’s published Notice of Claim form when the City of San Antonio may be involved, and read the current city period on that official form.
Where the case is filed, and what to put on one list
Put the date of death, the wreck date, that notice date if a governmental unit is involved, and the two-year deadline on a single calendar, then treat commencing the lawsuit as the first task if that mark is getting close. Witnesses relocate. Medical bills and funeral invoices should be kept with that list, not left to a later search through email. An insurer’s claim number is not one of the dates that protects the case.
A Bexar County death or survival case is often filed with the same downtown District Clerk who receives other civil crash petitions. A later civil case from Bexar County is often filed with the District Clerk at the Paul Elizondo Tower, 101 W Nueva, Suite 217. Confirm hours and fees on the official clerk page. Get the crash report from the department named on the officer’s card, and use the official TxDOT purchase path when that path applies. If you hire counsel, confirm the license and put the fee agreement in a writing both sides sign. Filling out a site form does not hire counsel or stop a clock.
Practical steps in the first weeks
Order several official copies of the death certificate, because insurers, the clerk, and a later estate proceeding may each want one. Get the crash report from the department named on the officer’s card, and use the official TxDOT purchase path when that path applies. Keep funeral invoices, hospital bills from the last admission, and any policy numbers in one folder with the family chart. If a will or a probate proceeding is already underway, tell counsel, because the survival claim belongs to the estate and the death claim belongs to the people Chapter 71 names.
A first offer that arrives before those papers are in hand is not a reason to sign a broad release. A death claim can exceed a minimum 30/60/25 policy, and underinsured coverage on a family auto policy may still be available. Read any release against 16.003, against Chapter 71, and against the official statutes. If a public entity may be involved, do not let the funeral calendar push the notice date off the list. The six-month notice, or a shorter city period confirmed on the official form, can run during the same weeks as the service and the first family meetings.
People sometimes wait to call anyone until a personal representative has been appointed. That wait can be costly if a notice date or a two-year mark is approaching. Counsel can help you sort who has authority to act, and the official statute is the place to confirm who may bring each claim. Confirm the license of any lawyer you hire, and put the fee agreement in a writing both sides sign. The downtown filing desks are described in the courts guide on this site. Take the date list there, or to counsel, before the two-year mark is close.