Get Clear Legal Help After Your Loss
A Dallas wrongful death lawyer can separate the family’s claims, estate questions and investigation after a death. Genthe reviews who is asking for documents, what each request concerns and whose rights an early offer would resolve, while preserving evidence before it changes.
Jump to the FAQs. Our intake team answers 24/7 and arranges attorney follow-up.
Recent Recoveries
- $2,000,000Car crash — litigation settlement
- $1,750,000Slip & fall — litigation settlement
- $1,000,00018-wheeler — litigation settlement
- $850,000Tractor-trailer — litigation settlement
- $650,000Commercial collision — litigation settlement
- $650,000Trucking accident — litigation settlement
- $550,000On-the-job injury — litigation settlement
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every case is decided on its own facts.
Client Reviews
What our clients say about us
Selected reviews reproduced as written and attributed to their authors. These describe individual experiences with the firm, not promised results or necessarily wrongful death matters.
Rated five out of five stars
“Mr. Genthe is an honest and caring attorney who truly helped me through this traumatic experience. He was with me every step of the way and was very informative on the process.”
Margaret Mijarez
Rated five out of five stars
“I worked with different team members at different stages of my case and each one was kind but honest with the progress and possible outcomes… They respond when you contact them with questions.”
phoebe Sembel
Rated five out of five stars
“From the very beginning, Aaron and his team were incredibly responsive, compassionate, and professional. They guided us through every step of the process, ensuring we understood our rights and options.”
Malaika Spratley
Your Attorney
The lawyer who works your case
Meet Aaron Genthe, founder of Genthe Law Firm, who represents injured people in Dallas and throughout Texas.
Founder · Trial Attorney
Aaron Genthe
A Texas A&M graduate who went into personal injury straight out of law school, Aaron spent years as a litigator at one of the larger firms in Dallas — long enough to build a reputation as an aggressive and effective attorney, and long enough to watch how easily a client becomes a file number at a firm that size.
He started Genthe Law Firm so that the person a family speaks to about a death is the person who tries the case. He has litigated injury and wrongful death matters in courts across Dallas County and North Texas since.
- Practicing since
- 2015
- Education
- Texas A&M graduate
- Fee
- Contingency — nothing unless you recover
Representation built around your case
Get Lawyers Who Fight for Your Family
Dallas wrongful death representation should address the family’s questions, possible estate interests and evidence of the death with care before evaluating an insurer’s proposal.
01 · Individual case strategy
Your Family Gets Care Beyond Routine Paperwork
An early offer can arrive before the important roles and evidence are understood.
We examine the underlying event and the documented losses while identifying which family and estate questions need attention. Our assessment follows those individual circumstances. A proposed payment should not replace the work needed to understand whose rights and claims it would resolve.
02 · Attorney-led representation
Talk With Your Attorney About Family Decisions
Legal roles deserve a clear conversation, especially during a difficult time.
A lawyer reviews the relevant relationships, available estate material and proposed settlement documents. Paralegals help coordinate the file while the attorney directs advice and strategy. You can ask about uncertainty without being expected to sort out authority or representation issues on your own.
Meet the Genthe team
03 · Trial-ready advocacy
We Prepare for Trial to Demand Accountability
A supported demand must connect responsibility with the legally relevant losses.
Genthe develops the incident evidence and documented damages with potential litigation in view. Readiness to put a contested case before a court strengthens our ability to negotiate for the recovery the evidence supports, while keeping the family’s distinct interests clear.
We connect incident and estate records with each family’s questions and prepare the supported losses for negotiations or court. Discuss the free consultation, proposed scope and written fee terms before committing.
Who May File
Who Can File a Texas Wrongful Death Claim?
The Texas Wrongful Death Act (CPRC Chapter 71) names them, and the list is shorter than most families expect. Being on it — or not being on it — is the first thing worth establishing, because it decides who signs and what has to be opened at the courthouse.
The surviving spouse
A husband or wife at the time of the death. An informal — common-law — marriage counts where it can be proved, which is done with the same evidence you would use anywhere else: an agreement to be married, living together in Texas, and representing to other people that you are married.
The children
Sons and daughters of the person who died, adult or minor, and legally adopted children on exactly the same footing as biological ones.
The parents
The mother and father of the person who died, including adoptive parents. Parents of an adult child are beneficiaries in Texas, which surprises most of the people who call to ask.
The estate’s representative — after three months
If none of the spouse, children or parents has filed within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate is required to bring the claim, unless all of them request that it not be brought.
Who cannot, under Texas law
Brothers and sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins, fiancés and unmarried partners are not wrongful death beneficiaries in Texas, based solely on those relationships. Legal adoption or a provable informal marriage can change the analysis.
Protect Your Family’s Evidence Before It Disappears
“Families almost always call worried that speaking to a lawyer this soon will look grasping. In every one of these cases the other side had already spoken to theirs.” Aaron Genthe · Founder
Choose a practical family contact
If the family agrees, name someone to collect messages and documents. Identify relationships, existing counsel and any estate representative. Handling funeral arrangements or being the contact does not itself authorize someone to sign for everyone. Ask who may need separate advice.
Identify the event and evidence holders
Bring incident references and contacts for investigators, insurers, employers and involved businesses. Note missing materials. Vehicles can be repaired or scrapped, cameras overwritten and scenes reopened. Commercial records have different retention periods; prompt, specific preservation requests should identify vehicles, footage and relevant records rather than assume one universal evidence deadline.
Separate family and estate papers
Keep appointment papers and legal correspondence apart from funeral bills and personal records. Tell the lawyer if authority is uncertain. A survival action concerns the person’s own claims before death; wrongful death concerns statutory beneficiaries. See the eligibility and Texas-law sections for the distinct actions.
Keep each loss and agreement clear
Save support, earnings, service and funeral records, noting who paid. Medical and investigation material help connect conduct to death; a criminal charge or its absence does not decide the civil claim. Keep proposed agreements together: they may reach more than one person’s rights. Avoid combining different claims into one unexplained loss total.
Questions for your consultation
Ask who should participate, which papers establish estate authority, what an offer would release and which deadlines need prompt review. Government and health-care defendants can add requirements. The family can inquire before collecting every certificate or resolving every administrative issue. Preserving evidence does not require accepting a settlement.
Texas Law
Texas Wrongful Death and Survival Claim Rules
Even where the death was plainly somebody else’s fault, these five decide what a family recovers and when.
Calculate wrongful death and survival deadlines separately
CPRC §16.003 generally gives a wrongful death claim two years from death. A survival action under §71.021 continues the deceased person’s existing claim; its deadline does not automatically restart at death. Section 16.062 can suspend applicable limitations for up to 12 months, ending earlier when an executor or administrator qualifies. Government notice, health-care liability and other exceptions need separate review.
The person who died can be blamed too
For claims governed by Chapter 33, responsibility assigned to the deceased can reduce recovery, and more than 50% can bar it. The particular cause of action and statutory exceptions must be checked.
Gross negligence changes what is on the table
Section 71.009 and Chapter 41 address exemplary damages. These require the applicable heightened proof, and statutory limits and exceptions can apply; they are not available merely because a death occurred.
A few claims come with a ceiling
Government claims require a valid immunity waiver and can involve notice requirements and limits under Chapter 101. Health-care liability has separate Chapter 74 limits and procedures. Exemplary damages may also be limited by Chapter 41. An ordinary compensatory claim should not be confused with those specific categories.
A jury divides it, not the will
Under §71.010, the jury apportions wrongful death damages among beneficiaries in proportion to their injuries. Section 71.011 separates that recovery from the deceased person’s debts. A survival recovery belongs to the estate and follows different administration and distribution rules.
The Process
What happens when you call us
- 01
You call, and we listen
Tell us what happened and who has already been in touch with you. If there is nothing here for your family we will say so, and say who to ask.
- 02
We stop the clock on the evidence
After representation begins, we identify evidence holders and send appropriate preservation requests. A letter alone does not guarantee that every item still exists or resolve all preservation duties.
- 03
We take over the calls
Once retained, we can handle claim communications with insurers and explain which requests require your input.
- 04
We prove what was lost
The reconstruction, the records, the earnings history and an economist who values a working life. Then the demand goes to the insurer.
- 05
We resolve it, or we try it
Most cases settle. We prepare each one as though it will not, and we walk you through every line of whatever is finally agreed.
Across North Texas
Wrongful death cases across Dallas–Fort Worth
Texas death claims follow the same statute in every county. Where it happened decides which court hears the case.
We represent families across Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties, including Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Garland, Irving, Arlington and Fort Worth, after deaths caused by car and truck crashes, unsafe property, workplace accidents and other negligence.
A wrongful death case can usually be filed in the county where the fatal incident happened. We meet families at our office on Coit Road in North Dallas, or at home if that is easier.
Wrongful death FAQs
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
The surviving spouse, the children and the parents of the person who died. Any one of them may bring the action, and it is brought for the benefit of all of them.
How long do we have to file?
Wrongful death claims generally have a two-year deadline from death under CPRC §16.003. A survival claim has its own accrual and tolling analysis, including §16.062. Government notice and health-care claims can differ. Evidence can disappear sooner, so ask for an individual deadline calculation promptly.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival claim?
A wrongful death claim compensates the statutory beneficiaries for supported losses such as lost support, companionship and mental anguish. A survival claim continues the deceased person’s claim through the estate, including supported medical costs and conscious pain before death. Funeral expenses require analysis of the proper claim and who paid them; the same loss cannot be recovered twice.
How much is a wrongful death case worth?
There is no table to look it up in, and any firm that gives you a figure before it has read the records is guessing. What it turns on is who the person was — their age, their earnings, who depended on them and for what — what the defendant did, what insurance stands behind them, and how much of the blame can be pushed back onto the person who died.
No one was charged with anything. Is there still a claim?
A civil claim does not require a criminal charge or conviction. Ordinary civil negligence generally uses a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard; criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt and their elements vary. Exemplary damages require a separate heightened showing. The absence of charges does not by itself decide civil responsibility.
Do you handle wrongful death cases outside Dallas?
Yes. We are based in North Dallas and handle wrongful death cases across Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties, including Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Garland, Irving, Arlington and Fort Worth, and elsewhere in Texas when we can help.
Can one relative sign for the whole family?
Do not assume so. Eligibility, estate authority and each person’s rights require review. Keep any proposed release and identify who it purports to bind before agreeing.
What should a Dallas family gather before discussing a death claim?
Begin with the incident reference, date of death, family relationships and any estate documents already available. Bring the records you have; uncertainty about additional documents can be identified at the first discussion.
How are an estate’s documents different from family loss records?
Estate authority concerns who can act for the estate. Family relationships and individual losses concern potentially different rights; keeping them separate helps counsel assess standing, scope and any representation conflicts.
Does a funeral payment resolve the family’s remaining rights?
Its effect depends on the payment and accompanying terms. Keep all communications and releases; reimbursement of one expense should not be casually treated as a complete settlement of every eligible person’s claim.
What if relatives disagree about accepting an early offer?
Disclose the disagreement and identify who received the proposal and whom it purports to bind. Different rights or interests may require separate advice; agreement should not be assumed from one family member’s response.
Which work and support records can help explain the family’s losses?
Keep earnings history, benefits information and factual records of support or household contributions. Avoid a single speculative lifetime total; the claim requires evidence of the particular losses recognized by law.
Can the family obtain the entire investigation through one Dallas records request?
Not necessarily. Police, medical, fire and other records may have different custodians and release restrictions. Identify the specific existing material and authority to obtain it rather than assuming one request collects everything.
Should personal messages and photographs be preserved?
Relevant material may help explain the person’s relationships and daily contributions. Preserve originals respectfully and discuss scope with counsel rather than turning a sensitive family archive into an indiscriminate public submission.
What if the injured person survived for a period before death?
Keep the treatment timeline and expenses for that period distinct from later family losses. Different claim categories and authority may be involved, requiring analysis rather than merging all harm into one description.
Does living outside Texas change what the family should bring?
Tell the attorney where the incident occurred, where relevant people live and where records are held. Jurisdiction and applicable law require review; a Dallas consultation location does not decide those questions by itself.
How can Genthe begin while investigative findings are still pending?
The firm can identify potential parties, preserve relevant evidence and assess time-sensitive requirements with the information available. Pending findings should be described honestly, without promising that the investigation will establish a particular cause or outcome.