When someone you care about has suffered a serious injury caused by another person’s negligence, it can feel overwhelming. While the injured person is the primary claimant, there may be situations where family members also have rights to compensation. Understanding how this works in Texas can help you take timely and effective action. Our catastrophic injury attorneys help families explore all possible paths to compensation after a loved one’s injury.
Who Can File a Claim and Under What Circumstances?
The starting point is that the person who was injured typically brings the claim. They may seek compensation for:
- Medical expenses and future care costs
- Lost wages if they cannot work for a while
- Reduced ability to earn in the future or needed job changes
- Pain, suffering, and emotional losses
Family members may come into play in the following ways:
- If the injured person lacks legal capacity (for example, due to brain injury), a guardian or next of kin may act on their behalf.
- If the person dies due to injuries, surviving family members may file a separate wrongful death claim.
- If you provided care or assistance to the injured person and incurred costs or lost time from your own job, there may be a basis for including those as part of the overall compensation discussion.
Because Texas law has multiple overlapping rules, you and your family must move quickly and get clarity from a qualified attorney.
What Differences Between Personal Injury and Family Member Claims Should You Know?
There are two main types of claims when a loved one is injured:
- Personal injury claim: Filed by the injured individual for losses they personally suffered.
- Derivative or related claims by family members: These might cover care provided, loss of services, or losses tied to someone else’s injury or death.
Here’s a breakdown of how these differ:
- Who files: The injured person (or their representative) vs. a family member or estate.
- What is covered: Medical bills, lost wages, future work limitations vs. caregiving costs, loss of household contributions, and funeral expenses.
- Time limits: Texas sets deadlines for both types of claims, and those deadlines vary depending on whether the injured person survives or passes away.
Because these claims overlap but are not identical, families should clearly identify which kinds of claims apply to their situation. That helps avoid missing important deadlines or mixing up what is eligible for compensation.
How Family-Involved Claims Might Work After a Loved One’s Injury
Let’s walk through a scenario. Imagine a parent who was the main income earner is injured in a truck accident. They cannot return to their job and require long-term care. Their spouse stops working to become the caregiver. The children provide support. In that case:
- The injured parent would file a personal injury claim to cover their own losses.
- The spouse might include their own lost income, the cost of caregiving, and changes to household income.
- The children might show how the injury affects the family unit with lost parental services, reduced future prospects, etc.
If that same parent later passes away because of the injury, the family would need to shift the claim into a wrongful death route, and different rights apply to the surviving spouse, children, or other dependents.
What Should You Do Right Away If a Loved One Is Injured?
Acting early can make a meaningful difference. Here are key steps families should follow:
- Make sure the injury is reported to the employer (if workplace-related) or to the property owner/other responsible party.
- Seek timely medical treatment and keep detailed records of every visit, test, prescription and related cost.
- Document how the injury changed the injured person’s everyday life, like job duties, household tasks, mobility, and pain levels.
- Track how your own life is impacted, such as days missed from your job, changed household roles, and the need to hire help.
- Consult with an experienced Texas personal injury attorney who can review your case and identify the correct claims to pursue.
Failing to act timely or mixing up what type of claim applies can lead to lost rights. Having an attorney review both your loved one’s claim and your family’s potential claims gives you the strongest position going forward.
Why Having Legal Representation Matters
When a serious injury affects a family, the issues are often complex. Insurance companies may try to minimize liability, focus only on the injured person’s direct costs and ignore family-wide effects. Having legal guidance helps you:
- Understand how Texas law treats your specific scenario.
- Assess whether you should pursue a personal injury claim, wrongful death claim or both.
- Identify all family-related losses that may not be obvious (caregiving, lost future income, household changes).
- Present a clear case that covers the full scope of impact on the injured person and the family.
Our team is ready to help families who are confronting serious personal injuries in Texas. We focus on deep experience, personal attention and aggressive advocacy when it matters most.
If your loved one has suffered a major injury and your family is trying to figure out how to protect your rights and claim compensation, reach out to us today. We’ll review your situation, help you understand the options and begin taking action on your behalf.
