By Joshua A. Estes. Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Short answers to the questions people ask most after an injury in Texas, each drawn from an article published by The Estes Law Firm and linked to the full article it came from.
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Texas?
Generally two years from the date of the crash, with exceptions that can shorten or extend it. When the defendant is a governmental entity, notice deadlines are far shorter. Negotiations do not pause the limitations period. Don’t calculate your own deadline. Confirm it.
More detail: What to Do After a Car Accident in Texas: The First 72 Hours.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident?
Maybe not. If you were not hurt and the insurance company is paying your property damage, you likely don’t need an attorney. If you were hurt, you likely do. Either way, see a doctor — insurers often make low offers on minor crashes, and documentation that you weren’t injured matters later, so a future injury can’t be blamed on this one.
What if I was partly at fault in a Texas crash?
Texas uses modified comparative fault: you can generally still recover if you were not more than half at fault, reduced by your percentage. Every case turns on its facts. Fault percentages are argued, not announced — the crash report’s opinion is a starting point, not a verdict.
More detail: How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth in Texas?
Do I have to give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?
No. Texas law does not require you to give the other driver’s insurer any statement. Declining a recorded statement is routine and adjusters see it every day. Your claim is built on the crash report, medical records, photographs, and documents — not on whether you chatted.
More detail: Should You Talk to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company After a Texas Crash?
Should I see a doctor after a minor car accident in Texas?
The same day if you can, and within the first day or two otherwise. Adrenaline masks symptoms at the scene, and the record made closest to the crash is what documents the connection. Soft-tissue injuries, concussions, and disc injuries routinely surface 24 to 72 hours later.
More detail: Should I See a Doctor After a Minor Car Accident in Texas?
How do I get my Texas crash report (CR-3)?
Law enforcement must submit the CR-3 to TxDOT within ten days of the crash; it’s typically purchasable online shortly after submission, through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System. A regular copy is $6 and a certified copy is $8. You can search by name, crash date, and county.
More detail: The Texas Crash Report (CR-3): How to Get It and How to Read It.
How much is my car accident claim worth in Texas?
Nobody can tell you what your claim is worth from a web page. Averages quoted online blend incomparable cases and predict nothing about yours. Claim value is built from your medical picture, income losses, liability facts, and available coverage — documentation, liability, and coverage are what move it most.
More detail: How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth in Texas?
The other driver had no insurance. Now what?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage is usually what applies. Check the declarations page of your auto policy for a UM or UM/UIM line. Many Texans carry it without realizing it, because the coverage goes on the policy unless it was rejected in writing.
More detail: The Other Driver Had No Insurance: UM/UIM Claims in Texas.
Should I take an early settlement offer?
A fast offer is priced on one assumption: that you don’t yet know what your injuries are. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed forever, no matter what an MRI finds in week three. The honest move isn’t never settle. It’s never settle before the medical picture is complete.
More detail: Should You Talk to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company After a Texas Crash?
Is the rear driver always at fault in Texas?
No. It is a strong starting point, not an automatic rule, and insurers do dispute it — sudden stops, lane changes, brake-light failures, and multi-car chain reactions are the usual arguments. The driver behind is expected to keep a safe following distance and control their speed.
More detail: Rear-Ended on 59? Fault, Whiplash, and the “Minor Crash” Trap.
Does a store have to pay just because I fell there?
No. Texas requires a condition posing an unreasonable risk, the store’s knowledge of it or reason to know, and a failure to take reasonable care. A fall alone isn’t enough. Notice — whether the store knew or should have known — is where most cases live or die.
More detail: Slip and Fall in a Texas Store: When It’s a Case, and When It Isn’t.
How long does a car accident settlement take in Texas?
There is no reliable general answer. The dominant factor is how long your medical treatment takes to reach a stable point, because the claim cannot be valued accurately before then. Gathering records, negotiation, and resolving reimbursement claims against the settlement account for the rest.
More detail: How Long Does a Car Accident Settlement Take in Texas?
Can I claim the sick days and vacation days I used?
Yes. Leave you burned covering your recovery is an asset you spent because of the crash, and Texas claims routinely include it. Lost income also covers reduced hours, light-duty pay gaps, missed overtime, and, for lasting injuries, reduced ability to earn going forward.
More detail: Lost Wages After a Texas Crash: What Counts and How to Prove It.
More questions, by topic
- After a Crash in Texas: Questions Answered — the first 72 hours, the police report, seeing a doctor, and what to say at the scene.
- Insurance and Settlements: Questions Answered — adjuster calls, recorded statements, first offers, releases, denials, and UM/UIM.
- What a Texas Injury Claim Includes: Questions Answered — claim value, lost wages, medical costs, mileage, pain and impairment.
- Fault and Evidence in Texas Injury Cases: Questions Answered — comparative fault, rear-end and intersection crashes, crash report codes, and premises notice.
- Preguntas Frecuentes Sobre Accidentes en Texas — las mismas preguntas, respondidas en español.
This article is general information about Texas law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines in injury cases are strict and fact-specific. Talk to a lawyer about your own situation.
The Estes Law Firm, P.C. · 716 S. Union St, Richmond, Texas 77469 · (281) 238-5400 · Responsible attorney: William F. Estes.