What damages can be recovered in a San Antonio wrongful death case?

Texas Wrongful Death Law Compensates for Financial and Human Losses

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §71.002, surviving beneficiaries are compensated for the full range of losses their loved one’s death caused them — financial support, companionship, parental guidance, and mental anguish. Texas has no cap on wrongful death damages in private cases. The survival claim under §71.021 adds compensation for what the deceased suffered before death.

Lost Financial Support — The Economic Foundation

• Present value of lifetime wage contributions, calculated by an economist using actuarial tables and wage growth projections
• Lost retirement benefits, pension contributions, and investment income
• Lost Social Security survivor benefits the spouse would have received

San Antonio’s military and defense sector, Toyota manufacturing, healthcare corridor, and growing tech presence produce diverse income profiles. A 35-year-old Toyota supervisor, a 40-year-old JBSA defense contractor, or a 38-year-old South Texas Medical Center nurse each generates a distinct present-value loss calculation — and Wayne Wright retains economic and vocational experts to fully document each one.

Loss of Inheritance

The value of the estate the deceased would have accumulated and passed to beneficiaries — savings, investments, property, and retirement assets. Separate from and in addition to lost income contributions.

Loss of Companionship and Society

• Surviving spouse: Loss of marital companionship, consortium, and the life partner relationship at every future stage that will not now be shared
• Minor children: Loss of parental companionship, supervision, affection, and guidance through formative years — multiplied per child across decades in young parent cases
• Adult children: Loss of the ongoing parent-child relationship into adulthood
• Parents of deceased: Loss of the companionship of a child they expected to maintain throughout their own lifetimes

Mental Anguish — No Cap in Private Cases

• The acute grief and trauma of the death itself
• Ongoing depression, anxiety, and PTSD resulting from the traumatic loss
• Long-term psychological consequences documented through mental health treatment and expert testimony

Punitive Damages for Gross Negligence

• Drunk drivers with prior DWI convictions on San Antonio roads — prior record establishes conscious indifference
• Commercial trucking companies that knowingly deployed fatigued drivers with ELD violations on I-35
• Employers who ignored OSHA citations and allowed fatal worksite conditions to persist at Port SA or construction sites
• Product manufacturers who sold products with documented internal safety defects

Government Entity Cases — Damage Caps Apply

When VIA Metropolitan Transit, the City of San Antonio, TxDOT, or Bexar County is liable, the Texas Tort Claims Act caps total damages at $250,000 per claimant and $500,000 per occurrence under §101.023(b). Punitive damages are not available against government entities.

Call 210-888-0078 for a confidential evaluation. Wayne Wright retains economic experts, mental health experts, and accident reconstruction specialists to build the complete damages picture before any settlement demand is made.