Losing a loved one in a fatal accident creates overwhelming grief, and the sudden financial burden of funeral and burial expenses only compounds that pain. Many families find themselves scrambling to cover costs that can easily reach $10,000 to $15,000 or more while also dealing with the indescribable pain of their loved one’s loss.
If another party's negligence caused your loved one's death, you may have multiple legal recovery options to secure a settlement for these expenses and other damages. The Texas wrongful death lawyers at Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, fight to ensure grieving families receive full compensation for their losses, including the costs of laying their loved ones to rest.
Contact us to complete your free consultation about working with a Texas wrongful death attorney.
Key Takeaways Involving Funeral and Burial Costs After a Fatal Accident in Texas
- The at-fault party bears ultimate financial responsibility for funeral costs when negligence caused the victim’s death
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance may provide immediate coverage regardless of fault
- The deceased's estate can pay costs if sufficient assets exist (but the estate should not bear the final cost of the funeral or burial if negligence caused the wrongful death)
- Family members often front expenses while pursuing reimbursement through legal claims (such as a wrongful death lawsuit)
- Wrongful death lawsuits allow recovery of funeral costs plus additional damages
- Texas law sets a two-year deadline for filing wrongful death claims, so do not wait to call Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC for your free, no-obligation consultation
Who Pays Funeral and Burial Costs After a Fatal Accident in Texas?
Texas law clearly holds the negligent party responsible for damages resulting from a wrongful death, which should help families feel assured that justice is within reach. Families should know that these costs can be recovered from the at-fault party or their insurance, even if the family has to pay those costs upfront.
Here, we will discuss possible sources of funding for a person’s funeral and burial costs. Then, we will discuss how filing a wrongful death lawsuit might ensure the surviving loved ones don’t, when all is said and done, have to pay out of pocket for these expenses.
The Deceased’s Estate
When your loved one leaves behind assets, the estate may cover funeral and burial costs as part of the probate process. Texas Estates Code § 355.102 establishes funeral expenses as a priority claim against the estate. This “priority claim” status means these costs are paid before most other debts. The estate's personal representative or executor authorizes these payments from available funds.
However, many accident victims leave limited assets, and using estate funds may reduce the inheritance available to surviving family members. Additionally, probate can take months to complete, leaving families to find alternative funding for immediate expenses.
Family Members or Next-of-Kin
In many situations, family members cover their deceased loved one’s funeral and burial expenses out of pocket while awaiting insurance payments or other means of recovery. Spouses, adult children, and parents may take on this obligation, sometimes sharing the costs among several relatives.
Funeral homes commonly require payment or financing to be in place before services are provided. Although this creates immediate financial pressure for survivors, these expenses can be recovered through successful wrongful death claims against the at-fault party.
Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, advises that you preserve detailed records of all costs, including receipts, invoices, and payment confirmations, to support full reimbursement. We will use such documentation as we seek fair compensation during any wrongful death case you task us with leading.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Texas requires auto insurers to offer Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. However, many drivers decline this coverage option in writing.
If your deceased loved one carried PIP coverage on their own motor vehicle before a fatal accident, this insurance may help cover certain immediate expenses after the fatal accident.
PIP coverage typically ranges from $2,500 to $10,000, which may not fully cover funeral costs but can be valuable (and near-immediate) assistance. Furthermore, filing a PIP claim does not affect your right to pursue additional compensation from the at-fault party for other financial losses or pain and suffering.
An At-Fault Driver’s Insurance
A negligent driver's liability insurance should ultimately cover funeral and burial costs, as well as other damages. Texas requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per person for bodily injury. When another driver's carelessness caused your loved one's death, their insurance company bears responsibility for compensating your family.
However, insurance companies rarely offer fair settlements without being prompted by an aggressive attorney. They frequently dispute liability, question the valuation or reasonableness of expenses, delay payment, and engage in other bad-faith tactics for their own financial benefit.
Our Texas wrongful death lawyers handle these negotiations to ensure insurance companies fulfill their obligations.
Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Your Potential Path to a Fair Financial Recovery
When insurance coverage proves insufficient or liable insurance companies don’t pay fairly, filing a wrongful death lawsuit may be the path to full compensation. A lawsuit allows you to recover far more than funeral and burial costs alone, and we define damages in two primary ways:
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate your family for the tangible financial losses resulting from your loved one's accident and death. These damages carry specific dollar values that attorneys calculate based on documented evidence, and some examples are:
- Funeral, burial, and cremation expenses
- Medical bills
- Lost earning capacity your loved one would have provided had they not passed away
- Lost household services and contributions
- Lost employment benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions
- Loss of inheritance
Calculating future economic losses will require an analysis of your loved one's age, occupation, earning history, and likely career trajectory. We work with economists and financial experts to determine the full value of a wrongful death.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages address the emotional and relational losses that devastate families when a loved one passes. These intangible losses don’t typically have precise (or objective) dollar values. However, they represent real harm that deserves compensation, and can include:
- Mental anguish and emotional suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of love and affection
- Loss of guidance and counsel
- Loss of parental nurturing for minor children
- Loss of consortium for surviving spouses
Texas generally places no cap on non-economic damages in wrongful death cases, including those involving car accidents and premises liability, such as slip and falls.
Juries consider the plaintiff’s relationship with the deceased, the closeness of their bond, and how their loss affects survivors’ daily lives to determine a fair valuation of pain and suffering.
Punitive Damages
The state can permit families to pursue punitive damages in wrongful death cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct. These damages go beyond compensating your family and instead hold the defendant accountable for particularly egregious behavior.
Drunk driving accidents and the intentional infliction of harm are two cases in which punitive damages are possible. Texas caps punitive damages at the greater of $200,000 or twice the value of economic damages, plus up to $750,000 in non-economic damages.
We Will Enter Your Wrongful Death Case With a Time-Tested Plan of Action
We tailor our representation to each client, whose case and personal preferences are unique from all others. Yet, we also enter wrongful death cases with a time-tested plan of action that includes:
Investigation
Building a strong wrongful death case requires gathering comprehensive evidence of negligence. The Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, approach to wrongful death investigations generally involves:
- Obtaining police reports
- Commissioning an accident reconstruction
- Photographing the accident scene
- Collecting witness statements
- Preserving critical electronic evidence (like cell phone records and vehicle data)
- Reviewing the at-fault driver's accident history and background
A thorough investigation often reveals evidence of negligence that proves critical to our cases’ success.
Collaboration with Qualified Experts
Challenging wrongful death cases can benefit from experts’ professional insights and services. Specialists who might strengthen your claim and our fight for maximum compensation are:
- Accident reconstruction engineers
- Medical experts
- Life care planners
- Economists
- Vocational specialists
- Mental health professionals
- Industry safety experts
Expert testimony can help judges and juries understand exactly how the negligence occurred, how that negligence contributed to the wrongful death, and what your family has lost financially and emotionally now that their loved one is gone.
Negotiations
Insurance companies employ teams of adjusters and attorneys to minimize payouts. They may contact you shortly after the accident, hoping to settle for a modest sum before you understand your claim's actual value (or retain your Texas wrongful death lawyer from our team).
Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, handles all communication with insurance companies and negotiates aggressively for fair wrongful death settlements. Our attorneys know insurers’ playbooks from front to back, and we have tactics to counter them decisively.
Legal Action (Which Can Be a Tone-Setting Step)
When negotiations fail to produce an acceptable result for our client, we file wrongful death lawsuits and pursue claims through litigation. Texas imposes a two-year statute of limitations on wrongful death actions, starting from the date of death.
Missing this deadline permanently bars your claim, regardless of how strong it may have been. We urge you to contact us as soon as possible, and preserving the filing deadline is one of the most important reasons not to wait.
Trial Representation
Skilled courtroom advocacy can make or break a wrongful death case. If insurance companies know that your lawyer is willing to go to trial (and capable of winning), the entire dynamic of the case shifts.
Many cases settle during litigation once defendants recognize the thoroughness of our preparation and the risks they will face at trial. Whether your case resolves through settlement or verdict, Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, will fight relentlessly for the outcome your family deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions from Those Who Have Tragically Lost a Loved One in Texas
Families reeling from a wrongful death often share common questions about their rights and options, such as:
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Texas law limits wrongful death claims to specific family members of the deceased person. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004, only the following individuals may bring a wrongful death action:
- Surviving spouse
- Biological or adopted children
- Biological or adoptive parents
We will learn about your family dynamics and explain who may be eligible to seek compensation for their loss.
How do you prove fault for a fatal accident in Texas?
Proving fault in a fatal accident in Texas requires establishing that the at-fault party’s negligence directly caused your loved one's death. Your attorney must demonstrate four essential elements through evidence and expert testimony: Duty of care, breach, causation, and damages.
What funeral and burial costs are recoverable?
Texas wrongful death claims typically allow recovery of all reasonable funeral and burial expenses, along with numerous other damages. Families can seek compensation for the full range of losses caused by their loved one's death, which might include:
- Casket, burial plot, and headstone
- Funeral home services and facilities
- Transportation and hearse services
- Flowers, programs, and memorial items
- Cremation services, if applicable
- Medical bills and lost income
- Non-economic damages for emotional losses (including grief)
The toll of a wrongful death is almost unimaginable. As your lawyers, though, we will trace the lines of loss, creating a case that shows just how far and wide the tremors of your loved one’s passing run.
Contact a Trusted Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer Today for Your Free Consultation
If you are a survivor of a wrongful death accident, don't delay speaking with a qualified wrongful death attorney in Texas. Taking action now could protect your right to recover compensation for funeral costs and all other damages your family has suffered. We can do a full investigation to determine liability.
Call Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, today or contact us online to complete your free consultation with our team. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t charge any upfront fees, so you don’t have to worry about attorney costs.
