Big Spring Pedestrian Accident Lawyer — Fatal Crash in Howard County, Texas
You are reading this because someone you love is gone. A woman was killed in a pedestrian crash in Big Spring, and the news told you almost nothing — no details about the vehicle, the driver, the road, the time of day, or why. What the news did not tell you is what matters most now: that the legal clock started the moment she died, that evidence is already disappearing, and that the difference between a full accounting and a closed file is measured in days, not months.
We are Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC. We handle wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases across Texas, and we are writing this page as the senior trial attorney who has spent decades building cases exactly like this one. Not a brochure. A briefing. Everything below is what we would tell you if you were sitting across from us right now, at your kitchen table in Big Spring, at two in the morning, with a phone full of missed calls from people who say they want to help and do not.
Here is the first thing you need to hear: your loss is real, it is recognized, and the legal system has a pathway for it. Texas law allows certain family members to file a wrongful death claim when a driver’s negligence takes a life. That pathway has a time limit — two years from the date of death under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(b). But the evidence that determines whether your case is strong or weak? That evidence has a shelf life measured in days and weeks, not years. The crash report, the vehicle’s black box, the driver’s phone records, the body-camera footage from the officers who responded — each of those is already on a countdown. That is why we are here, and that is why you are reading this now instead of waiting.
What Happened in Big Spring — and Why the Missing Details Are the Case
The report you saw identified the victim and almost nothing else. No vehicle type. No driver information. No roadway conditions. No time of day. No explanation of how a woman on foot came to be struck and killed in a West Texas town where the roads are built for trucks, not for people walking.
That absence of detail is not unusual in the first hours after a fatal pedestrian crash. The Big Spring Police Department or the Texas Department of Public Safety is completing its Crash Report — the CR-3 form that Texas law requires for every fatal collision. That report takes days to become available. It will contain the officer’s initial findings: the location, the vehicles involved, witness names, roadway conditions, and any citations issued. But here is what the report will not do: it will not tell you whether the driver was on a cell phone. It will not tell you whether the vehicle’s event data recorder shows the driver braked or did not. It will not tell you whether a commercial carrier was involved and, if so, whether that driver had been behind the wheel for fourteen hours in violation of federal hours-of-service rules. Those answers come from a different kind of investigation — the kind we run.
Big Spring sits in Howard County, along US Highway 87, close to Interstate 20. Both are high-volume corridors serving Permian Basin oilfield traffic. The trucks that move through this region — water haulers, frac sand transporters, crude oil tankers, pump trucks, wireline trucks — are massive, and they move on roads that were not designed for the volume the energy sector has put on them. When a pedestrian is killed on a road like that, one of the first questions we ask is whether the striking vehicle was a passenger car or a commercial truck, because the answer changes everything about the case: who the defendant is, how much insurance is available, what federal regulations apply, and what the case is worth.
Texas Pedestrian Law — The Duty Every Driver Owes
Texas law is specific about what drivers owe pedestrians. The Texas Transportation Code § 552.008, titled “Drivers to Exercise Due Care,” states:
“Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, the operator of a vehicle shall: (1) exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a roadway; (2) give warning by sounding the horn when necessary; and (3) exercise proper precaution on observing a child or any obviously confused, incapacitated, or intoxicated person on a roadway.”
That statute imposes a duty that does not disappear because a pedestrian is not in a marked crosswalk. The duty to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a roadway is not conditional on the pedestrian being in the right place. It is a duty owed by every driver to every person on foot, every time. When a driver fails to maintain a proper lookout, fails to yield, or fails to control speed in the presence of a pedestrian, that failure is negligence under Texas law.
There is a second legal theory that can apply, and it is often more powerful than ordinary negligence: negligence per se. The Texas Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the doctrine — “Negligence per se is a common-law doctrine that allows courts to rely on a penal statute to define a reasonably prudent person’s standard of care.” What this means in plain English: if the driver violated a specific Texas Transportation Code provision — say, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, or speeding in a pedestrian-heavy zone — and that provision was designed to protect the class of people that includes the pedestrian, then the violation establishes the driver’s breach of duty as a matter of law. The family still has to prove causation and damages, but the question of whether the driver was negligent is answered by the violation itself. This is why obtaining the CR-3 crash report and any citations issued at the scene matters so much — a traffic citation can be the foundation of the entire liability case.
Who Can Be Held Responsible — The Defendant Identification Problem
In a pedestrian fatality, liability can extend to more than just the person behind the wheel. The question of who is responsible depends on facts that are not yet known — and that we must move quickly to establish.
The driver of the striking vehicle owes the primary duty. If the driver failed to maintain a proper lookout, failed to yield, or was speeding, that is negligence. If the driver was intoxicated, distracted by a cell phone, or operating at excessive speed in an area where pedestrians are present, the conduct may rise to gross negligence — the threshold for punitive damages under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41.
The vehicle owner, if different from the driver, can be liable under Texas negligent-entrustment doctrine. The Texas Supreme Court defined the elements in Williams v. Steves Industries, Inc.: entrustment of a vehicle by the owner to an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver, where the owner knew or should have known of the driver’s incompetence, and the driver’s negligence proximately caused the accident. If someone lent a car to a person they knew was impaired, unlicensed, or dangerous, that owner is on the hook.
A commercial carrier or employer, if the vehicle was being operated in the course and scope of employment, can be held vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. The Texas Supreme Court explained in Painter v. Amerimex Drilling I, Ltd. that “an employer is vicariously liable” when an employee’s negligence causes harm during the course and scope of employment. In the Permian Basin context, this is the defendant that can change the entire value of the case. If the striking vehicle was an oilfield service truck — a water hauler, a sand transporter, a pump truck — the employer’s insurance coverage may be exponentially larger than a personal auto policy, and federal regulations may apply that provide additional theories of liability.
This is why identifying the striking vehicle is the first and most critical investigative step. The article gives us nothing — no vehicle type, no commercial affiliation, no DOT number. Discovery must target this immediately. Was it a passenger car? A pickup truck? An 18-wheeler? An oilfield service vehicle operating under a DOT-registered carrier’s authority? Each answer opens a different door to a different defendant with a different insurance tower.
If the vehicle was a commercial motor vehicle operating in interstate commerce, federal regulations under 49 CFR Parts 390–399 apply — including driver qualification requirements (Part 391), hours-of-service limits (Part 395), and vehicle inspection and maintenance standards (Part 396). A violation of any of these regulations can support a negligence theory under Texas law. The difference between a passenger-car defendant with Texas minimum coverage and a federally-regulated commercial carrier with mandated insurance is the difference between a case worth a fraction of what your family lost and a case that can account for the full measure of the harm.
For cases involving commercial vehicles in the Permian Basin, we bring specific experience against the oilfield trucking operations that move through Big Spring — the water haulers, frac sand transporters, and crude oil tankers that make these corridors dangerous for anyone on foot.
Wrongful Death Claims in Howard County — Who Can File and What Recovery Exists
Texas wrongful death law is governed by Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71. The statute is specific about who can bring a claim:
“An action to recover damages as provided by this subchapter is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased.”
That means the surviving spouse, the children, and the parents of the woman killed in Big Spring each have a claim. If she had no spouse or children, her parents can file. If she had a spouse and children, they each have independent claims. No other relative — sibling, grandparent, cousin — has a wrongful death claim under Texas law, though the estate may have a separate survival claim.
A survival action under § 71.021 is different and additional: it allows the estate to recover damages the decedent could have pursued had she lived — including pain and suffering experienced between the moment of injury and the moment of death. If she was conscious after the impact, even briefly, the survival action captures that suffering as a separate recovery stream that runs alongside the wrongful death damages. The survival claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate, not by the family members directly. That means the estate must be opened in probate court and a personal representative appointed before the survival action can proceed. We handle that appointment — it is part of what we do.
What Wrongful Death Damages Include Under Texas Law
The Texas Supreme Court defined the scope of wrongful death damages in Moore v. Lillebo. The economic and human losses include:
- Lost earning capacity — what the decedent would have earned over her working life, reduced to present value by a forensic economist
- Loss of care, maintenance, support, services, advice, counsel, and reasonable contributions of pecuniary value — the practical, daily, irreplaceable contributions she made to her family’s life
- Loss of companionship and society — the positive benefits of love, comfort, companionship, and society the survivors would have received
- Mental anguish — defined as the emotional pain, torment, and suffering that the surviving family members experience from the death
These are not abstract categories. They are built from specific evidence: the decedent’s work history, age, life expectancy, earning trajectory, household contributions, and family relationships. A forensic economist constructs the earning-capacity model. A life-care planner may document the household services the decedent performed — the childcare, the eldercare, the home maintenance — that now must be replaced at a cost. The number that emerges from this analysis is what the case is actually worth. The insurance adjuster’s first offer will be a fraction of it. Knowing the difference is the entire negotiation.
The Survival Action — Pain and Suffering Before Death
If the decedent experienced conscious pain and suffering between the impact and death, the survival action under § 71.021 adds a separate recovery. The evidence for conscious pain and suffering comes from the medical records — the emergency response, the transport, any treatment provided before death — and from witness accounts of the scene. Even a short interval of conscious suffering has value. This is a separate claim from wrongful death, with its own damages, and it is a stream of recovery that a generalist may overlook.
Texas Comparative Fault — The 51% Bar and What It Means for Your Family
Texas follows a modified comparative negligence standard with a 51% bar. The statute, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, states:
“In an action to which this chapter applies, a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.”
In plain English: if the jury finds that the decedent was 50% at fault or less, the family can recover — but the recovery is reduced by the decedent’s percentage. If the jury finds her 51% at fault or more, the family recovers nothing. This is why the insurance adjuster’s first move in a pedestrian death is to start building a narrative that the pedestrian was in the roadway improperly, was wearing dark clothing, was outside a crosswalk, was distracted — anything to push that percentage above 50%.
Every percentage point the adjuster can pin on the pedestrian is money. A finding of 20% fault reduces a $1 million recovery to $800,000. A finding of 51% reduces it to zero. This is not a theoretical risk. It is the central battleground in every pedestrian death case, and it is where the evidence preservation fight matters most — because the evidence that proves the driver’s speed, distraction, or failure to yield is the same evidence that pushes the fault allocation toward the driver and away from the pedestrian.
We address this head-on in pedestrian and vulnerable road user cases because the comparative-fault defense is the defense — and defeating it requires the evidence we freeze in the first 72 hours.
The Permian Basin Factor — Oilfield Traffic and Pedestrian Fatalities
Big Spring is not a random small town. It is the county seat of Howard County, positioned on US Highway 87 and near Interstate 20 — two of the major corridors carrying Permian Basin oilfield traffic. The trucks that move through here are hauling water, sand, crude oil, equipment, and chemicals to and from drilling and fracking sites across the basin. These vehicles are large, heavy, and often moving on schedules that pressure drivers to exceed safe speeds.
When a pedestrian is struck by a passenger car, the physics are devastating enough. A 4,000-pound vehicle striking a person on foot produces forces the human body cannot survive. When the striking vehicle is an 80,000-pound commercial truck, the outcome is almost always fatal — and the physical evidence at the scene is fundamentally different. The point of impact, the debris field, the vehicle’s braking distance, the trajectory of the body — all of these tell a reconstruction engineer exactly what happened in the seconds before the collision.
This is why the first investigative question is not just “who was driving” but “what was driving.” If the answer is a commercial vehicle, the case enters a different universe:
- Federal regulations apply. The FMCSA rules under 49 CFR Parts 390–399 govern driver qualification, hours of service, and vehicle maintenance. A violation of any of these can be negligence per se under Texas law.
- Insurance coverage is different. An interstate carrier is federally required to carry minimum liability coverage of $750,000 or more, depending on cargo. That is dramatically more than a personal auto policy.
- The defendant is a corporation, not just a person. The employer’s policies, training records, hiring practices, and safety culture become discoverable — and a company that put an unqualified or fatigued driver on the road is a different kind of defendant than an individual driver who made a single mistake.
- Gross negligence becomes possible. If the carrier knew or should have known that the driver was fatigued, unqualified, or operating in violation of hours-of-service rules, and the driver killed a pedestrian as a result, the company’s choices may support punitive damages under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41.
Howard County juries tend toward conservative verdicts — but they understand oilfield traffic. They live with it. They drive these roads. They know the trucks. A jury in the 118th Judicial District Court that hears a case about a pedestrian killed by an oilfield service truck on US 87 will not need to be educated about why that is dangerous. They already know. The question is whether the evidence proves the driver’s fault clearly enough to overcome the comparative-fault defense.
Punitive Damages — When Negligence Becomes Something Worse
Texas allows punitive damages — called “exemplary damages” in the statute — but only under a heightened standard. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003(a) requires:
“Except as provided by Subsection (c), exemplary damages may be awarded only if the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the harm with respect to which the claimant seeks recovery of exemplary damages results from: (1) fraud; (2) malice; or (3) gross negligence.”
In a pedestrian death case, gross negligence is the typical route. If discovery reveals the driver was intoxicated, was texting while driving in a pedestrian area, or was operating at excessive speed where people walk, the conduct may meet the gross-negligence threshold — which is defined as an act or omission involving an extreme degree of risk, conscious of the risk, and proceeding with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.
The caps on exemplary damages are set by § 41.008(b):
“Exemplary damages awarded against a defendant may not exceed an amount equal to the greater of: (1) (A) two times the amount of economic damages; plus (B) an amount equal to any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or (2) $200,000.”
This means punitive damages are capped, but the cap operates on the punitive component only — the compensatory damages (the wrongful death and survival damages described above) have no general statutory cap in Texas outside of medical malpractice and governmental claims. The punitive cap is a ceiling on the punishment money, not on the compensation money.
Evidence Preservation — The Clock Starts the Day of the Crash
This is the section that matters most in the first 72 hours. Not because the statute of limitations is running — you have two years for that. But because the evidence that decides the case is already dying.
The Police Crash Report (CR-3)
The Big Spring Police Department or Texas DPS is preparing the CR-3 crash report. This report will identify the vehicles involved, the drivers, the roadway conditions, witness names, and any citations issued. It takes days to become available. When it does, it is the foundational document of the case — the starting point for every investigative decision. But witness memories are already degrading. The person who saw the crash from a parking lot, the driver who was behind the striking vehicle, the store owner whose camera may have caught the impact — every hour that passes, their recollection becomes less precise. The CR-3 captures what the officer saw, but it does not capture what the witnesses will forget.
The Vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR)
Almost every modern vehicle has an event data recorder — a black box that captures pre-crash speed, braking input, throttle position, steering angle, and seatbelt status in the seconds before impact. This data is the single most powerful piece of evidence in a pedestrian death case because it proves, with engineering precision, whether the driver braked, how fast the vehicle was traveling, and whether the driver reacted to the pedestrian’s presence.
Here is the problem: EDR data can be overwritten. If the vehicle is started again, if the ignition cycles, if the vehicle is repaired or the electronic control module is replaced, the crash data may be destroyed. A vehicle sitting in a tow yard in Big Spring is accruing storage fees, and at some point the owner or the insurance company will decide to repair it, total it, or scrap it. Once that happens, the EDR data may be gone forever. The preservation letter that demands the vehicle be held in its post-crash condition and the EDR be downloaded before any repair or destruction — that letter must go out within 48 hours of engagement. Not after the funeral. Not after the family has had time to grieve. Within 48 hours.
The Driver’s Cell Phone Records
If the driver was on a phone — talking, texting, scrolling — at the moment of impact, that is evidence of distraction that can support a gross negligence claim and punitive damages. Cell phone records are obtained through subpoena or preservation letter, but carriers have different retention policies. Some overwrite call logs and text messaging records within 30 to 90 days. Some retain data usage records longer. The preservation letter must target the carrier, the phone manufacturer (for device-level data), and any telematics or connected-vehicle services that may have captured the driver’s phone activity at the time of the crash. If the driver was using a navigation app, a music app, or a hands-free system, the data from those apps may show active use at the time of impact.
Scene Photography and Roadway Evidence
The crash scene changes. Weather washes away skid marks. Road maintenance covers scuffs and paint transfers. Construction can alter the roadway geometry. The crosswalk markings, the signage, the lighting conditions, the sight lines from the driver’s position to the point of impact — all of these must be documented photographically and with measurements before the scene degrades. A reconstruction engineer needs the scene as it was on the day of the crash, not as it is three weeks later.
Body Camera and Dashcam Footage
The officers who responded to the crash may have been wearing body cameras, and their patrol vehicles may have dashcam systems. This footage captures the scene, the driver’s demeanor, statements made at the scene, and the physical evidence before anything was moved. Agency retention policies vary, but body camera and dashcam footage is typically retained for 90 to 180 days — sometimes less. After that, the agency may overwrite or delete the footage unless a preservation request is on file.
Commercial Vehicle Telematics
If the striking vehicle was a commercial truck, the carrier’s telematics system may have captured GPS location, speed, hard-braking events, and driver hours-of-service data for the period surrounding the crash. This data is often retained for 30 to 90 days, though some carriers retain it longer. If the vehicle had an electronic logging device (ELD), the driver’s hours-of-service records are federally required to be retained for six months — after which deletion is legal. The preservation letter must reach the carrier before that clock expires.
What a Preservation Letter Does
A preservation letter is a formal demand that specific evidence be preserved and not destroyed, altered, or modified. It puts the driver, the vehicle owner, the insurance company, and any commercial carrier on notice that the evidence is relevant to a potential legal claim and that destruction will result in legal consequences. If evidence is destroyed after a preservation letter is received, the court may impose sanctions — including an adverse inference instruction, which tells the jury they may assume the destroyed evidence was as damaging to the defendant as the plaintiff says it was. The preservation letter is the single most important document in the first 72 hours of a pedestrian death case, and it is why the day you call is the day the clock starts working for you instead of against you.
What a Pedestrian Death Is Worth Under Texas Law
The case value range for a pedestrian fatality in Big Spring is extremely wide — from approximately $250,000 on the low end to $5,000,000 or more on the high end — because the value depends on facts that are not yet known. The decedent’s age, earning capacity, family structure, health, and life expectancy determine the economic damages. The circumstances of the collision determine the liability and comparative-fault exposure. The identity of the defendant and the available insurance coverage determine the collectibility of any verdict or settlement.
A case at the low end might involve an elderly decedent with no dependents, limited earning capacity, and a defendant with only Texas minimum auto insurance. A case at the high end might involve a young wage-earning decedent with surviving dependents, clear driver liability, and a commercially insured defendant with substantial coverage — for example, a Permian Basin oilfield service truck operating under a DOT-registered carrier with $1 million or more in liability coverage.
The number is built from specific evidence and specific expert analysis:
- A forensic economist constructs the lost earning capacity model — the decedent’s work history, education, age, projected career trajectory, and life expectancy, reduced to present value using accepted economic methodology.
- A life-care planner documents the household services the decedent performed — the childcare, eldercare, cooking, cleaning, transportation, and home maintenance — and costs their replacement at market rates over the family’s expected need.
- The non-economic damages — mental anguish, loss of companionship and society — are proven through the testimony of family members, friends, and anyone who can describe the relationship that was lost. The Texas Supreme Court defined mental anguish as “the emotional pain, torment, and suffering that the named plaintiff would, in reasonable probability, experience from the death of the family member.”
The insurance adjuster’s first offer will be based on a fraction of this number — often a small fraction. The adjuster uses valuation software that inputs injury codes, medical bills, and limited data points, and outputs a range that bears no relationship to what a jury in Howard County would actually award for the loss of a family member. Knowing the difference between the adjuster’s number and the real number is the entire negotiation. The real number is built from the evidence, the expert analysis, and the willingness to put the case in front of a jury if the adjuster will not pay what it is worth.
The Insurance Adjuster’s Playbook — What They Do and How to Counter Each Move
We know this playbook from the inside. Lupe Peña spent years as an insurance-defense attorney at a national defense firm — the rooms where adjusters and their software decide how to deny, delay, and devalue claims. Now he sits on your side of the table. Here are the plays and the counters.
Play 1: The Friendly “Just Checking In” Call
Within days of the crash, someone will call. They will sound kind. They will say they just want to “check on the family” and “get your side of what happened.” The call is recorded. Everything you say — every casual remark, every guess about what happened, every “I’m not sure” — is being transcribed and catalogued for use against the family’s claim. The adjuster is looking for statements that can be used to build the comparative-fault defense: “She always walked on that road,” “She didn’t usually use the crosswalk,” “I’m not sure she was paying attention.”
The counter: Do not take the call. Do not give a recorded statement. You are not required to. The adjuster has no authority to require your cooperation, and anything you say can only hurt you. If they call, take their name and number and tell them your attorney will be in touch. Then call us.
Play 2: The Quick Settlement Check
A check may arrive fast — sometimes within weeks of the crash. It will come with a release document that, once signed, extinguishes the family’s right to pursue any further compensation. The amount will seem significant in the moment — $25,000, $50,000, $100,000 — because the family is facing funeral costs, lost income, and the immediate financial shock of a death. But it is a fraction of what the case is worth, and once the release is signed, it is over.
The counter: Never sign a release from an insurance company without having an attorney review it. The release is designed to close the file cheaply before the family understands the full value of the claim. The full value cannot be known until the evidence is preserved, the medical records are reviewed, the expert analysis is completed, and the defendant’s coverage is mapped. That takes weeks, not days. A check that arrives in week two is not generosity — it is strategy.
Play 3: The Comparative-Fault Narrative
The adjuster will begin building the narrative that the pedestrian was at fault — that she was in the roadway outside a crosswalk, that she was wearing dark clothing, that she was distracted, that she stepped into traffic. This narrative is not based on investigation; it is based on the adjuster’s template for defending against pedestrian claims. Every piece of the narrative is designed to push the fault allocation above 50% and bar the family’s recovery entirely.
The counter: The comparative-fault narrative is defeated by the evidence we freeze in the first 72 hours. The EDR data shows the driver’s speed. The cell phone records show distraction. The scene photographs show the lighting, the crosswalk, the signage. The reconstruction analysis shows the driver’s reaction time and whether the collision was avoidable. The police report shows any citations. The comparative-fault defense is only as strong as the evidence the adjuster can point to — and if we have frozen the evidence first, the adjuster’s narrative collapses.
Play 4: The Delay
The adjuster may say they need more time — to investigate, to review, to “get supervisor approval.” The purpose of delay is to run the clock. The longer the family waits, the more evidence disappears, the more witnesses forget, the closer the statute of limitations gets. Delay is not a neutral act — it is a tactic designed to weaken the case while the family waits.
The counter: The preservation letter goes out immediately. The evidence demands go out early. The case is filed when the adjuster stops negotiating in good faith. The two-year statute of limitations provides a long filing window, but filing the lawsuit is not the same as preserving the evidence — the evidence must be frozen long before the lawsuit is filed, because filing before limitations expires does not cure the loss of evidence that should have been preserved earlier.
Play 5: The “You Don’t Need a Lawyer” Conversation
The adjuster may tell the family directly that they do not need an attorney — that the adjuster will “treat you fairly” and that a lawyer will just take a third of the recovery. This is the most cynical play in the book. An unrepresented claimant is a claimant who does not know what the case is worth, does not know what evidence to demand, does not know how to counter the comparative-fault narrative, and does not know when the offer is a fraction of the value. The contingency fee is a fraction of a larger number — always. The adjuster knows this. The adjuster is counting on the family not knowing it.
The counter: Call us. The consultation is free. We will tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer or whether the case is simple enough to handle on your own. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you. But the adjuster’s offer and the case’s value are rarely the same number, and the difference is where our work lives.
The First 72 Hours — A Practical Roadmap
Here is what happens in the first 72 hours of a pedestrian wrongful death case, and what the family should and should not do.
Day One — The Day of the Crash:
The police are completing their investigation. The CR-3 is not yet available. The vehicle is in a tow yard. The driver’s identity and insurance information are in the hands of the investigating agency. The family is in shock. The most important thing the family can do on day one is nothing — nothing that involves the insurance company. Do not call the driver’s insurance company. Do not give a statement. Do not sign anything. Do not post about the crash on social media. If the family has not already done so, identify a family member who will be the point of contact for all communications — every call, every letter, every document routed through one person.
Day Two — The Day After:
Begin gathering the documents the case will need: the decedent’s birth certificate, marriage certificate, tax returns for the past three to five years, employment records, benefits statements, medical records (for the survival action, if there was conscious pain and suffering), and any evidence of household contributions. If the decedent had an estate plan, locate it. If there was no will, the family will need to open an estate in Howard County probate court to appoint a personal representative for the survival action. Contact a wrongful death attorney to discuss the case.
Day Three — The Preservation Window:
The preservation letter goes out. This is the document that demands the striking vehicle be held in its post-crash condition, that the EDR be downloaded before any repair or destruction, that the driver’s cell phone records be preserved, that any commercial carrier telematics be retained, and that all body camera and dashcam footage from responding officers be saved. The preservation letter is the single most time-critical step in the first 72 hours because the evidence it protects is already on its countdown. The day you call us is the day that letter goes out.
How We Build a Pedestrian Wrongful Death Case
Here is the chronological walk — what happens from the day you call through resolution.
Week One: The preservation letter goes out to the driver, the vehicle owner, the insurance company, and any commercial carrier identified. We obtain the CR-3 crash report as soon as it becomes available. We identify the striking vehicle and begin the defendant-identification process — is this a passenger car or a commercial vehicle? If commercial, we pull the carrier’s DOT registration, safety rating, and insurance filings. We open the estate in Howard County probate court to appoint a personal representative for the survival action.
Weeks Two Through Four: The EDR is downloaded by a qualified expert — the pre-crash speed, the braking input, the throttle position, the moment of impact. The scene is photographed and measured by a reconstruction engineer. The driver’s cell phone records are subpoenaed. The body camera and dashcam footage is requested from the responding agency. The medical records — the emergency response, the transport, any treatment before death — are obtained for the survival action. The forensic economist begins the earning-capacity analysis. The life-care planner begins the household-services assessment.
Months One Through Three: The expert reports are completed — the reconstruction analysis, the economic loss model, the life-care plan. The discovery process begins if a lawsuit has been filed: written interrogatories, document requests, and depositions. The driver is deposed. If a commercial carrier is involved, the safety director, the dispatcher, and the fleet manager may be deposed. The hours-of-service records, the driver qualification file, the maintenance records, and the carrier’s safety policies are produced and examined.
Months Three Through Twelve: Mediation may be scheduled — but we defer mediation until full damages discovery is complete and all commercial coverage layers are mapped. The number at mediation is built from the evidence, the expert analysis, and the willingness to try the case. If the carrier will not pay what the case is worth, the case goes to trial in the 118th Judicial District Court in Howard County, where the jury will be twelve people from the community — people who drive US 87, who know the oilfield traffic, who understand what it means to lose a family member to a preventable collision.
For families dealing with the broader aftermath of a vehicle collision — whether the car accident that preceded the fatal pedestrian crash or a related incident — we handle the full scope of motor-vehicle injury and death cases.
Howard County Venue — Why the Courthouse Matters
A pedestrian wrongful death case arising in Big Spring will be filed in Howard County. Howard County falls within the 118th Judicial District Court — the trial court where the case will be heard if it does not settle. The jury that decides what the decedent’s life was worth will be drawn from Howard County residents.
Howard County juries tend toward conservative verdicts — this is West Texas, and the community values personal responsibility and caution. But this community also lives with Permian Basin oilfield traffic every day. The jurors know what a water-hauling truck looks like on US 87. They know the speed those trucks travel. They understand the danger. When the evidence shows that a driver — commercial or private — failed to exercise due care and killed a pedestrian, a Howard County jury is capable of returning a verdict that accounts for the full measure of the loss. The key is the evidence. The evidence is what we freeze. The evidence is what we present. The evidence is what the adjuster fears.
Voir dire — the jury selection process — in Howard County should explore jurors’ attitudes toward pedestrian responsibility, highway safety, and oilfield traffic. Some jurors will have strong views about pedestrians in roadways. Some will have strong views about truck traffic on roads built for lighter vehicles. Understanding those views before the trial begins is part of how the case is won.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of death. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(b) states: “A person must bring suit not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues in an action for injury resulting in death. The cause of action accrues on the death of the injured person.” Certain tolling provisions may apply — for example, if the claimant is a minor or if the defendant is temporarily absent from Texas — but the two-year window is the controlling rule. Two years sounds like a long time, but the evidence that decides the case may be gone in two weeks. The statute of limitations is the deadline for filing. The evidence-preservation clock is the deadline that actually matters.
Can I still recover if the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk?
Yes. Texas Transportation Code § 552.008 imposes a duty on every driver to “exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a roadway” — regardless of whether the pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk. The crosswalk question goes to comparative fault, not to whether the driver owed a duty. The driver owed the duty. If the pedestrian was outside a crosswalk, the defense will argue comparative fault — but the 51% bar means the family can recover as long as the pedestrian’s fault is 50% or less. The evidence that shows the driver was speeding, distracted, or failed to maintain a proper lookout is the evidence that pushes the fault allocation toward the driver.
What if the driver had no insurance or minimal insurance?
Texas requires minimum auto liability coverage, but one night in a hospital can exceed it — and a fatal pedestrian crash is beyond what minimum coverage can address. If the driver was uninsured or underinsured, the family may have uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage through the decedent’s own auto policy or a household family member’s policy. UM/UIM coverage can step into the shoes of the at-fault driver’s insurance and provide recovery up to the policy limits. Identifying all available UM/UIM coverage is part of the investigation — and it is a source of compensation that many families do not know exists.
What if the striking vehicle was a commercial truck?
If the vehicle was a commercial motor vehicle, the case changes fundamentally. Federal regulations under 49 CFR Parts 390–399 apply, including driver qualification, hours of service, and maintenance requirements. The carrier’s insurance coverage is dramatically higher — $750,000 minimum for interstate freight carriers, and more for hazmat and passenger operations. The employer is vicariously liable under respondeat superior if the driver was in the course and scope of employment. The carrier’s safety record, training policies, and hours-of-service compliance become discoverable. A commercial defendant with a fatigued, unqualified, or speeding driver is a different case — and a different value — than a private driver who made a single mistake.
Who gets the money from a wrongful death settlement?
The wrongful death recovery is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents — as stated in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004(a). Each beneficiary has an independent claim. The distribution among them depends on the facts of the family relationship and, if the case settles, the agreement of the beneficiaries. If the case goes to verdict, the jury apportions the damages among the beneficiaries based on the evidence of each one’s loss. The survival action recovery goes to the estate and is distributed according to the decedent’s will or, if there is no will, under Texas intestate succession law.
Can I sue the city or state if the roadway was dangerous?
Potentially, yes. If a dangerous roadway condition contributed to the collision — inadequate lighting, missing crosswalk markings, obstructed sight lines, a design defect — the governmental entity responsible for the roadway may be liable under the Texas Tort Claims Act. However, governmental immunity in Texas is complex, and claims against governmental entities have shorter notice deadlines — potentially as short as six months under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101. This is a separate and time-critical issue that requires immediate evaluation.
What should I not do after a pedestrian fatality?
Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Do not sign a release or accept a settlement check without consulting an attorney. Do not post about the crash or the decedent on social media — the insurance company will be watching. Do not allow the striking vehicle to be repaired, scrapped, or sold before the EDR data has been downloaded. Do not assume the police report tells the whole story — it does not. Do not wait to call a lawyer. The evidence is dying, and the day you call is the day the preservation letter goes out.
How much does it cost to hire Attorney911?
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency — 33.33% before trial, 40% if the case goes to trial. We do not get paid unless we win your case. The consultation is free. We advance the costs of the investigation — the EDR download, the expert fees, the court costs — and those costs are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you do not owe us for the costs we advanced. This is how we make sure every family can afford the best representation, regardless of their financial situation.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
In a wrongful death case, the question is the decedent’s fault, not the family’s. Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule with the 51% bar means the family can recover as long as the decedent’s fault is 50% or less — but the recovery is reduced by the decedent’s percentage. If the jury finds the decedent 30% at fault, the family’s recovery is reduced by 30%. If the jury finds the decedent 51% at fault, the family recovers nothing. The evidence we freeze — the driver’s speed, distraction, failure to yield — is what keeps the fault percentage on the driver’s side.
How long does a wrongful death case take?
It depends on the complexity. A straightforward case with clear liability and a well-insured defendant may resolve in six to twelve months. A complex case involving a commercial carrier, disputed liability, or significant comparative-fault exposure may take eighteen months to two years or more. Mediation is deferred until full damages discovery is complete and all coverage layers are mapped. We do not rush the case to settle — we build it to win, and the timeline follows the evidence.
Why Your Family Calls Attorney911
Ralph Manginello has spent 27+ years in courtrooms, including federal court, building cases for people who lost everything to someone else’s negligence. He was a journalist before he was a lawyer — he learned to find the facts that powerful people prefer to keep buried. He is admitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and has been practicing law in Texas since 1998. Ralph leads the firm’s trial practice, and the firm has recovered over $50 million for injured clients — including millions in trucking wrongful death cases. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes.
Lupe Peña is a former insurance-defense attorney who spent years inside a national defense firm — the rooms where adjusters and their software decide how to deny, delay, and devalue claims exactly like yours. He knows how the reserve is set in the first 48 hours, how the recorded statement is engineered, how the valuation software discounts pain it cannot see, and how the quick check arrives with a release before the medical results do. Now Lupe sits on your side of the table. He is fluent in Spanish and conducts full client consultations in Spanish without an interpreter.
We are Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC. We handle pedestrian wrongful death cases across Texas, including Howard County and the Permian Basin. The consultation is free. There is no fee unless we win your case. The preservation letter goes out the day you call. The evidence starts being protected the moment you reach us.
Hablamos Español. Your family deserves representation in the language you actually speak — the language you pray in, the language you grieve in. Lupe conducts full consultations in Spanish, and the legal work, the evidence preservation, the fight — all of it happens in whatever language your family needs.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911. That is 1-888-288-9911. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week — a live person, not an answering service. If your family lost someone in a pedestrian crash in Big Spring, or anywhere in Howard County or the Permian Basin, the call is free, the consultation is free, and the day you call is the day the evidence starts working for you instead of disappearing.
This page is legal information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Contacting the firm is free and confidential. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes.