A Fort Worth fatal crash this morning around 1 a.m. between a Camero and another vehicle left 5 occupants of the stricken vehicle dead. The struck vehicle was pushed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames. Three adults and two children were killed inside the vehicle. While identities of the deceased have not yet been released, assuming this was a mom, dad, and their children killed in the crash, this fatal crash demonstrates a gap in the Texas Wrongful Death law that leaves some victims without justice.
The Gap in English Common Law for Wrongful Death
American law developed from the old English common law. At common law, a cause of action for personal injuries belonged solely to the person injured. Thus, when a person dies as the result of someone else’s negligence or intentional actions, the personal injury claim dies with them. So, if you injured someone, they could seek justice, but if you killed them, there was no justice or consequence. Imagine the shock of the distraught family members when they sought the counsel of a wrongful death attorney only to learn that there was nothing the lawyer could do to help them even in cases of clear negligence.
Wrongful Death Statutes
Wrongful death statutes were enacted by state legislatures to fill the void that the common law left in wrongful death cases. Under a state wrongful death statute, certain “wrongful death beneficiaries” are given the right to bring a personal injury claim when their loved one is killed by the negligence or intentional act of another person. As the states created these statutes, however, they were not all created the same. Most will allow the following people (if they are alive) to make a claim as a wrongful death beneficiary:
- The current spouse of the deceased.
- The parents of the deceased.
- The children of the deceased.
Some States also allow others to bring a claim such as siblings of the deceased. Grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, and ex-spouses are generally not considered beneficiaries under wrongful death statutes.
The Gap in The Texas Wrongful Death Statute
Unlike many other States’ wrongful death statutes, the Texas Wrongful Death Statute does not allow siblings to bring a claim. So, in a case such as the Fort Worth fatal crash it is likely that the causes of action for the minors have simply been extinguished under Texas law. While minors normally have the right to have a representative of the minors file a claim on their behalf for personal injuries or wrongful death, in this case, the only people who qualify to do so were likely killed in the same crash that killed the children. The minors have no children of their own and they are not married. So, the only beneficiaries that could bring the claim would be the two parents—who likely are the adults who died in this crash. If the adults have living parents or other surviving children who were not present at the time of the wreck, then their claims will survive their death and those beneficiaries can hire a Fort Worth car accident lawyer and bring a claim to seek justice. But if they do not have other children or living parents, then their claims from wrongful death will simply cease to exist as well. Their estates may still have a survival claim for medical and/or funeral expenses, but these will be very limited in comparison to what one may claim via a wrongful death claim.
Conclusion
The Fort Worth fatal crash this morning is a sad but interesting situation in that it exposes some of the shortcomings of the Texas Wrongful Death Statute. Only certain people designated by the statute have a right to bring the claim and if they do not exist, the cause of action simply ceases to exist. The case demonstrates why serious accidents such as this need to be examined carefully and evaluated by an attorney familiar with the nuances of the law.
Author
