Dallas car accidents: deadlines, crash reports and claims

Deadlines and fault rules in Dallas#

Dallas does not set its own deadline for suing another driver. The Texas statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary gives you 2 years from the crash for most injury and vehicle-damage lawsuits (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a)), and 2 years from the date of death for wrongful death.

Fault is shared under Texas's proportionate responsibilityProportionate responsibility. Texas's name for its comparative-fault system: the jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility. Glossary rule. A jury assigns each person a percentage of fault, and your damages shrink by your share. At 51% or more, you recover nothing from the other drivers.

The Texas guide covers insurance minimums, damage caps and the rules for injured children. You can also test different fault shares in the fault-rule explainer.

Getting a crash report in Dallas#

Officers who investigate a crash with an injury, a death or at least $1,000 of damage must file a report with TxDOT within 10 days. You can get a Dallas police report in two ways:

1. From TxDOT online. Search for and buy the report in TxDOT's Crash Report Online Purchase System for $6, or $8 for a certified copy. TxDOT has to receive and process each report before it can be sold.
2. From the City of Dallas. The city's Open Records Center has a section for police open records and crash report requests. The Dallas Police Department's open records division can be reached at (214) 671-3343.

If a Dallas County sheriff's deputy or a state trooper handled the crash, the report still goes to TxDOT and can be bought the same way. Our guide to the police report explains what insurers look for in it.

Claims against the City of Dallas#

Chapter XXIII, sections 1 and 2 of the Dallas City Charter require written notice of claimNotice of claim. A written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months. Glossary within 6 months of an injury or property damage. Texas law lets cities set their own notice periods, and Dallas's matches the state's general deadline of 6 months.

The city's Notice of Claim form (ORM-FRM-230) must be signed and dated. Send it to the City of Dallas Office of Risk Management, 1500 Marilla, 6A South, Dallas, TX 75201. The form also lists fax and email options.

City liability is capped by the Texas Tort Claims Act at $250,000 per person, $500,000 per occurrence and $100,000 for property damage. The act waives sovereign immunitySovereign immunity. The rule that governments cannot be sued unless a law allows it. Tort claims acts allow some claims, with limits. Glossary for crashes caused by a government employee using a motor vehicle on the job.

Crashes in Dallas#

TxDOT's 2025 data for the city of Dallas counted 24,677 reportable crashes, 1,065 people seriously injured and 172 people killed. Only Houston had more traffic deaths among Texas cities that year.

Where a lawsuit is filed#

Under the Texas venueVenue. The county or court location where a lawsuit is filed and heard. State rules decide the proper venue, often the place where the events happened or where the defendant lives. Glossary rule, a lawsuit is usually filed in the county where all or a substantial part of the events happened, or in the county where the defendant lived when the claim arose (for a business, its principal Texas office). Most of Dallas lies in Dallas County, where civil cases are heard in three kinds of court:

• Dallas County district courts, the main trial courts for civil cases.
• Dallas County courts at law, which have concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts in civil cases, whatever the amount in controversy. That is broader than the general Texas rule, which lets county courts at law share civil cases with the district courts only up to $325,000.
• Small claims in a justice courtJustice court. A Texas court led by a justice of the peace. It hears small civil cases, including small claims, up to a dollar limit set by state law, with simpler procedures than higher courts. Glossary, for claims up to $20,000.

Read our guide to filing a lawsuit for what happens after a case is filed.

Finding a lawyer in Dallas#

The Dallas Bar Association runs a Lawyer Referral Service certified under Texas law. Call (214) 220-7444 or use the online form on the bar's website. For $20, a referred lawyer gives a first consultation; any later fee is agreed between you and the lawyer. The service refers callers to Dallas-area lawyers, including in Plano and Collin County.

Check any lawyer's license in the State Bar of Texas Find a Lawyer directory before you sign anything. Our guide to lawyer referral services explains how they work.