Texas Car Accident Claims: Deadlines, Fault, and Evidence
## The Basic Texas Claim Framework
A person injured in a Texas motor-vehicle collision generally must prove that another party owed a duty of reasonable care, breached that duty, and caused compensable harm. Common breaches include speeding, following too closely, unsafe lane changes, distracted driving, and driving while impaired. Evidence may establish negligence even when no traffic citation was issued, because an officer's roadside decision does not determine civil liability.
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003 ordinarily gives an injured person two years from the collision date to file a personal-injury lawsuit. A wrongful-death action also generally has a two-year period, although its accrual and possible tolling issues can differ. Claims against governmental entities may require formal notice within a much shorter period under the Texas Tort Claims Act or a local charter. Negotiations with an insurer do not automatically pause a deadline.
## Proportionate Responsibility
Texas follows modified comparative responsibility. Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant whose percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent generally cannot recover damages. A claimant assessed at 50 percent or less may recover, but the award is reduced by that percentage. For example, a $100,000 finding reduced by 20 percent claimant responsibility produces an $80,000 recovery before other adjustments.
Responsibility may be allocated among the claimant, defendants, settling persons, and properly designated responsible third parties. This makes early investigation important. A commercial crash may involve the driver, employer, vehicle owner, maintenance contractor, cargo loader, or a manufacturer rather than only the motorists named in the police report.
## Insurance and Initial Procedures
Texas drivers generally must maintain minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Those limits may be inadequate after a serious crash. Additional sources can include an employer's commercial policy, umbrella insurance, and the injured person's uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
Promptly notify relevant insurers, but provide accurate facts rather than speculation. A claimant is not normally required to give the opposing insurer a recorded statement merely because an adjuster requests one. Policyholders must cooperate with their own carriers, subject to the policy terms. Medical-payments or personal-injury-protection benefits may provide earlier assistance, although reimbursement and offset questions should be reviewed.
## Evidence to Preserve
Photographs should capture vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, traffic controls, weather, roadway defects, and visible injuries. Preserve dash-camera files, phone records, repair estimates, damaged personal property, and communications with insurers. Nearby businesses and residences may overwrite surveillance footage quickly, so a targeted preservation request should be sent promptly.
Obtain the crash report, but investigate independently. Witness names, emergency dispatch recordings, event-data recorders, and commercial-driver logs can become important. Keep a daily record of symptoms, medical visits, work restrictions, and activities the injury prevents.
## Medical Care and Damages
Seek appropriate medical evaluation without unnecessary delay. Treatment gaps can complicate proof of causation, but care should be driven by medical need rather than the claim. Follow reasonable treatment recommendations and retain bills, explanation-of-benefits forms, pharmacy receipts, mileage records, and wage documentation.
Recoverable damages may include reasonable medical expenses, lost earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, impairment, disfigurement, and property loss. Texas law limits proof of medical expenses to amounts actually paid or incurred, not merely the original sticker price on a bill. Future damages generally require reliable evidence, often including medical or economic testimony.
Before signing a release, confirm the full injury picture, all available coverage, lien or reimbursement obligations, and whether future treatment is reasonably anticipated. A settlement release ordinarily ends the claim permanently, even if symptoms later worsen.