How Multiple Parties Can Be Liable in a Texas Wrongful Death Case

When a family loses someone because of another person’s negligence, the grief is often accompanied by practical concerns: funeral costs, lost income, and unanswered questions about what happened and why. For many families, understanding who is responsible is an important part of finding those answers.

It is common to assume that a fatal accident has a single cause, such as one careless driver. In practice, many serious accidents result from the actions of more than one person or company. Under Texas law, each of those parties may be held accountable for its share of responsibility.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in Texas?

A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought when a person dies as a result of another party’s negligent, reckless, or wrongful conduct. In Texas, these claims may be brought by the decedent’s surviving spouse, surviving biological or adopted children, and surviving parents. A separate claim, known as a survival action, may be brought on behalf of the decedent’s estate to recover damages the individual could have pursued had they survived, or while they survived before passing, such as medical expenses incurred before death, physical pain and suffering, and mental anguish.

Wrongful death claims can arise from many types of incidents, including car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents, workplace accidents, unsafe property conditions, and defective products.

Why More Than One Party May Be Responsible

Some accidents result from a single act of negligence. Many others involve a series of decisions and oversights by different parties, each of which contributed to the outcome.

Consider a fatal collision involving a commercial truck. The driver may have been fatigued after exceeding federal hours-of-service limits. The trucking company may have set an unrealistic delivery schedule or failed to monitor the driver’s logs. If worn brakes also played a role, the company responsible for maintaining the truck may share responsibility as well. Each of these failures can be a contributing cause of the accident.

Employers can also be held responsible for the actions of employees acting within the scope of their jobs. This is why a company may be named in a case even when its employee was the one behind the wheel.

Common Examples of Multiple-Party Liability

Car accidents. A collision may involve more than one negligent driver, such as one who runs a red light and another who is speeding or distracted. If a vehicle defect or a poorly maintained roadway contributed to the crash, a manufacturer or government entity may also be involved.

Commercial truck accidents. In addition to the driver, potentially liable parties may include the trucking company, the company that loaded the cargo, the maintenance provider, and the manufacturer of a defective part.

Premises liability. When a death results from inadequate security, a structural hazard, or another unreasonably dangerous condition on a property, responsibility may extend to the property owner, the management company, a security contractor, or a maintenance provider.

Defective products. If a faulty tire, airbag, or other product contributed to a death, the product’s designer, manufacturer, distributor, and seller may each bear responsibility.

How Texas Divides Responsibility

Texas follows a system known as proportionate responsibility. When several parties contribute to a death, a judge or jury assigns each party a percentage of fault, and each defendant is generally responsible for paying damages in proportion to its share.

There is an important exception. A defendant found more than 50 percent responsible may be held jointly and severally liable, meaning it can be required to pay the full amount of damages, not only its own share. This rule can make a significant difference when another responsible party lacks the resources or insurance to pay.

The decedent’s own conduct may also be considered. If the decedent is found partially at fault, the family’s recovery may be reduced, and if the decedent is found more than 50 percent responsible, recovery may be barred entirely. This is one reason insurance companies often try to shift blame onto the person who died.

How Liability Is Determined

Establishing who is responsible requires a detailed investigation. Depending on the case, relevant evidence may include police and incident reports, witness statements, surveillance or dashcam footage, accident reconstruction analysis, vehicle data, maintenance logs, and company records such as driver logs and safety policies.

Some of this evidence can be lost or destroyed quickly. Video footage may be overwritten within days, and vehicles may be repaired or destroyed. Acting promptly gives an attorney the opportunity to request that important evidence be preserved before it disappears.

Why Identifying Every Responsible Party Matters

Wrongful death damages can be substantial. Depending on the circumstances, families may seek compensation for lost financial support, loss of companionship, mental anguish, loss of household services, and loss of inheritance. Medical expenses incurred before death, along with funeral and burial costs, may also be recoverable.

A single driver’s insurance policy is often not enough to cover these losses. Identifying every party that contributed to the death may make additional insurance policies and sources of compensation available, which can be critical to a family’s long-term financial stability.

Important Deadlines

In Texas, a wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. When a government entity may share responsibility, such as a city or county responsible for a dangerous roadway, the family may be required to provide formal notice of the claim much sooner, often within six months and in some cases even earlier. Missing these deadlines can prevent a family from recovering compensation.

How an Attorney Can Help

Wrongful death cases involving multiple parties often mean dealing with several insurance companies, each of which may try to place the blame elsewhere. An experienced personal injury attorney can investigate the accident, identify all potentially responsible parties, preserve critical evidence, work with accident reconstruction and medical experts, and handle communication with the insurers. This allows the family to focus on one another while the legal process moves forward.

Contact McCraw Law Group

No legal claim can undo the loss of a loved one. However, holding the responsible parties accountable can provide answers and financial security for the family members left behind.

If you have lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence, McCraw Law Group is here to help. Contact us for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your situation and your legal options.