Losing a family member in a car crash is one of the most devastating events a family can face. The grief is real, the financial pressure hits fast, and the legal questions can feel overwhelming. If someone you love was killed in a fatal car accident in or near Pearland, Texas, you have rights under Texas law, and Gustin Law Firm is here to help you understand them. Our principal office is in Houston, Texas, and our attorneys have recovered more than $50 million in total gross recoveries for injured clients and their families throughout the greater Houston area, including Pearland and Brazoria County. Attorney fees and litigation expenses are deducted from any gross recovery. We handle fatal car accident cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. You are responsible for court costs and litigation expenses, which are typically deducted from the final settlement or verdict amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pearland sits at the intersection of some of the busiest corridors in the Houston metro area. State Highway 288, Broadway Street, Beltway 8, and FM 518 all see heavy traffic daily, and the combination of high speeds, distracted drivers, and commercial vehicle traffic makes these roads genuinely dangerous. The area around Shadow Creek Ranch, Silverlake, and the growing developments along Pearland Parkway have added thousands of new drivers to roads that were not always built to handle that volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2024, 1,053 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers in Texas, accounting for 25.37% of all traffic deaths. Distracted driving is another leading cause. Distracted driving contributed to 380 deaths on Texas roads in 2024, a 5.71% decrease from 2023, though it continues to pose a significant risk to all road users. On a busy stretch of Highway 288 near the Beltway, it only takes one driver looking at a phone or running a red light to cause a fatal collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to TxDOT’s 2024 crash data, a reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds in Texas, and on average, one person was injured every two minutes and five seconds throughout the year. Those numbers translate directly into families right here in Pearland and Brazoria County who are dealing with sudden, unexpected loss. Whether the crash happened on the feeder roads near Pearland Town Center, on the highway near Southfork, or at an intersection along Dixie Farm Road, the cause often comes down to someone else’s negligence. When that negligence takes a life, Texas law gives the surviving family the right to hold that person accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fatal crashes involving drunk drivers, distracted motorists, commercial trucks, and uninsured drivers all carry different legal considerations. Understanding what caused the crash, and who is legally responsible, is the first step toward justice. That is exactly what Gustin Law Firm does for families across the Pearland area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas provides two separate legal pathways for families after a fatal car accident: a wrongful death claim and a survival action. Many families pursue both at the same time, and the law allows for that. Knowing the difference matters because each claim covers different types of losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 71.002, a person is liable for damages arising from an injury that causes an individual’s death when that injury was caused by the person’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default. This is the foundation of every wrongful death claim filed in Texas. The law does not require proof of criminal intent. Ordinary negligence, such as running a red light, speeding through a school zone near Pearland High School, or driving while impaired, is enough to establish liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 71.004 limits who can bring a wrongful death claim. Section 71.004 restricts the action to the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased. Siblings, grandchildren, and other relatives do not have standing to file a wrongful death claim under Texas law. If none of these individuals file within three calendar months after the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must bring the action unless all beneficiaries request otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas also recognizes a survival action under Section 71.021 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A survival action allows the estate of the deceased to recover for the losses the person suffered before death, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and any other damages that accrued between the time of the crash and the moment of death. A survival action differs from a wrongful death claim. The survival action, brought by the estate, seeks damages the deceased person endured before passing, such as pain and medical expenses, while the wrongful death claim covers the losses surviving family members suffer. Both claims can be filed together, and doing so gives your family the most complete path to full compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liability in a fatal car accident case does not always fall on just one person. Texas follows a proportionate responsibility system, which means multiple parties can share fault, and each can be held responsible for their share of the damages. Identifying every liable party is one of the most important things an attorney does in these cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The at-fault driver is the most obvious defendant. If that driver was impaired, speeding, or texting, the evidence from the crash scene, the police report, and phone records can all support your claim. Texas Transportation Code Section 601.072 sets the minimum liability insurance coverage at $30,000 for bodily injury or death to one person and $60,000 for two or more persons in a single collision. In fatal crash cases, these minimums are almost never enough to fully compensate a grieving family, which is why identifying all available insurance policies and all liable parties matters so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n