Texas Car Accident Laws — What Every Driver and Injury Victim Needs to Know

Texas Is an At-Fault State

Texas follows an at-fault (also called “tort”) system for car accidents. This means the driver who caused the accident is legally responsible for the damages — and their insurance pays for the other party’s injuries and property damage.

After a Texas car accident, injured victims have three options for recovering compensation:

• File a claim with the at-fault driver’s liability insurance
• File a claim with your own insurance (if you have applicable coverage like collision or UM/UIM)
• File a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver in civil court

You can pursue all three simultaneously, but you can only recover your total damages once — you cannot collect the same amounts from multiple sources.

Modified Comparative Fault — The 51% Rule

Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001). Under this rule:

• If you are 50% or less at fault, you can recover damages — but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault
• If you are 51% or more at fault, you are completely barred from recovering anything

Mandatory Insurance Requirements in Texas

Texas law requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance (Tex. Transp. Code §601.072). The current minimums — commonly referred to as 30/60/25 — are:

Accident Reporting Requirements in Texas

Texas law requires drivers to report accidents in the following circumstances (Tex. Transp. Code §550.026):

• The accident results in injury or death
• The accident results in property damage of $1,000 or more

Reports must be made to local law enforcement. If law enforcement does not respond to the scene (common for minor accidents), you can file a report directly with the Texas Department of Transportation using Form CR-2 (a “Blue Form” self-report) within 10 days.

From a legal perspective, always call law enforcement to the scene of any accident involving injury, regardless of the apparent severity. A police report is one of the most important documents in your personal injury claim.

Legal Duties After a Texas Car Accident

Texas law imposes specific legal duties on drivers involved in an accident (Tex. Transp. Code §§550.021–550.026):

Texas Has No No-Fault Insurance System

Some states use a “no-fault” insurance system where each driver’s own insurance pays for their injuries regardless of who caused the accident. Texas is not a no-fault state.

In Texas, the at-fault driver’s insurance is responsible for the other party’s damages. You are not limited to your own insurance policy for injury compensation — you can and should pursue the at-fault driver’s liability coverage.

Texas does allow — but does not require — Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, which pays your own medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault. Check your policy to see if you have PIP and what it covers.

Texas Dram Shop Liability — When Bars and Restaurants Are Liable

Under the Texas Dram Shop Act (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code §2.02), a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider can be held liable for car accident injuries when they served alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated to the extent they presented a clear danger to themselves and others, and that person then caused an accident.

Dram shop claims add a potentially well-insured defendant to a drunk driving accident case. Commercial alcohol vendors typically carry significant liability insurance, which can be critical when the drunk driver has minimal coverage.

Texas also extends social host liability in limited circumstances — primarily when alcohol is provided to minors (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code §2.02(c)).

Texas Cell Phone and Distracted Driving Laws

Texas law prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending electronic messages while driving (Tex. Transp. Code §545.4251). This includes texting, emailing, and social media use. First offense is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $99; subsequent offenses up to $200.

In a personal injury case, evidence that the at-fault driver was texting at the time of the accident is powerful evidence of negligence. Phone records can be subpoenaed through discovery to establish whether the driver was using their phone at the time of the crash.

What You Can Recover Under Texas Law

Texas law allows injured accident victims to recover:

• Economic damages — medical expenses (past and future), lost wages, lost earning capacity, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages — pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life
• Exemplary (punitive) damages — available when the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent or malicious. Capped at the greater of $200,000 or 2x economic damages plus up to $750,000 in non-economic damages (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §41.008).

For most car accident cases, there is no cap on economic or non-economic damages. The cap on exemplary damages applies to cases involving gross negligence or intentional conduct — including drunk driving accident cases.