Houston Car Accident Lawyer

Reviewed by the attorneys of Jimenez Mazzitelli Mordes

Houston drivers spend a lot of time on some of the busiest roads in Texas — the Katy Freeway, the I-45 corridor, Loop 610, Beltway 8 and surface streets like Westheimer Road. When a crash happens, the other driver’s insurer usually starts building its file the same day. It records your statement, looks for anything that shifts blame onto you, and makes an early offer before anyone knows how serious the injury really is.

Jimenez Mazzitelli Mordes (JMM) represents people injured in car crashes across Houston, Harris County and the surrounding region from our Houston office. We handle the insurers so you can focus on getting better.

What should you do in the first days after a Houston car accident?

Get medical care, get the crash report number, and do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before you talk to a lawyer. The first days decide what evidence exists later. A short checklist:

1. Call 911 and get checked. Neck, back and head injuries often feel minor for a day or two. A same-day or next-day medical visit protects your health and creates the record your claim depends on.
2. Get the crash report information. Texas officers document crashes on the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (Form CR-3). Write down the officer’s name, the agency (Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, a constable precinct or the Texas Department of Public Safety) and the report number. Copies can be requested through the Texas Department of Transportation’s online crash report system.
3. Photograph everything. Both vehicles, the plates, the intersection or lane, traffic signals, skid marks, debris and your visible injuries.
4. Collect the other driver’s information — name, insurance company and policy number, license and plate — plus the names and numbers of any witnesses.
5. Notify your own insurer that the crash happened, but keep it to the facts. You do not have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement.
6. Call a lawyer early. Business cameras, phone records and vehicle data are easier to preserve in the first weeks than months later. Our guide to the evidence that disappears after a Houston truck crash explains why the same is true in car cases.

Where should you get medical care after a serious crash in Houston?

For serious injuries, Houston’s adult Level I trauma centers are Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and Ben Taub Hospital, both in the Texas Medical Center. For less obvious injuries, an emergency room, urgent care clinic or your own doctor within a day or two is still important.

• Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center — 6411 Fannin Street.
• Ben Taub Hospital — 1504 Ben Taub Loop.

Keep your discharge papers, imaging results, prescriptions and receipts. Follow the treatment plan: gaps in treatment are one of the first things an adjuster points to when arguing an injury was not serious.

Who pays your medical bills after a car accident in Texas?

Ultimately the at-fault driver’s liability insurance pays for the losses that driver caused, but in the short term your own optional coverages — PIP, MedPay or health insurance — may pay first if you have them. Texas is a fault-based (tort) state, not a no-fault state. That means:

• Liability insurance. Texas drivers must carry at least $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage (often written 30/60/25). Those minimums are low compared with the cost of a serious injury.
• Personal injury protection (PIP). Texas insurers must offer at least $2,500 of PIP with every auto policy, and it is included unless the policyholder rejected it in writing. PIP pays regardless of who caused the crash.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. Insurers must also offer UM/UIM, which is included unless rejected in writing. It can cover you when the other driver has no insurance, cannot be found, or carries too little.

Many people do not know whether they have PIP or UM/UIM until someone reads the declarations page with them. That is one of the first things we do.

How are Texas car accident rules different from Florida’s?

The biggest difference is fault: Florida is a no-fault state that requires PIP, while Texas is an at-fault state where PIP is optional. JMM handles car accident cases in both states, and clients who move between them are often surprised by how different the rules are.

Rule	Texas	Florida
System	At-fault (tort) state	No-fault state for early medical bills
PIP	Must be offered (at least $2,500); can be rejected in writing	Required ($10,000); care generally must begin within 14 days
Minimum bodily-injury liability	$30,000 per person / $60,000 per crash	Not required for most drivers
Deadline to sue for injuries	Generally 2 years	Generally 2 years for negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023
Partly at fault	Barred if more than 50% at fault; otherwise reduced	Barred if more than 50% at fault; otherwise reduced

If your crash happened in Miami-Dade instead, see our Miami car accident lawyer page for the Florida rules in detail.

What if the insurance company says the crash was partly your fault?

Texas reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault and bars it entirely above 50%, so insurers have a strong reason to argue you share the blame. Common arguments include that you were speeding, changed lanes without signaling, stopped suddenly, or were looking at your phone. Each percentage point they can assign to you lowers what they pay. The answer is evidence: the crash report, scene photos, vehicle damage patterns, witness accounts, and video from nearby businesses or traffic cameras. Our article on Texas’s 51% rule walks through how the percentages work.

What kinds of Houston car accidents does JMM handle?

JMM handles injury claims from every common type of passenger-vehicle crash, including cases with more than one responsible party.

• Rear-end and freeway chain-reaction collisions in stop-and-go traffic.
• Intersection and red-light crashes, including left-turn collisions.
• Uninsured and hit-and-run crashes, where UM/UIM coverage often matters most.
• Uber and Lyft crashes. Texas requires rideshare companies to carry at least $1 million in liability coverage while a driver is on the way to a passenger or has one in the car.
• Crashes with company and delivery vehicles, where the employer may also be responsible. Collisions with tractor-trailers have their own rules — see our Houston 18-wheeler accident lawyer page.
• Crashes with city, county or state vehicles, which carry short written-notice deadlines.

What damages can you recover after a Houston car accident?

Texas law lets an injured person recover both economic losses, like medical bills and lost income, and non-economic losses, like physical pain, mental anguish and physical impairment. Depending on the injury, a claim can include:

• Past and future medical care.
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity.
• Physical pain and mental anguish.
• Physical impairment and disfigurement.
• Property damage to your vehicle.

One Texas-specific detail: recovery for medical expenses is limited to the amounts actually paid or incurred (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.0105), not always the full amount billed. How your bills are documented matters.

How much does a Houston car accident lawyer cost?

Nothing up front. JMM handles car accident cases on a contingency fee, so there are no fees or costs unless we win. The consultation is free and confidential, and you can have it in English or Spanish.

Why talk to JMM about your Houston car accident?

JMM is a litigation firm that handles cases across Florida, Texas & New York, with an office in Houston and a Houston personal injury practice. Our attorneys are bilingual, so you can explain what happened in the language you are most comfortable with. We prepare each case as if it may go to trial, because that is how an insurer learns a claim will not be settled cheaply.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Texas?
Generally two years from the date of the crash under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Claims involving a government vehicle can require written notice within six months or less. Evidence such as business video can be lost much sooner, so it helps to speak with a lawyer early.

Do I have to use my own insurance after a Houston car accident?
Not necessarily. Texas is an at-fault state, so the at-fault driver’s liability insurer is responsible for the losses that driver caused. If you have PIP, MedPay or health insurance, those may pay some bills sooner, and UM/UIM coverage can apply if the other driver had no insurance or too little.

What happens if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay, as long as you did not reject it in writing when you bought your policy. It can also apply in some hit-and-run crashes. We review your declarations page to find every coverage that may apply, including PIP and any policy that covers a household member.

Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance adjuster?
You can report the basic facts, but you do not have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement. Adjusters use those statements to look for words that shift blame or minimize an injury. Once you have a lawyer, the adjuster deals with the lawyer instead of you.

How much does it cost to hire a car accident lawyer in Houston?
At JMM there is nothing to pay up front. We handle car accident injury cases on a contingency fee, which means no fees or costs unless we win. The first consultation is free and confidential, in English or Spanish.

Can I get help in Spanish for a car accident in Houston?
Yes. JMM’s attorneys and staff are bilingual and handle Houston car accident cases in English and Spanish from the first call through the end of the case. Call our Houston office and ask for a consultation in Spanish.

Talk to a Houston car accident lawyer today

You do not have to deal with the insurance companies alone. A short, free conversation can tell you what coverage applies, what the deadlines are, and what to do next.