Injured in an Accident in the State of Texas?
Texas Personal Injury Lawyer
We will fight for the compensation you deserve.
Texas Personal Injury Attorney
When someone’s carelessness in Texas has hurt you, our personal injury lawyer will take on the insurance company, protect the evidence, and pursue the full value of your claim.
We have recovered more than $550 million for the injured since 1994. We handle cases from Houston and Dallas to Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, and the Permian Basin. Wherever you are in Texas, our injury attorneys are ready to tell you if you have a case. Pay nothing unless you win.
Here is the short version of Texas law: you generally have two years to file an injury lawsuit (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003), your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and disappears if you are more than 50% at fault (§§ 33.001, 33.012), and the evidence that decides your case starts vanishing within days. The sooner a lawyer starts, the more control you keep over your claim.
Our Statewide Texas Personal Injury Attorney
Matthew Kotzen
A former insurance-defense trial attorney, Matthew Kotzen spent the early part of his career representing insurance companies before switching sides to fight for injured people. He earned his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, is a Lifetime Member of Best Attorneys of America, and is admitted to the State Bar of Texas.
Texas Injury Law at a Glance
| Deadline to file a lawsuit | Two years from the date of the injury (wrongful death: two years from the date of death).Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| Fault Rule | Modified comparative responsibility ("51% bar"): you recover only if you are 50% or less at fault, and your award is reduced by your share. §§ 33.001, 33.012 |
| Reporting a car crash | Notify police immediately when there is injury, death, or a vehicle that cannot be driven away safely. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.026 |
| Who can bring a wrongful death claim? | The surviving spouse, children, or parents of the person who died. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004 |
| Punitive (exemplary) damages | Available only on clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence, malice, or fraud. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003 |
Goldberg & Loren Fights for Maximum Compensation
Pay Nothing, Unless We Win
Texas Injury by the Numbers
Texas roads are among the deadliest in the country, and the data shows why acting fast matters.
Texas has not had a single day without a traffic death since November 7, 2000, a streak the Texas Department of Transportation tracks through its #EndTheStreakTX campaign, with nearly 65,000 people killed on Texas roadways over that span.
- 557 motorcyclists were killed and 2,468 seriously injured on Texas roads in 2025 (TxDOT).
- In 2024, nearly 79,000 crashes and 1,023 deaths occurred in Texas’s five major energy regions, about one in four of the state’s traffic fatalities (TxDOT).
Behind each number is a family facing medical bills, lost income, and an insurance company already working to pay as little as possible. That is where an experienced lawyer changes the outcome.
Injury Cases We Handle in Texas
Texas roads, worksites, and properties produce a wide range of injury claims, and each type turns on its own evidence, insurance, and deadlines. Our team handles the full range statewide:
What Compensation Can You Recover in Texas?
Texas allows injured people to recover two broad categories of damages.
Economic damages cover measurable losses, medical bills (past and future), lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage.
Non-economic damages cover the human cost, physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.001).
Unlike a handful of other states, Texas places no general cap on pain-and-suffering damages in an ordinary injury case. The well-known Texas caps apply to medical-malpractice claims and to claims against government entities, not to a standard car or truck crash.
Where a defendant’s conduct rises to gross negligence, Texas also allows exemplary (punitive) damages on clear and convincing proof (§ 41.003).
How You Prove Fault in a Texas Injury Case
Almost every Texas injury claim is built on negligence, and negligence has four parts you have to prove. Get all four, and the other side owes you money; miss one and the claim fails. They are:
- Duty, the other person owed you a duty of reasonable care (every driver owes it to everyone else on the road; a store owes it to the people it invites in).
- Breach, they broke that duty by doing something careless, like running a red light, texting, or leaving a spill on the floor.
- Causation, that carelessness actually caused your injury, in fact and in a legally foreseeable way.
- Damages, you suffered real, provable harm, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and impairment.
The fight in most cases is over breach and causation. The insurer rarely disputes that its driver owed you a duty, but it will argue the crash was your fault or that your injuries came from something else.
That is why the evidence gathered in the first days, the crash report, the scene photos, the vehicle data, the early medical records, so often decides the outcome.
Because Texas uses a modified comparative responsibility rule, the insurer also has a financial reason to pin as much blame on you as it can: every percentage point of fault it shifts to you shrinks what it has to pay (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001).
The Two-Year Deadline and the Exceptions That Trip People Up
The core rule is simple: you generally have two years from the date of injury to file suit in Texas (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).
Miss it, and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong the evidence. But three exceptions catch people off guard:
- Injured minors. For a child, the two-year clock is paused until they turn 18, time spent under a legal disability is not counted (§ 16.001).
- Government defendants. If a city, county, transit authority, or other government unit is involved, you must give written notice within six months (sometimes less by city charter) or lose the claim, even though the two-year suit deadline still applies (§ 101.101).
- The discovery rule. In limited cases where an injury could not reasonably have been discovered at once, the clock may start later, but this is narrow, and you should never count on it.
Texas Minimum Auto Insurance and Why It Runs Out
Texas requires drivers to carry only minimum liability limits of 30/60/25, $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072). A single serious injury can exhaust those limits before the first surgery is even paid.
That is why we hunt for every available policy. The at-fault driver’s coverage, any employer or commercial policy, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM), and personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.
Because most of these claims begin with a wreck, our Texas car accident page breaks down how this coverage stacks up in a crash.
Table of Contents
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Texas Personal Injury Attorneys
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Texas Injury Law at a Glance
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Texas Injury by the Numbers
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Injury Cases We Handle in Texas
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What Compensation Can You Recover in Texas?
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How You Prove Fault in a Texas Injury Case
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The Two-Year Deadline and the Exceptions That Trip People Up
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Texas Minimum Auto Insurance and Why It Runs Out
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The Texas Injury Claim Process, Step by Step
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What to Do After an Accident in Texas
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Mistakes That Shrink Texas Injury Claims
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Cities We Serve Across Texas
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Why Injured Texans Choose Goldberg & Loren
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Texas Injury Questions People Ask
The Texas Injury Claim Process, Step by Step
Most Texas injury claims follow the same arc, even when the timeline varies:
Investigation and evidence preservation, crash reports, camera footage, vehicle data, and witness statements secured before they disappear.
Medical treatment, you focus on recovery while we document every injury and cost.
Demand, once your treatment stabilizes, we present the insurer a documented demand for the full value of your losses.
Negotiation, most cases resolve here, once the evidence makes the claim expensive to fight.
Filing suit and discovery, if the insurer will not pay fairly, we file before the deadline and force disclosure of the records they would rather keep hidden.
Settlement or trial, the majority settle, but we prepare every case as if it will be tried, because that is what moves the number.
What to Do After an Injury in Texas
What you do in the hours and days after an accident can protect your health and your claim at the same time. If you are able:
Get medical care right away, even if you feel fine, adrenaline hides injuries, and a same-day record ties your injury to the accident before an insurer can argue otherwise.
Report it, call police to a crash involving injury or a vehicle that cannot be driven away (Tex. Transp. Code § 550.026); for a fall or an injury on someone’s property, tell the manager and ask for a written incident report.
Document the scene, photograph vehicles, damage, hazards, skid marks, and your injuries, and get names and numbers for every witness while they are still there.
Keep everything, bills, discharge papers, pay stubs showing missed work, and a short daily note on your pain and limits.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer, and do not accept a quick check, until you have talked to a lawyer, both are used to lock you into a low number.
Mistakes That Shrink Texas Injury Claims
- Giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before talking to a lawyer.
- Gaps in medical treatment, an adjuster treats a delay as proof you were not really hurt.
- Posting on social media, a single photo can be used to dispute your injuries.
- Accepting the first offer, early offers are almost always below the claim’s real value.
- Waiting too long, evidence fades, and the two-year deadline can close the door for good.
Cities We Serve Across Texas
Our home office is in Lakeway, in the Austin area, and we represent injured people throughout the state. Choose your city for local roads, hospitals, and courts:
Why Injured Texans Choose Goldberg & Loren
We have spent decades on both sides of the insurance fight. Our personal injury attorneys know how carriers value claims because they used to build those defenses, and now they use that playbook for injured people instead.
Every case starts with a free consultation, runs on a contingency fee (no fee unless we win), and gets the same urgency whether it is a rear-end wreck in Austin or a catastrophic truck crash on I-45.
Texas Injury Questions People Ask
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of the injury for most claims, and two years from the date of death for wrongful death, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. A few narrow exceptions exist, so confirm your deadline with a lawyer early.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
You can still recover as long as you were 50% or less at fault; your award is reduced by your share, and at 51% or more you recover nothing (§ 33.001). We work to keep your fault percentage as low as the facts support.
How much does a Texas personal injury lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. Goldberg & Loren works on a contingency fee, so our fee comes out of the money we recover for you, if we do not win, you owe no attorney fee. The first consultation is free.
What is my Texas injury case worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical costs and lost income, and how clearly the evidence shows fault.
Texas lets you recover both economic damages (bills, lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain, impairment). A free consultation gives you an honest range.
Is there a cap on pain and suffering in a Texas injury case?
In an ordinary car or truck crash, no. Texas's damage caps apply to medical-malpractice claims and to claims against government entities, not to a standard personal injury case (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 41).
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance?
You may be able to recover through your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, which Texas insurers are required to offer, along with any other applicable policy. We identify every source of coverage available to you.
How Long Does an Austin Car Accident Claim Take To Settle?
It depends on the severity of your injuries and how hard the insurer fights fault. Straightforward claims can resolve in a few months, while cases with serious injuries, disputed liability, or work-zone questions often take a year or longer. We do not rush you into an early release before your doctors know the full extent of your injuries, because once you settle, the claim is closed for good.
What are the most common injury claims in Texas?
Car and truck crashes lead, followed by motorcycle, pedestrian, and rideshare wrecks, premises-liability injuries such as slip-and-falls and negligent security, dog bites, and wrongful death. Each turns on its own evidence, insurance, and deadlines.
What do I have to prove to win a Texas injury claim?
You have to prove negligence, which has four parts: the other person owed you a duty of care, they breached it by acting carelessly, that breach caused your injury, and you suffered real damages. Most disputes come down to breach and causation, which is why early evidence matters so much.
Should I see a doctor even if I feel fine after an accident?
Yes. Adrenaline can mask injuries such as concussions and soft-tissue damage for hours or days, and a same-day medical record connects your injury to the accident. A gap in treatment is one of the first things an insurer uses to argue you were not really hurt.
Do you handle injury cases across all of Texas?
Yes. From our Lakeway office we represent injured people in every major Texas metro, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, and the Permian Basin, and the towns in between.
Legal Sources & References
The Texas laws described on this page are cited to the official statutes published by the Texas Legislature and were last reviewed on August 1, 2026.
- Statute of limitations, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
- Comparative responsibility & reduction, §§ 33.001, 33.012
- Wrongful death & survival, §§ 71.004, 71.021
- Exemplary (punitive) damages, § 41.003
- Duty to report a crash, Tex. Transp. Code §§ 550.021–550.026
- Legal-disability tolling (minors), Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001
- Damages definitions & exemplary standard, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 41.001, 41.003
- Minimum auto liability (30/60/25), Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072
- Texas crash data, TxDOT crash statistics, #EndTheStreakTX
Goldberg & Loren
211 Ranch Rd 620 S, Suite #230
Lakeway, TX 78734
(512) 254-4424
I spent years helping insurance companies pay less. Now I make sure they pay you what your injury is actually worth.