Texas Injury Lawyers Blog
Car accident claims can be complicated without professional help.
Texas Car Accident Guide: Fault, Insurance, Compensation, and Deadlines
A car accident can turn an ordinary day into a rush of doctor visits, repair estimates, insurance calls, and unanswered questions. While your health and safety come first, it is also important to understand what may affect your recovery after a crash.
In Texas, the person or company whose negligence caused a crash may be responsible for the harm it caused.¹ But a claim can still involve disputed fault, limited insurance coverage, multiple responsible parties, and deadlines that arrive sooner than expected.
This guide explains the questions many injured Texans have after a crash. For the immediate steps to take at the scene, see What Should You Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Texas?
Key Takeaway
After a Texas car accident, your recovery may depend on who caused the crash, what evidence is available, which insurance policies apply, and the full extent of your losses. Acting promptly can protect your health and help preserve the information needed to support a claim.
How Is Fault Determined After a Texas Car Accident?
Fault depends on whose unsafe conduct caused or contributed to the crash. A driver may be at fault for speeding, following too closely, failing to yield, driving while impaired or distracted, or making an unsafe turn or lane change. In some cases, a company, vehicle manufacturer, or government entity may also have played a role.
Texas uses a modified comparative-fault rule. Texas law says, “a claimant may not recover damages” when they are more than 50% responsible for the accident.² If they are 50% or less responsible, their recovery may be reduced by their percentage of fault.
Insurance companies may disagree about what happened. That is why the evidence—not simply what one driver says—matters.
What Evidence Can Help Prove What Happened?
The strongest evidence often shows what each driver was doing immediately before the collision. Some information can disappear quickly, especially video, vehicle data, and witness memories.
Useful evidence may include:
- Photos of the scene, vehicles, injuries, traffic controls, and road conditions
- Dashcam, traffic-camera, business, or residential video
- Names and contact information for independent witnesses
- The police crash report and officer observations
- 911 calls, body-camera footage, and a driver’s statements
- Vehicle event data and physical crash evidence
- Phone or app records when distracted driving is suspected
- Receipts, video, and witness accounts when alcohol service may be involved
A police report can be important, but it does not automatically decide fault. Footage or witnesses may provide details the report does not capture.
Which Insurance May Pay After a Texas Car Accident?
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is usually the first source of payment. Your own policy may also provide coverage, depending on what you purchased and how the crash happened.
Liability Coverage
Texas drivers must generally carry at least $30,000 in bodily-injury coverage per injured person, $60,000 total per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.³ These minimum limits may not be enough when injuries are serious or several people are hurt.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or Medical Payments Coverage
PIP and medical payments coverage can help pay medical expenses for you and your passengers, regardless of who caused the crash. PIP may also cover certain lost income and other qualifying expenses, subject to the policy terms.³
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage may help pay to repair or replace your vehicle, regardless of fault, after you pay any deductible that applies.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage
UM/UIM coverage may apply when the at-fault driver has no insurance, cannot be identified after a hit-and-run, or does not have enough coverage for the losses they caused.
Using your own coverage does not mean an insurer will automatically agree about fault, damages, or the amount owed. Review your policy carefully and notify your insurer promptly after a crash.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Car Accident?
Compensation depends on the losses the crash caused, the available evidence, the responsible parties, and the insurance or other sources of recovery. A claim may include:
- Emergency care, medical treatment, and future care needs
- Rehabilitation and medication
- Lost wages and reduced earning ability
- Vehicle repair or replacement and other property damage
- Physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, or impairment
- Funeral expenses and wrongful-death losses when a crash is fatal
There is no universal or guaranteed average settlement. Two people in similar crashes can have very different claims because their injuries, insurance limits, work losses, and long-term needs are different.
How Do Common Car-Accident Situations Affect a Claim?
The same basic questions—fault, evidence, insurance, and damages—apply to most crashes. Certain situations can add other legal issues or possible sources of recovery.
Drunk-Driving and Dram Shop Claims
An impaired driver may be responsible for the harm they cause. In limited situations, a bar or other licensed alcohol provider may also be liable under Texas dram shop law.⁴ Evidence must show more than alcohol service alone; the legal standard is specific. Learn more in our guide to Texas dram shop claims.
Distracted-Driving Claims
Phone use is one form of distracted driving. Proving distracted driving may require a combination of records, device data, witness accounts, video, admissions, and crash evidence. Phone records alone do not necessarily prove a driver was using a device when the collision occurred.
Passenger Injury Claims
An injured passenger may have a claim against the driver of the vehicle they were riding in, another driver, or both when the evidence supports shared fault. Read more about passenger injury claims in Texas. Claims involving injured children can involve additional rules; see our Complete Guide to Child Injury Claims in Texas.
How Long Do You Have to File a Texas Car-Accident Claim?
In most cases, Texas gives an injured person two years to file a personal-injury lawsuit.⁵ The correct deadline can be different, however, depending on the claim and the parties involved.
For example:
- A city or other government entity may require written notice much earlier than the lawsuit deadline.
- A wrongful-death claim, a minor’s claim, or another unusual circumstance may involve different rules.
- Insurance policies may impose separate notice, cooperation, or claim requirements.
- Video, vehicle data, and witness memories can disappear long before any filing deadline.
Do not assume two years is always the deadline. It is especially important to identify the applicable deadline promptly when a government entity or another unusual party may be involved.
When Is It Worth Contacting a Texas Car-Accident Lawyer?
After a serious crash, legal help can take some of the claim work off your shoulders while you focus on treatment and recovery. A lawyer can help preserve evidence, identify available insurance policies, communicate with insurers, evaluate an early offer or release, and represent you in court if necessary.
It may be especially helpful to speak with a lawyer when:
- Surgery, hospitalization, permanent symptoms, or future care may be needed
- An insurer denies fault or blames you for the crash
- The at-fault driver has no insurance or inadequate coverage
- A commercial vehicle, government entity, defective product, or dangerous roadway may be involved
- You receive a release, broad medical authorization, or early settlement offer
- The crash caused a death
Not every minor crash requires a lawyer, and hiring one does not guarantee a particular result. But getting clear information early can help you make informed decisions and avoid missing evidence or deadlines.
Injured in a Texas Car Accident? Call Shaw.
After a serious crash, you should not have to investigate what happened, manage insurer calls, and navigate a claim while trying to recover. Carabin Shaw can take on the legal burden while you focus on your health and your family.
Compensation may help cover:
- Medical bills and future care
- Lost wages or reduced earning ability
- Vehicle damage
- Pain, impairment, or other lasting effects
We’ll help you find out what you’re entitled to for free.
Call Shaw today at 800-862-1260 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced car accident laywer in Texas. We look forward to serving you.
¹Texas Department of Insurance: Auto Insurance Guide
²Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §§ 33.001–33.012
³Texas Department of Insurance: Automobile Insurance Made Easy