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Personal Injury Lawyers » Can a Sibling File a Wrongful Death Claim?
If Your Brother or Sister has Been Wrongfully Killed in a Car Accident, You may Have Options to Bring a Claim Against Those Responsible
When a person is killed in a car accident in Texas, can a surviving sibling (brother or sister) file a wrongful death claim based on their deceased brother or sister’s death? The short answer is not exactly. Under the law here in Texas, people cannot normally file wrongful death claims based on their siblings’ deaths, although exceptions exist. Also, people can and often do act as the executors of their siblings’ estates and file claims that are similar and parallel to wrongful death claims – these are called survival claims. More about the practices of a top Houston car accident lawyer here.
When a brother or sister passes away due to an accident caused by someone else, surviving siblings are often left grieving, confused, and with no one to turn to. If your sibling is killed in an accident or due to someone else’s misconduct, turn to Our Law Office. We are veteran Texas injury lawyers with long track records of success for injured men, women, and children and their surviving family members.
Texas Law
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Texas? The Texas Wrongful Death Statute defines the class of people who can: the deceased person’s surviving children, spouse, and parents. These three groups of people are the only three allowed to benefit from a wrongful death claim. They are known as the “wrongful death heirs.” So, if an adult man is killed in a traffic accident, his wife, children, and surviving parents if any can all be plaintiffs in the wrongful death claim based on his death. Minor children (kids under 18 years old) are incapable of bringing legal claims on their own and must be represented by someone in court: normally their living parent or another representative chosen by the court.
A Sibling’s Rights
So, siblings normally do not have the right to benefit from wrongful death claims when their brothers and sisters are killed. What rights do siblings have? Siblings often represent their deceased brothers’ and sisters’ estates in claims that are similar to wrongful death claims called survival claims. While wrongful death claims complain about the injuries the wrongful death heirs suffer personally (the harm is done to the parents, spouses, and children), survival claims complain about the harm done to the decedent (deceased person). The decedent’s own injuries are said to survive the decedent’s death and form the basis of the survival claim.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Attorney
Also, the Texas Wrongful Death Statute requires estate representatives to file wrongful death claims on behalf of the wrongful death heirs if the heirs themselves do not do so unless all the wrongful death heirs ask the estate representative not to. So if a sibling represents an estate, the sibling not only can but must file a wrongful death claim.
Interestingly, when a sibling-executor files a survival claim and a wrongful death claim, those claims do not necessarily benefit the sibling. The proceeds from a wrongful death claim still benefit the wrongful death heirs, even if the executor brings the claim. And the survival claim benefits whoever the decedent selects in his or her will; with no will, the laws of Texas intestate succession govern who gets what from the decedent’s estate, possibly the siblings and possibly not.
Our Law Office
Our Law Office can help you and your family makes sense of these complicated issues regarding wrongful death cases. Each case is different: trust a lawyer with skill in this area to advise and represent you for accidents and wrongful deaths. Trust Our Law Office and our team: you can reach us at toll-free.