Texas Wrongful Death & Survival Statutes (CPRC Chapter 71): Beneficiaries & Estate Recovery
Summary of the Texas Rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 71.001–71.021)
Establishes the statutory Wrongful Death cause of action for surviving spouses, children, and parents (§§ 71.002–71.004) and abolishes the common-law abatement of personal injury claims upon death via the Survival Statute (§ 71.021).
Statutory Text Summary & Legal Mechanics
Under § 71.004(a), an action to recover damages as provided by this subchapter is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased. Under § 71.021(a), a cause of action for personal injury to the health, reputation, or person of an injured person does not abate because of the death of the injured person or because of the death of a person liable for the injury, and survives in favor of the heirs, legal representatives, and estate of the injured person.
Practical Impact on Texas Personal Injury Claims & Jury Trials
Because a Wrongful Death claim is derivative of the decedent's right to sue (Russell v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 841 S.W.2d 343 (Tex. 1992)), any comparative fault exceeding 50% by the decedent bars the family's Wrongful Death recovery, and any valid pre-death release or arbitration agreement signed by the decedent binds the statutory beneficiaries (In re Labatt Food Service, L.P., 279 S.W.3d 640 (Tex. 2009)).
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