The Statute of Limitation in Texas for Car Accidents

What is the Statute of Limitations for Car Accidents in Texas?

If you’ve experienced a car accident, you know it can feel like a whirlwind of important things suddenly need your immediate attention. This may include making sure everyone’s safe, exchanging insurance information—even towing your car or receiving medical treatment. When you have so much on your plate unexpectedly, it’s easy for things like paperwork to slip through the cracks. 

Fortunately, if you’re in Texas, you may have some time to ensure your needs are covered. The statute of limitations Texas car accident cases typically fall under gives you up to two years to file a lawsuit against whoever caused your auto accident. However, the specifics can vary slightly depending on what type of harm occurred. 

We'll break down the details of the car accident statute of limitations in Texas. Mighty's AI handles Texas car accident claims and tracks the statute of limitations for your case automatically.

Deadline to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Texas

If you’re in a car accident, you may want to take legal action against the person or company you believe caused your accident. However, in many cases, the car accident victim only has a certain window of time after an accident in which they can take legal action, known as the statute of limitations.

The Texas statute of limitations for legally addressing harm caused by car accidents can vary slightly depending on the type of harm caused. 

Here are the three types of car accident statute of limitations Texas law lays out:

• Vehicle damage – If your vehicle sustains damage in an auto accident while in Texas, you have up to two years after the date of the car accident to file a lawsuit. After that, a judge could dismiss your lawsuit because the statute of limitations has passed. If you’re hoping to avoid a lawsuit and only plan to file a claim through your insurance provider instead, try to start that process early. That way, if it doesn’t pan out the way you hope, you still have legal options. 

• Injuries – If you’re an injured car accident victim in Texas, you have up to two years after the date of your accident to file a legal claim. Once two years have passed, you can still try to file a lawsuit—but there’s a high risk a judge would dismiss your lawsuit because the statute of limitations has passed. So, if you think you may want to take legal action against whoever caused your accident, it helps to begin the process—or at least learn more about your legal options—as soon as possible. 

• Death – If the unthinkable happens and you lose a family member in a car accident, you can file a Texas wrongful death lawsuit against the driver you believe caused the crash for up to two years after the victim’s death. That means that if someone died a week or a month after the car crash as a result of injuries sustained during their car accident, the two-year statute of limitations begins on the date of their death, not the date of the car accident. In rare cases where you don’t know the identity of the driver, you may be able to file a partially completed lawsuit with the information you do have about the accident. In those scenarios, the statute of limitations may be put on hold, or “tolled,” for a certain length of time to provide more time for the driver’s identity to be discovered.

These statutes of limitations apply in a car accident whether you’re hurt when you’re a driver, passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian.

What Other Options Do You Have After a Car Accident in Texas?

There are several ways for you to potentially receive compensation to help you cover the costs incurred in a car accident. 

Here are three important ones—and how they differ from each other:

• Open a claim  – You can open a claim with the insurance company after an accident. Mighty's AI handles this for you — opening the claim with the at-fault driver's insurance, building your case file, and negotiating a settlement on your behalf. You don't need a lawyer to open an insurance claim.

• Formal claim submission – When Mighty's AI opens your claim, it includes a formal submission documenting the accident, injuries, and damages — drafted in the format insurance adjusters expect. This is what kicks off the negotiation process.

• Litigation – When negotiations don't produce a fair offer, your case may proceed to litigation. Mighty's marketplace surfaces a vetted lawyer paid only on the increase to your existing offer — and the case file Mighty has already built transfers seamlessly, so no work is lost.

Should You Open a Claim After a Car Accident?

If you are wondering what to do after a car accident in Texas, the first step is to make sure everyone is okay, and if not, take steps to help them receive emergency medical treatment. Once you've ensured everyone's physical safety, exchange insurance information with the other driver. Then open your claim — Mighty's AI handles this for you.

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Filing a claim with your car insurance company can help in several ways:

• If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident, the settlement can cover medical expenses, lost wages, vehicle repair, and other damages. Learn more about the average car accident settlement in Texas.‍
• IIf you're eligible to receive insurance proceeds, opening your claim sooner means you could get your payment sooner.

• Many people question, “Is Texas a no-fault state for car accidents?” The answer is no, meaning that if someone could argue you were at least partly responsible for the accident and you don’t file a claim with your car insurance company, you could potentially open yourself up to a lawsuit.
• If you took out an auto loan to purchase your car, the terms may require you to open a claim in the event of a car accident.

You don't have to wait for an official decision about who caused the accident to open your claim. Mighty's AI opens your claim with the insurance company as soon as you start the process — no waiting required.

What to Expect When Working with Mighty

Mighty's AI handles your Texas car accident claim from opening through settlement — for free. No contingency fees, no hourly rates, no percentage cut taken from your settlement. You keep 100% of what you recover.

Mighty's AI handles:

• Gathering documentation: medical records, police reports, repair estimates, witness statements
• Building your case file in the format Texas insurance adjusters expect
• Opening your claim with the insurance company
• Communications and negotiations on your behalf
• Tracking the two-year Texas statute of limitations
• Capturing every category of damage (medical, lost wages, pain and suffering, future medical)

For cases that need a lawyer — serious injuries, disputed liability, multiple parties, or an insurer refusing to engage — Mighty's marketplace helps to match you with a vetted lawyer paid only on the increase to your existing offer (not the standard 33%-40% of the entire settlement).

Should You Hire a Lawyer for Your Texas Car Accident Claim?

Open the claim — but use Mighty to do it. Mighty's AI builds your case file, opens your claim with the insurance company, negotiates a settlement for you to approve, and routes you your payment if the offer is fair. For most accident claims, that's all you need — and you keep 100% of your settlement.

Only hire a lawyer when you need one, which is rarely in the first month or two after an accident. Waiting has two big advantages. First, you may not need one at all, in which case avoiding their fees leaves you with 33% to 40% more of your settlement. Even if you do need one, waiting until you have more information about your case — including an offer from insurance — gives you leverage to negotiate the lawyer's fee down from the standard rate.

A lawyer is genuinely necessary when injuries are serious, liability is disputed, multiple parties are involved, or the insurance company refuses to engage. For those cases, Mighty's marketplace helps to match you with a vetted lawyer who only gets paid on the increase to your existing offer.

Sources

Car and Driver. Do I Have to File a Claim After an Accident? Everything You Need to Know. https://www.caranddriver.com/car-insurance/a36166153/do-i-have-to-file-a-claim-after-an-accident/ 

Cornell Law School. Demand letter. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/demand_letter#:~:text=A%20demand%20letter%20is%20a,or%20cease%20a%20certain%20action. 

Cornell Law School. Statute of limitations. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/statute_of_limitations 

Nolo. What is the Car Accident Statute of Limitations in Texas? https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-the-car-accident-statute-limitations-texas.html 

Statues.Capitol.Texas.gov. CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm