Texas Car Accident Lawyers
What this page covers
This page covers injury claims arising from passenger-vehicle crashes anywhere in Texas — cars, pickups, SUVs and vans, whether the other driver was a private motorist, a rideshare or delivery driver, or a government employee. Crashes involving commercial trucks are governed by an additional body of federal regulation and are covered on our Texas truck accident page; motorcycle crashes, which raise their own issues, are on our Texas motorcycle accident page. Our Texas personal injury overview covers the general framework.
Southern Injury Attorneys handles car accident cases across Texas from our offices in Dallas and Houston, with dedicated local pages for Dallas, Houston , Austin and Fort Worth car accidents. Consultations are free, and there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
How dangerous are Texas roads?
The numbers
According to the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2024 crash facts, 4,150 people died on Texas roads in 2024, down 3.29 percent from 4,291 in 2023. The fatality rate was 1.35 deaths per hundred million vehicle miles traveled. One person was killed every 2 hours 7 minutes, and a reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds. 1,053 of those deaths involved a driver under the influence of alcohol; 380 involved distracted driving; 768 were pedestrians and 585 were motorcyclists. Just over half of all deaths — 2,080, or 50.12 percent — occurred on rural roads. Source: TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2024.
Where the crashes happen
The state’s urban freeways carry the volume: I-35 through Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio; I-10, I-45, I-610, US-59 and Beltway 8 in Houston; I-635 and the Central Expressway in Dallas. But the fatality count is driven as much by rural two-lane highways and farm-to-market roads, where speeds are high, lighting is absent and emergency response is slow. A crash on a rural stretch of US-281 or US-87 is far more likely to be fatal than the same impact on a city street.
How long do you have to file a car accident claim in Texas?
Two years for most claims
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) gives two years from the day the cause of action accrues — generally the date of the crash — to file suit for personal injury. Claims against the other driver’s insurer are negotiated in the shadow of that deadline; if suit is not on file by the second anniversary, the claim is ordinarily gone. Property damage claims carry the same two-year period.
Six months’ notice for government defendants
If the other vehicle belonged to the state, a county, a city, a school district or a transit agency, or if a dangerous road condition contributed, the Texas Tort Claims Act applies. The governmental unit is entitled to written notice of the claim within six months of the incident (§ 101.101), and many city charters impose shorter periods. Damages are capped at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence against the state and municipalities, and $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence against other local governmental units (§ 101.023).
Wrongful death
A wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death (§ 16.003(b)) and may be brought by the surviving spouse, children and parents under § 71.004. A separate survival claim for the decedent’s own pain and expenses belongs to the estate under § 71.021. See our Dallas and Houston wrongful death pages.
How does Texas’s 51 percent bar work?
The rule
Texas follows modified comparative fault, which the statute calls proportionate responsibility. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, a claimant whose percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent recovers nothing. At 50 percent or less, the recovery is reduced by that percentage (§ 33.012). A driver found 20 percent at fault with $100,000 in damages recovers $80,000; a driver found 51 percent at fault recovers nothing.
Why it changes how the insurer behaves
Because the difference between 50 and 51 percent is the difference between a substantial recovery and none, insurers have every incentive to push your share of fault upward. Expect arguments about speed, following distance, lane changes, phone use and whether you could have avoided the crash. These are contested with the crash report, physical evidence, witness statements, vehicle data and, where it matters, reconstruction. The percentage is not the adjuster’s to assign; it is the jury’s.
Joint and several liability
Where more than one defendant is responsible, each ordinarily pays only its own percentage — unless a defendant’s share exceeds 50 percent, in which case it is jointly and severally liable for the entire judgment (§ 33.013). Defendants may also designate absent “responsible third parties” under § 33.004 so that the jury assigns fault to an empty chair; fault assigned that way reduces the recovery and is not reallocated.
What insurance is actually available after a Texas crash?
The other driver’s liability policy
Texas requires every driver to carry at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072). A minimum policy is exhausted by a single emergency room visit with imaging. Many Texas drivers carry exactly the minimum, and a meaningful number carry nothing at all.
Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage, and it is part of every auto policy unless the named insured rejects it in writing (Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101). It pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, too little insurance, or cannot be identified — though a hit-and-run by an unidentified vehicle requires actual physical contact to qualify (§ 1952.104). Under Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006), a UIM carrier owes nothing until the at-fault driver’s liability and underinsured status are established, so these claims are frequently litigated against your own insurer. Because UM/UIM is a contract claim, the limitations period is four years (§ 16.004), but policy terms can shorten it. Our Dallas and Houston uninsured motorist pages cover this in depth.
Personal injury protection
Texas also requires insurers to offer personal injury protection of at least $2,500, which pays medical bills and a portion of lost income regardless of fault unless rejected in writing (Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.152). It is fast money early in a claim and does not reduce what you recover from the at-fault driver.
Health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare and hospital liens
Health plans, ERISA plans, Texas Medicaid and Medicare assert reimbursement rights against settlements, and Texas hospitals may file a statutory lien under Property Code Chapter 55 for treatment within 72 hours of the crash. These are negotiated, not simply paid, and the outcome affects what actually reaches you.
Who is at fault in the most common Texas crashes?
Rear-end collisions
The following driver is usually at fault for failing to maintain an assured clear distance, but not always — sudden stops, non-functioning brake lights and chain-reaction impacts complicate the picture. See our Dallas and Houston rear-end pages.
Intersection and left-turn crashes
A driver turning left across traffic must yield to oncoming vehicles (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.152). Red-light and stop-sign crashes turn on signal timing, witness accounts and increasingly on intersection camera and dash-cam footage, which is overwritten quickly if not requested.
Head-on and run-off-road crashes
Disproportionately rural and disproportionately fatal. Fatigue, impairment and speed dominate. Where a road design or maintenance defect contributed, a Tort Claims Act claim may exist alongside the claim against the driver.
Drunk and distracted driving
With 1,053 alcohol-involved deaths in 2024, impaired driving remains the single largest category. Texas banned texting while driving statewide in 2017 (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.4251), and many cities go further with hands-free ordinances; phone records obtained in discovery are frequently decisive. Where a bar or restaurant over-served an obviously intoxicated driver, the Texas Dram Shop Act (Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02) may add a defendant.
Rideshare and delivery vehicles
Texas requires transportation network companies to maintain $1,000,000 in liability coverage while a driver is carrying a passenger or en route to one, with lower limits while the app is on and no ride is accepted (Tex. Ins. Code Chapter 1954). Which period applied at the moment of the crash determines which policy responds.
What injuries do Texas car accident claims involve?
Whiplash and other soft-tissue neck and back injuries are the most common and the most aggressively disputed. Herniated discs, fractures, concussions and traumatic brain injury, shoulder and knee injuries requiring surgery, and spinal cord injury appear regularly in freeway-speed crashes. The value of a claim is driven less by the label than by the medical proof: imaging, specialist findings, treatment history and credible testimony about future care and permanent limitation.
What is a Texas car accident claim worth?
Economic damages
Past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, lost earning capacity and out-of-pocket costs. These are not capped. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.0105, recoverable medical expenses are limited to amounts actually paid or incurred, so the billed figure and the recoverable figure can differ substantially.
Non-economic damages
Physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement and loss of consortium. Texas does not cap non-economic damages in an ordinary car accident case; the statutory caps apply to medical malpractice and to governmental defendants.
Punitive damages
Exemplary damages require clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence (§ 41.003) — a drunk driver with a prior conviction, a street race, an extreme speed. They are capped under § 41.008(b) at the greater of $200,000 or twice the economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000.
What we will not tell you
No honest lawyer can give you a number for your case from a web page. Value depends on the injuries, the medical proof, the liability picture, the available coverage, the fault percentage a jury might assign and the venue. Anyone quoting you a figure before reviewing your records is guessing.
Which court hears a Texas car accident case?
Texas district courts and county courts at law hear personal injury cases. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 15.002, venue generally lies in the county where the crash occurred or where the defendant resides. Where the defendant is an out-of-state driver or insurer and more than $75,000 is in controversy, the case may be removed to the federal Northern, Southern, Western or Eastern District of Texas. Most car accident claims settle before trial, but a claim is only as strong as the case that could be tried, and insurers price it accordingly.
What should you do after a car accident in Texas?
- Call 911 and get checked out. Texas law requires drivers to stop, render aid and report crashes involving injury (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 550.021–550.026). Adrenaline masks injury; see a doctor the same day.
- Get the crash report. The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) is available through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System, usually within about ten days.
- Photograph everything. Vehicles, plates, the scene, skid marks, signals, your injuries.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before you have advice. Our Texas guide to what not to say explains why.
- Notify your own insurer promptly — your PIP and UM/UIM coverage depend on it — but keep the notice factual.
- Keep a record. Missed work, medications, mileage to appointments, what you cannot do now that you could do before.
Where we handle Texas car accident cases
Statewide, from our Dallas office on N. Central Expressway and our Houston office on Beltway 8, with dedicated local pages for Dallas car accidents, Houston car accidents , Austin car accidents and Fort Worth car accidents. Related Texas pages: truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, Dallas pedestrian accidents, Houston pedestrian accidents, Dallas rear-end collisions, Houston rear-end collisions, Dallas uninsured motorist claims, Houston uninsured motorist claims, Dallas wrongful death, Houston wrongful death. Our national car accident page covers the general framework.
Frequently asked questions about Texas car accidents
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of the crash under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. If a government vehicle or road defect is involved, written notice is required within six months under § 101.101, and some city charters require it sooner.
Can I recover if the accident was partly my fault?
Yes, as long as your share of responsibility is not greater than 50 percent. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage; at 51 percent or more you recover nothing under § 33.001.
What is the minimum car insurance in Texas?
30/60/25: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage, under Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072.
What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage responds. It is part of every Texas auto policy unless rejected in writing under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101. A hit-and-run by an unidentified vehicle qualifies only if there was actual physical contact.
Is Texas a no-fault state?
No. Texas is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the crash, and that driver’s insurer, are responsible for the resulting damages. Personal injury protection is optional no-fault coverage that pays your own bills early, but it does not change who is ultimately liable.
How much is my Texas car accident case worth?
It depends on the injuries, the medical proof, the fault picture, the coverage available and the venue. Texas does not cap compensatory damages in an ordinary car accident case. No reliable number can be given before the records are reviewed.
Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company?
Not before you have advice. You are not required to, and recorded statements given early, while injured or medicated, are used to reduce claims later.
Do I have to go to court?
Most Texas car accident claims settle without trial. But the settlement value depends on the case that could be tried, which is why preparing every claim as if it will be tried produces better settlements.
How do I get my Texas crash report?
Through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System, where the CR-3 report can be purchased once the investigating officer has filed it, usually within about ten days of the crash.
What if the crash involved a government vehicle?
The Texas Tort Claims Act applies: written notice within six months, damages capped at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for the state and municipalities and $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for other local governmental units, and no exemplary damages.
What if I was a passenger?
Passengers are rarely at fault and may have claims against every negligent driver, including the driver of the car they were in, plus UM/UIM coverage under their own policy or a resident relative’s policy.
What does it cost to hire a Texas car accident lawyer?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, with no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Consultations are free and available 24/7 at 469-253-2533 in Dallas or 346-299-8430 in Houston.
Start your free case review
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This page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, regulations and case law change; every case turns on its own facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Reviewed by Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Founder, Southern Injury Attorneys, Texas Bar No. 24113438. Texas matters are handled from the firm’s offices at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, Dallas, Texas 75205 and 340 N. Sam Houston Parkway E., Suite A1045, Houston, Texas 77060.
