Texas defines wrongful death as one that results from a “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.” Sometimes, it helps to think of wrongful death cases in terms of personal injury lawsuits. When a careless individual causes an accident that leads to an injury, the injured victim can file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation for their accident-related losses. 

Wrongful death cases work similarly. However, when the accident caused by the careless individual results in death, a family member or the executor of the deceased’s estate must file a lawsuit since the victim cannot.