What Can You Sue for After a Car Accident in Texas?
The Right to Sue Depends on Fault and Harm
You don’t have to be in the hospital to have a case.
It’s easy to assume that lawsuits are only for major crashes. But Texas law doesn’t use a severity threshold. It uses two questions: Who caused the accident, and what did it cost you?
If someone else hit you and you’re left with bills, time off work, or lingering pain, you may be able to sue. The system doesn’t care if it was a fender bender or a rollover. It cares whether another driver was at fault—and whether you suffered harm from it.
That “something” is what lawyers call damages. Lost income. Out-of-pocket repairs. Physical pain that didn’t exist before the crash. If those things are present and the blame points outward, you may have a case.
How Much Can You Sue For?
There’s no set amount. The value of your case depends on what the crash took from you—and how well you can prove it.
Some lawsuits seek compensation to cover a few thousand dollars in medical bills and repairs, but others can go much higher into hundreds of thousands or millions because of lasting injuries, income loss, or long-term impact. Texas doesn’t cap damages in most car accident cases. If the harm is real and tied to the crash, you can sue for it.
Insurance limits can affect what’s recoverable, but they don’t cap your claim. You can sue beyond policy limits if the losses exceed coverage—and if the at-fault party has assets or there’s a company involved, the recovery may go further.
What drives the value is evidence: medical records, wage history, expert opinions, and proof of how your life changed. The stronger the case, the more you can recover. An experienced car accident lawyer can help uncover damages that aren’t obvious—like future care needs or long-term earning losses.
You Can Sue for More Than Just Medical Bills
After a car accident, it’s easy to focus on the most obvious loss—your medical bills. But under Texas law, you may be entitled to much more. A personal injury claim can include a wide range of damages, depending on how the crash affected your life.
Here’s a breakdown of what you can sue for if someone else caused the accident.
Medical Expenses
If you had to seek treatment because of the crash, those costs can be part of your lawsuit. That includes more than just the emergency room.
Ongoing care like follow-up visits, physical therapy, and diagnostic tests all count. So do surgeries, prescriptions, and medical equipment you needed as a result of the injury. If your recovery isn’t over, future medical needs can also be factored in.
You don’t have to wait until treatment ends to start the claim—but you’ll want a clear picture of what the care has cost so far, and what’s likely ahead.
Lost Income and Earning Capacity
If your injury kept you from working, you may be able to sue for the lost wages and benefits you missed while recovering.
That includes more than just your paycheck. If you used vacation days, sick time, or missed out on a bonus or opportunity, those losses can be counted too.
In more serious cases, the injury might affect your ability to work long-term. If you can’t return to your job—or you need to switch to a lower-paying position—your claim can include the difference. That’s what lawyers call diminished earning capacity. It reflects how the injury could change your financial future, not just your current paycheck.
Pain and Suffering
Texas law allows car accident victims to recover for physical pain caused by an accident.
That includes the pain itself, but also the ways it interferes with your life. If you’re having trouble sleeping, dealing with constant discomfort, or losing mobility, that has value—even if it’s hard to measure in dollars.
There’s no cap on pain and suffering damages in standard Texas car accident cases. What matters is how the injury has affected your day-to-day life. The more evidence you have—medical records, personal notes, or testimony—the stronger your claim will be.
Property Damage
If your vehicle was damaged in the crash and the insurance payout didn’t cover the full cost of repairs or replacement, you can include that loss in your lawsuit.
The same goes for anything else damaged in the accident—your phone, a car seat, or anything else of value inside the vehicle.
Texas allows you to sue for those losses if they weren’t fairly covered. Most of the time, property claims are resolved through insurance. But if they’re underpaid or denied, they can be added to your injury claim.
Emotional Distress and Mental Health Impacts
Not every crash leaves a physical injury. If the crash caused lasting emotional or psychological effects, those can be part of the case too.
Some people walk away physically fine but deal with anxiety, depression, or trauma afterward. It might show up as a fear of driving, panic attacks, or trouble sleeping. In more serious cases, it takes the form of PTSD.
To include these in a lawsuit, they’ll need to be documented—ideally by a mental health provider. But if the crash has affected your ability to function emotionally, that harm is real, and it counts.
Loss of Consortium
When a serious injury changes how you connect with your spouse or family, Texas law allows certain loved ones to bring a claim of their own.
Loss of consortium doesn’t focus on the injured person—it focuses on how the injury affects those closest to them. That might include loss of companionship, changes to the relationship, or loss of intimacy between spouses.
Loss of consortium claims are limited to close family members, and not every case qualifies. But when the injury has lasting effects on your relationship, the law recognizes that the harm reaches beyond the injured person alone.
What Affects Your Ability to Sue
Even if someone else caused the crash, not every situation leads to a lawsuit. Timing, fault, and what’s already been paid can all affect whether you can sue—or whether it’s worth pursuing.
Comparative Fault Rules in Texas
In Texas, you can still sue after a crash even if you share some of the blame. But there’s a limit.
The state follows a modified comparative fault rule. You can recover damages as long as you’re 50% or less responsible for the accident. If you’re 51% or more at fault, you can’t recover anything from the other driver.
Here’s how it works in practice:
- 40% your fault: You can still recover 60% of your total damages.
- Exactly 50% your fault: You can still sue, but your payout will be cut in half.
- More than 50% your fault: You’re barred from recovering damages from others.
Insurance companies know this rule well. If they can shift enough of the blame to you, they can avoid paying. That’s why fault matters—not just to win, but to stay eligible.
Statute of Limitations
The Texas personal injury statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you wait longer than that, the court will almost always throw out the case.
But there are a few exceptions:
- Minors: The clock doesn’t start until they turn 18.
- Wrongful death claims: The two-year deadline starts on the date of death, not the date of the crash.
- Unknown defendants or missing drivers: The deadline may pause while the defendant is out of state or can’t be identified.
- Mental incapacity: In rare cases, the statute can be extended if the injured person was legally unable to act.
Even with exceptions, the safest option is to act early. If you’re negotiating with an insurer and the deadline is approaching, file the lawsuit. You can always settle later, but you can’t go back and file once the clock runs out.
When Insurance Coverage Isn’t Enough
A lot of car accident claims are handled through insurance. If the insurer pays what’s owed and the losses are covered, there may be no reason to sue.
But lawsuits become necessary when:
- The insurance company denies liability
- The settlement offer doesn’t cover your losses
- The other driver has no insurance
- The policy limits run out before your bills are covered
A lawsuit may be necessary when insurance claims stall or the insurer won’t engage in good faith. In those cases, the right to sue isn’t just about fault—it’s about forcing the process to move forward.
Suing the Right Party—or Parties
The driver who caused the crash might not be the only one responsible. In some cases, they aren’t even the one being sued.
Who you can hold accountable depends on what happened, who was involved, and how the crash unfolded.
The At-Fault Driver
If someone hits you because they ran a red light or didn’t stop in time, they can be sued. That’s the starting point for most car accident cases in Texas.
Even if they have insurance, it doesn’t take them off the hook. The claim still goes through them. Their insurer just steps in to defend and—if it goes that far—to pay.
Employers and Companies
If the person who caused the crash was working at the time, their employer may also be on the hook. Delivery drivers. Utility workers. Contractors in company trucks.
You’re not limited to going after the driver’s personal policy. The business might carry its own commercial coverage. And if they put someone dangerous behind the wheel, that opens the door even wider.
Vehicle Owners
The driver might not own the car. That doesn’t always let the owner off the hook.
If they loaned the car to someone they knew was reckless or unfit to drive, they could be part of the case too. That’s called negligent entrustment. The owner’s insurance might still apply, even if they weren’t in the vehicle.
Bars, Mechanics, and Others Behind the Scenes
Accidents sometimes start off the road.
If a bar served someone who was clearly intoxicated, and that person drove off and caused a crash, the business could be responsible. Same with a mechanic who skipped a step on a brake job. Or a trucking company that loaded cargo the wrong way.
You don’t always see the full story at the scene. But once you start digging, more names can show up.
Government Entities
Crashes with city vehicles or on poorly maintained roads follow a different path.
You can sue a public agency in Texas—but you have to move fast. Most require written notice within six months. Some, even less.
There are damage caps, too. And the rules don’t bend. If a police car hits you or a bus swerves into your lane, the claim process isn’t the same as it would be with a private driver.
Frequently Asked Questions After an Accident
What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
You still have options. If you’ve got uninsured motorist coverage, your own policy can cover your injuries and vehicle damage. Most people have it unless they turned it down in writing. No UM coverage? You can sue the driver directly—but if they don’t have money or anything to take, you might not recover much. Sometimes the win is just on paper.
Can a passenger sue after a car accident in Texas?
Yes. If you were hurt as a passenger, you can go after whoever caused the crash—even the person driving your car. The law doesn’t treat you differently just because you weren’t behind the wheel. You were still injured, and the driver’s insurance (or both drivers’) is where your claim starts. If blame is split, your lawyer will usually go after both.
Can I sue if I was partly at fault for the crash?
You can, unless you were mostly responsible. Texas lets you recover damages if you were 50% or less at fault. The number matters. If you’re right at the edge, it’s worth having someone review the details. Blame gets shared in a lot of crashes, and insurance companies aren’t shy about shifting it to avoid paying full value.
What damages are covered in a car accident lawsuit in Texas?
It depends on what the crash cost you. Medical bills, yes—but also time off work, pain that hasn’t gone away, things you can’t do anymore. Some people lose the ability to earn what they used to. Others take a financial hit that doesn’t show up for weeks. If it connects back to the crash, it may be part of the case.
What if the crash involved a company vehicle or commercial driver?
That opens the door to suing the employer. If someone was driving for work when they hit you, the company might be responsible for the damage. That’s where commercial insurance comes in—and that coverage is usually bigger. It can change the entire value of the case.
You Can Still Sue Without Serious Injuries—Sometimes
Some crashes don’t leave you bruised. They leave you stuck with bills.
If the other driver damaged your car and didn’t pay for it, you can sue. That doesn’t change just because you walked away without a scratch. Texas law doesn’t require an ambulance ride to make a case valid.
You can also sue if the crash caused mental or emotional harm. But that’s harder to prove. It usually takes a diagnosis—something from a doctor or therapist that connects the trauma to the crash.
No matter what you’re suing for, the court will want to see what the crash cost you. A repair bill. Missed time at work. Trouble sleeping that required treatment. If there’s no clear damage, there may not be a path forward.
That doesn’t mean the crash didn’t shake you up. It just means a lawsuit might not be the right tool.
The Difference Between Suing—and Suing Smart
More Than Just Filing Paperwork
Knowing you can sue is one thing. Building a strong case is another.
Lawyers know where to look for value that gets overlooked—future medical costs, gaps in care, lost earning potential. They also know how to tie each one back to the crash in a way that holds up when it’s challenged.
They manage the parts that make or break a claim: figuring out fault, pushing back on unfair blame, collecting records, and keeping the case on schedule.
Lawyers Help Maximize—and Protect—What You’re Owed
If your case settles, they’re the ones who read the fine print and know when a number looks right—and when it doesn’t.
And most car accident lawyers don’t charge by the hour. They take a percentage of the final amount, and they only get paid if you win or settle.
You can file a lawsuit without one. But if you do hire a lawyer, the case doesn’t just move forward—it moves with direction.
What You Can Recover Depends on What You’ve Lost
The value of a lawsuit comes down to what the crash took from you. Not just in dollars—but in time, health, and the way your life looked before the accident.
Texas law gives you room to recover. It doesn’t cap your pain. It doesn’t block you for not being injured “enough.” But it does require that you show what happened, who caused it, and why it matters.
If you’ve lost something because of someone else’s mistake, the right to sue is already there. What you do with it—and how well your case is built—makes the difference.
If You’re Considering a Lawsuit
If you were hit by a negligent driver and the losses are adding up, the experienced car accident lawyers at Loewy Law Firm in Austin can help you understand what a lawsuit could recover—and what’s at stake if nothing is done. You don’t have to worry about legal costs because you don’t pay anything unless we win. Call (512) 280-0800 or send a message to get started with a free case review.