Trusted Texas City wrongful death attorneys guiding families through Texas wrongful death actions.
Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers represents surviving families across the upper Gulf Coast in cases arising from industrial incidents, motor vehicle crashes, maritime fatalities, and other catastrophic events. To consult with our Texas City, TX wrongful death lawyer, please reach out for a free, confidential review.
Wrongful Death Lawyer Texas City, TX
A wrongful death case is a civil action brought when a person’s death results from another party’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default. The Texas Wrongful Death Act, codified at Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, establishes the framework. Under § 71.004, only the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the decedent are entitled to bring this action, and they may do so for the benefit of all such qualifying family members. Siblings, grandparents, fiances, and cousins are not eligible plaintiffs under the statute.
A separate but related cause of action, known as the survival action, is governed by § 71.021 and allows a personal injury claim that the decedent could have brought during life to “survive” the death. The survival action is prosecuted by the personal representative of the estate (or, in some circumstances, by heirs and legal representatives) and recovers damages the decedent suffered between the moment of injury and the moment of death, including conscious pain and suffering, medical expenses, and funeral costs. Damages awarded in a wrongful death action go directly to the qualifying family members; survival action damages belong to the estate and are subject to estate debts.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle in Texas City
Fatal incidents along the upper Gulf Coast often involve the heavy industrial, maritime, and transportation activity that defines the regional economy. Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers handles fatal cases arising from a wide range of circumstances.
- Industrial fatalities. Refinery explosions, plant fires, chemical exposure incidents, and other catastrophic events in petrochemical and manufacturing facilities.
- Trucking and 18-wheeler fatalities. Highway crashes involving commercial vehicles often implicate federal motor carrier regulations and corporate safety programs.
- Car accidents. Crashes caused by impaired, distracted, or fatigued drivers, as well as defective vehicle and roadway design cases.
- Maritime and offshore fatalities. Crew member deaths under the Jones Act, longshore worker deaths under the LHWCA, and Death on the High Seas Act claims for fatalities beyond three nautical miles.
- Construction accidents. Falls, struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and trench collapses on commercial and industrial construction sites.
- Premises liability. Fatal assaults on properties where the owner failed to provide reasonable security under the circumstances.
- Pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcycle fatalities. Vulnerable road user deaths, often involving driver inattention, speeding, or right-of-way violations.
- Drowning and water recreation fatalities. Fatal incidents on boats, at marinas, in pools, and at public swimming areas.
- Burn accidents. Apartment fires, industrial fires, and other thermal injury cases that result in death from burns or smoke inhalation.
- Medical and pharmaceutical fatalities. Fatal medical errors, anesthesia events, and pharmaceutical product cases.
- Refinery accidents. Texas City’s refinery corridor has produced some of the deadliest industrial events in U.S. history, and our firm investigates each as a potential wrongful death case.
- Truck accident claims. Fatal commercial truck wrecks frequently involve evidence that disappears within days unless a preservation letter is issued.
- Workplace injury matters. Job-site fatalities at non-subscriber employers can support direct wrongful death claims unburdened by the workers’ compensation bar.
- Maritime injury claims. Vessel-based fatalities involve overlapping federal and state remedies that need careful evaluation.
Why Choose Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers for Wrongful Death in Texas City, TX?
Catastrophic Case Track Record
Wrongful death cases reward firms that prepare every file as if it will be tried to verdict, because defense valuations move only when the threat of trial is credible. Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers has recovered over $375 million for injured clients and surviving families, including a $37.5 million verdict for the family of a truck driver killed by an Oncor delivery vehicle. Several other seven and eight-figure outcomes in the firm’s portfolio also involved fatal injuries and surviving family members.
Matt Greenberg practices in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawdragon, and the National Trial Lawyers. He earned his J.D. at Baylor Law School. Mike Streich, a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, brings more than a decade of complex injury and fatality experience, including substantial work for major insurers and offshore companies before turning to plaintiff representation. As a personal injury lawyer in Texas City, TX, Mike brings a defense-side perspective to fatal injury claims that is rare on the plaintiff bar.
Verdicts and Settlements
Our attorneys have secured more than $375 million in damages for injured people. Past results are never a guarantee of future outcomes, but they show what disciplined trial preparation and aggressive litigation can deliver.
How Our Firm Operates
Our Texas City personal injury lawyers handle every case on contingency. There is no fee unless we secure a recovery on your behalf. Free consultations are available to learn your legal options.
Understanding Wrongful Death Cases
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Wrongful Death Cases
Damages in a Texas wrongful death case fall into well-developed statutory categories. Surviving family members may recover for the losses they personally sustained, while the estate may recover separately under the survival statute.
- Loss of financial support and earning capacity. The decedent’s projected earnings, benefits, and household contributions over a normal life expectancy.
- Loss of inheritance. The amount the decedent would likely have accumulated and left to their surviving family had life continued.
- Loss of love, companionship, society, and consortium. The relational losses suffered by the surviving spouse, children, and parents.
- Mental anguish. The emotional harm sustained by qualifying family members as a result of the death.
- Survival damages. The decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering, medical expenses, and funeral costs, recovered through the estate.
- Exemplary damages. Available under § 71.009 in cases of willful act, omission, or gross neglect, with damages distributed under § 71.010.
Liability follows the same proportionate responsibility framework that governs other Texas tort claims under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A jury allocates fault among all responsible parties, and recovery is barred only if the decedent’s share of fault exceeds 50%.
Important Aspects in Your Wrongful Death Case
Several factors warrant early attention in a fatal case.
- Eligibility to file a claim. Identifying the proper plaintiffs (surviving spouse, children, parents) and the proper estate representative is the first legal task.
- Evidence preservation. Surveillance video, electronic data, maintenance records, and physical evidence must be locked down before they are altered or destroyed.
- Autopsy and medical examiner records. Cause-of-death documentation, often available through Texas vital statistics, anchors the medical narrative.
- Federal investigation files. OSHA, NTSB, and Coast Guard investigations frequently produce records that become central to liability proof.
- Venue strategy. Where the case is filed often determines settlement value.
Wrongful Death Case Timeline
While no two cases proceed identically, understanding the general sequence of events can help surviving families know what to expect and prepare for each stage of the process as it unfolds.
- Investigation and preservation. Site documentation, witness identification, and preservation letters within the first 30 to 60 days.
- Estate administration. Appointment of a personal representative if a survival action is contemplated.
- Liability development. Review of agency reports, deposition planning, and identification of all potentially responsible parties.
- Pre-suit demand. A formal demand to insurers and primary defendants once damages are documented.
- Lawsuit filing. State district court or federal court depending on parties and strategy.
- Discovery, depositions, mediation, and trial. Most fatal cases settle, but only after defendants conclude the matter is genuinely headed to verdict.
What to Bring to Your Wrongful Death Consultation
Bring whatever you have. The firm can supplement everything else.
- A copy of the death certificate, autopsy report, or medical examiner findings, if available.
- Police reports, OSHA reports, or any other agency reports related to the incident.
- Photographs of the scene, equipment, vehicles, or property involved.
- Contact information for witnesses and any first responders.
- Records establishing the family relationships of surviving spouses, children, and parents, including marriage and birth certificates where relevant.
- Documentation of the decedent’s employment, earnings, and benefits.
The consultation will cover what happened, the available legal theories, and what to expect if you decide to move forward. There is no obligation to retain the firm.
Texas Legal Resources for Wrongful Death
A few statutory and federal resources are worth knowing about. The application of any of them to a particular case is a job for the consultation.
- Texas Wrongful Death Act and Survival Statute. Both causes of action live in Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, with the wrongful death subchapter codified at §§ 71.001 through 71.012 and the survival statute at § 71.021.
- Statute of limitations. Texas wrongful death and survival claims are generally subject to a two-year limitations period under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, with limited tolling rules for minors and certain delayed discovery situations.
- Tort Claims Act caps. Wrongful death claims against governmental units are subject to the caps in the Texas Tort Claims Act.
- Mortality data. The CDC National Center for Health Statistics maintains leading causes of death data showing that unintentional injuries are consistently among the top causes of death in the United States.
- Local courts. Wrongful death cases involving Texas City are typically filed in Galveston County district court.
These resources are starting points only.
Reach Out to Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers to Schedule a Consultation
You should not have to face this alone. Our Texas City wrongful death lawyer is here to help you. Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers offers free, confidential consultations to surviving spouses, children, and parents. We work on a contingency basis. Contact our firm today to learn your rights.
