Texas car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Texas#

The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets a 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 of 2 years for most car-crash lawsuits. The clock usually starts on the day of the crash.

Two exceptions come up often. For an injured child, Texas law treats being under 18 as a legal disability, so the time before the child turns 18 is not counted; this is a form of tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary. And for claims against a city, the city's own charter can set a shorter notice period, which Texas law expressly approves. Formal notice is not needed if the government already had actual notice of the injury or damage.

How fault is shared in Texas#

Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the jury assigns a percentage of responsibility to each person who caused the crash. Your damages are then reduced by your own percentage. If your share is greater than 50%, you recover nothing from the others.

Insurers apply the same rule in negotiations, which is why adjusters often argue about small details of a crash: every percentage point of fault moves the claim. Try the fault-rule explainer to see how Texas compares with other states.

Insurance you can expect in Texas#

Texas drivers must carry liability insurance of at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage. Texas is an at-fault state, with some first-party coverage added to every policy:

• Personal injury protectionPersonal injury protection (PIP). Coverage under your own policy that pays medical bills and some lost income after a crash, whoever caused it. Glossary. Every Texas policy includes at least $2,500 of PIP per person unless the policyholder rejected it in writing. PIP pays medical bills and some lost income, whoever caused the crash.
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. It is part of every policy unless rejected in writing. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 14.5% of Texas drivers were uninsured in 2023, which makes this coverage worth checking.

For claims on your own policy, the Texas Insurance Code sets deadlines: the insurer must acknowledge the claim and start its investigation within 15 days, decide within 15 business days after receiving everything it asked for, and pay within 5 business days after accepting the claim. These deadlines cover your own insurer, not the other driver's. If a covered claim is delayed for more than 60 days after the insurer has everything it needs, the statute adds extra damages. The Texas Department of Insurance help line is 800-252-3439.

After a crash in Texas#

The Texas Transportation Code puts three duties on every driver in a crash that hurts someone or damages a car:

1. Stop and help. Stop at the scene, check whether anyone needs aid, and give reasonable help, such as arranging transport for treatment.
2. Exchange information. Give your name and address, your vehicle's registration number and your liability insurer's name, and show your license if asked.
3. Call the police. If anyone is hurt or killed, or a car cannot be safely driven, notify the local police (in a city) or the sheriff's office (outside a city) right away.

An officer who investigates must file a written report when the crash causes injury, death or at least $1,000 of damage, within 10 days. Once TxDOT has received and processed it, you can buy the report, called the CR-3, through TxDOT's Crash Report Online Purchase System for $6, or $8 for a certified copy.

Damages, caps and special rules#

Texas does not have a general cap on pain-and-suffering damages in an ordinary car-crash case; the best-known caps apply to health care claims. Exemplary damagesExemplary damages. Texas's term for punitive damages, awarded only for fraud, malice or gross negligence, and capped by statute. Glossary, Texas's term for punitive damages, are capped at the greater of two times economic damages plus up to $750,000 of non-economic damages, or $200,000. The cap does not apply in some criminal cases, including intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter.

Claims against government bodies are limited by the Texas Tort Claims Act, which 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 injuries caused by an employee's use of a motor vehicle, up to fixed amounts:

If a drunk driver caused the crash, Texas's dram shop lawDram shop law. A law that can make a bar or store liable for serving alcohol to someone who then causes a crash. Glossary can make the bar or store that served them liable, but only if it was apparent when they were served that they were obviously intoxicated to the point of being a clear danger. A business can avoid liability for an employee's sale if it required state-approved seller training, the employee attended, and the business did not encourage the violation.

Hospitals have a lienLien. A legal claim on part of your settlement by someone who paid for your care, such as a hospital, health plan or Medicare. Glossary on your claim for emergency care if you were admitted within 72 hours of the crash. The lien can never be more than 50% of what you recover, so check every hospital bill before a settlement is paid out.

Crashes on Texas roads#

TxDOT's crash statistics for 2025 counted 3,769 deaths, 17,420 serious injuries and 244,534 injuries in all, across 538,860 reportable crashes. That is 1 person was killed every 2 hours 19 minutes.

Finding a lawyer in Texas#

The State Bar of Texas runs a certified Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) at (800) 252-9690; Texas law does not let a lawyer referral service operate without a state certificate. The State Bar's service sends callers in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Jefferson, Tarrant and Travis counties to their local certified services. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up in the State Bar's Find a Lawyer directory to confirm the license and any public discipline. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization also certifies lawyers in Personal Injury Trial Law; certification is optional, so many capable lawyers do not have it.