A Family Checklist After a Fatal Accident in Bexar County

The medical examiner

Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 49.25, a medical examiner investigates when a person “is killed” or dies an unnatural death. In Bexar County that is the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office on Louis Pasteur Drive. The office describes its work as investigating the deaths of people who die suddenly, violently or unexpectedly in the county, to find the cause and manner of death.

• Choose a funeral home and tell it the medical examiner has the case. The office says the funeral home handles the paperwork, and that in most cases the person is examined and released within 24 hours.
• Viewing is arranged through the funeral home. The office does not allow direct viewing and does not ask families to identify their loved one there.
• Personal belongings are usually released with the body to the funeral home, except where they go to law enforcement.
• If you do not want an autopsy, contact the office as soon as possible. It says it tries to follow the family’s wishes, but some cases require one.
• The right to make funeral arrangements follows an order set by Health and Safety Code 711.002: a person named in writing by the deceased, then the surviving spouse, then any adult child, then either parent, then any adult sibling.

The autopsy report

The office says the autopsy report is a public record and usually takes at least 12 weeks to complete, longer when more testing is needed. It asks that requests not be sent before then, because it cannot accept requests for open cases. A request names the person, the date of death and a return address or email, on the office’s request form, and is sent by email, by mail or in person on weekdays. Fees are on the office’s fee schedule. Where law enforcement has an interest in the case, the records go to the District Attorney’s Office for review before release. Our article on the medical examiner’s records has more.

Death certificates

The medical examiner’s office does not issue death certificates. It completes the medical part, the funeral home completes the rest and files the certificate, and funeral homes usually order the first copies for the family. For deaths in San Antonio, further certified copies come from the Office of the City Clerk’s Vital Records at the Municipal Archives and Records Center on South Santa Rosa, in person or online. The City says death records are confidential for 25 years and are issued only to qualified applicants, such as a parent, grandparent, spouse, child, sibling, legal guardian or attorney, each with documents showing the relationship or legal interest. The Bexar County Clerk also has a vital statistics office in the Paul Elizondo Tower on West Nueva Street.

Banks, insurers, employers and the courts each tend to ask for a certified copy, so it helps to order several.

The crash report

After a crash that causes a death, the investigating officer must file a written report with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code 550.062). The full report is released only to the people listed in section 550.065, which include “any person who may sue because of death resulting from the collision”. It is bought through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System and delivered by email.

Papers to keep

• Hospital, ambulance and medical bills, and any letters about them.
• The funeral home’s contract and bills.
• Pay stubs, tax returns and benefits records of the person who died.
• Auto, life, health and home insurance policies, with their declarations pages.
• Letters, cards or emails from any insurer or investigator.
• Photographs of the scene, the vehicles or injuries, if you have them.
• The names and numbers of anyone who saw what happened.

Calls from insurers

An adjuster for the other side may call within days. You do not have to give a recorded statement, sign a release or accept an early offer. It is reasonable to say that you will reply once you have advice. Calls from your own insurer about your own policy are different, and your policy may require you to cooperate, but you can still ask for questions in writing.

The estate and probate

The wrongful death claim belongs to the spouse, children and parents and does not go through probate. The survival action belongs to the estate, and it is usually brought by an executor or administrator appointed by a probate court. Bexar County has three statutory probate courts, Probate Courts No. 1, 2 and 3 (Government Code 25.0171), and probate filings go to the County Clerk at the Bexar County Courthouse, 100 Dolorosa. The Estates Code generally requires an application to probate a will or open an administration within four years of the death (sections 256.003 and 301.002), and a small estate without a will may sometimes be settled by affidavit instead (section 205.001). Our article on probate after a fatal accident explains when a family needs it.

The deadlines

• Six months: written notice for a claim against a city, a county or the state, unless a city charter sets its own period or the government already had actual notice (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.101).
• Three months: if no family member has started the wrongful death claim, the executor or administrator must bring it, unless all the family ask otherwise (section 71.004(c)).
• Two years: to file a wrongful death suit, counted from the date of death (section 16.003(b)).
• Four years: generally, to apply to probate a will or open an administration (Estates Code 256.003 and 301.002).

Our article on the two-year deadline explains each of these. For what a family can claim, see wrongful death lawyer San Antonio; for how we handle a claim, see wrongful death attorney San Antonio.

This checklist is general information based on the published pages of the Bexar County Medical Examiner, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, and on Texas statutes, as read in October 2026. Office procedures change, so confirm with each office. It is not legal advice. Responsible attorney: Michael Uvalle, LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC.

Questions people ask