Houston Car Accident Lawyer
Texas’s 51% comparative-fault rule and the 2-year SOL make Houston cases time-sensitive. Energy-corridor truck traffic and $1M+ commercial policies are also a major part of the local market.
Houston is the largest city in Texas and one of the deadliest in the country for car crashes. The combination of sprawl, freeway-dominant geography, energy-corridor commercial traffic, and one of the lowest seatbelt-enforcement rates among major U.S. metros produces a punishing volume of serious wrecks. Harris County alone logs more than 60,000 reported crashes a year, with hundreds of fatalities.
Texas law you should know
- Two-year statute of limitations for personal injury (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). Wrongful death also two years.
- Modified comparative fault — 51% bar. You can recover if you were 50% or less at fault; recovery is barred at 51% or more. Different from CA’s pure comparative rule.
- Minimum auto liability: $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage. Higher than CA’s minimums but still routinely below serious injury values.
- Government Tort Claims Act: 6-month written notice for claims against the City of Houston, Harris County, METRO, TxDOT, and other public entities.
- Damages caps: Texas caps medical malpractice non-economic damages but does NOT cap ordinary auto negligence damages.
Where Houston crashes happen
The Katy Freeway (I-10 west of downtown), the Southwest Freeway (US-59), I-45 north and south, the West Loop (I-610), and the East Loop are the highest-volume crash corridors. The energy-sector commercial truck volume on US-59 and I-10 produces a steady flow of truck-vs-car cases — many with $1M+ federal-regulated policies. Drunk driving rates in Harris County are stubbornly high; weekend nights along the Washington Avenue and Midtown bar corridors generate a separate cluster of high-severity wrecks.
Who pays
- The at-fault driver’s liability policy
- Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage when the other driver is uninsured or under-policied
- The at-fault driver’s employer when the crash was work-related
- For trucks, the motor carrier’s $750K-$5M+ federal policy
- City of Houston, Harris County, METRO, or TxDOT — for dangerous roadway design or signal-timing claims (6-month notice)
FAQ
The insurance company offered a settlement. Should I take it?
Almost never the first offer. Texas insurers know the 2-year SOL gives them time and that many claimants will settle before fully understanding their injuries. Wait until you reach maximum medical improvement before signing anything.
I was partly at fault. Can I still recover?
Yes, as long as your share is 50% or less. Texas’s 51% bar is strict — at 51% fault, the case is over. The fact pattern matters enormously and is one of the first things a Houston injury lawyer evaluates.
How long do I have to file?
Two years from the crash. 6 months for public-entity defendants. Don’t wait — Texas SOLs are not extended by good-faith negotiation, and evidence (especially commercial-truck ELDs and dashcam) gets overwritten quickly.
This page is general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.