Description

A car wreck attorney helps injured Texas drivers protect evidence, deal with insurers, and file claims before the two-year deadline. This guide covers when to hire counsel, how fault works, and what compensation can include.

Car Wreck Attorney: What Texas Crash Victims Should Do Next

#TLDR
If another driver hurt you in Texas, a car wreck attorney can investigate the crash, handle the insurance company, and file a claim before the two-year filing window closes. You can still recover if you share some fault, as long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Do not give a recorded statement or accept a fast offer before you understand the full medical picture. Feizy Law Office in Frisco offers free consultations at (214) 651-8686.

• Do you need a car wreck attorney after a crash?
• How long do you have to file in Texas?
• What if the insurer says you were partly at fault?
• What should you do in the first 48 hours?
• What can a car wreck claim recover?
• How do insurance companies handle wreck claims?
• How do you choose counsel in DFW?

Searchers type “car wreck attorney” when they are in pain, behind on bills, and getting calls from an adjuster. The title is informal. The work is not. A car wreck attorney is a personal injury lawyer who focuses on collisions: gathering proof, measuring losses, and pushing back when an insurer tries to close the file cheaply.

Feizy Law Office has represented injured people in Frisco, Dallas, Plano, and the rest of North Texas for more than two decades. Nick Feizy has practiced since 2000. If you were hurt in a wreck, call (214) 651-8686.

Do you need a car wreck attorney after a crash?

Not every fender-bender needs a lawsuit. A scrape with no injury, no dispute about who caused it, and a fair property-damage check can often stay with the insurance company.

You should speak with a car wreck attorney when any of the following is true:

• You have medical treatment, time off work, or lingering pain.
• The other driver disputes fault or has thin coverage.
• An 18-wheeler, commercial van, or rideshare vehicle was involved.
• The insurer wants a recorded statement or a quick release.
• A family member died or faces long-term disability.

People on public forums often ask whether a lawyer is “worth it” after a crash. The useful test is simple: if the injury is more than a bump, or the insurer is already arguing, you are negotiating against a company that does this all day. A lawyer levels that gap. Many Texas firms, including Feizy Law Office, take these cases on a contingency fee, so you do not pay an hourly bill to get advice.

A consultation also helps you avoid mistakes that later look like “proof” you were fine: skipping follow-up care, posting about the crash, or guessing about speed in a recorded call.

How long do you have to file in Texas?

Texas generally gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit after a car wreck. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003 requires a person to bring suit for personal injury within two years. The same two-year period applies to many wrongful-death claims, which accrue on the date of death.

Do not treat that deadline as a planning calendar. Evidence disappears much faster. Businesses overwrite cameras. Vehicles get repaired. Witnesses move. An insurer may also impose its own claim-reporting windows in the policy.

If you were injured on a given date, count two years from that date and file earlier if you can. Some claims (minors, certain government defendants) follow different rules. A car wreck attorney can tell you which clock applies to your facts.

Texas Law Help also notes a two-year window for property damage from a car accident. Property damage and bodily injury can travel on separate tracks, so do not assume a check for the car settles the injury.

What if the insurer says you were partly at fault?

Texas uses modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. Justia’s 50-state survey describes Texas as a modified comparative negligence state with a 51 percent bar. In plain terms:

• If you are 50 percent or less at fault, you can still recover, reduced by your share.
• If you are 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.

The statute sits in Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33 (proportionate responsibility). Insurers know this rule well. They may assign you extra percentage points for “following too closely,” “failing to avoid,” or “not wearing a seat belt” to shrink the check, or to push you over the bar.

That is why scene photos, witness names, and a careful review of the police report matter. A car wreck attorney tests the insurer’s story against physical evidence instead of accepting the first fault split they quote.

What should you do in the first 48 hours?

Get medical care first. Some injuries (concussion, internal bleeding, disc injury) do not announce themselves at the scene. Delayed care also gives an adjuster room to argue that something else caused your pain.

If you can do so safely:

1. Call law enforcement when there is injury, death, or significant damage. Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550 covers collision reporting duties for drivers and officers. See section 550.062 on officer reports and Chapter 550 generally.
2. Photograph vehicles, skid marks, signals, weather, and visible injuries.
3. Exchange names, plate numbers, and insurance information. Do not debate fault in the roadway.
4. Get witness contacts.
5. Tell your own insurer that a crash occurred, then stop there until you talk with counsel.

Read more in our car accident evidence collection guide. For insurer calls, see dealing with insurance companies after an accident in Texas.

NHTSA continues to publish national crash fatality data. In a 2026 release, NHTSA estimated 36,640 traffic fatalities in 2025. Those numbers are a reminder that “minor” crashes still belong in a serious process: medical documentation, not a handshake at the scene.

What can a car wreck claim recover?

A well-built claim looks at more than the first ER bill. Depending on the facts, damages may include:

• Emergency care, imaging, surgery, therapy, and future treatment
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Vehicle repair or total-loss value, plus related out-of-pocket costs
• Pain, mental anguish, and limits on daily life
• In fatal cases, losses the family can pursue under Texas wrongful-death law

The Texas Department of Insurance auto insurance guide explains that liability coverage pays other people’s injuries and damages when you are at fault, and that drivers should check their limits. The other driver’s policy is often the first source of recovery. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy can matter when the at-fault driver has little or no insurance.

A car wreck attorney maps those layers before you sign a release. Once you cash a full-and-final check, later surgeries usually stay your problem.

Frisco and Dallas drivers can also review our Car Accident Lawyer Frisco TX guide for local next steps.

How do insurance companies handle wreck claims?

Adjusters work for the company that writes the check. Courtesy is not the same as alignment with your interests. Common tactics:

• Asking for a recorded statement while you are still on pain medication
• Offering a round number before MRI results or specialist visits
• Treating gaps in treatment as proof you recovered
• Using social media posts against you
• Pointing to an old injury as the “real” cause

You can provide basic identifying information. You do not need to guess about speed, distraction, or how you feel “on a scale of one to ten” for the other company’s file.

If the wreck involved a commercial truck, preservation letters for electronic logging data and onboard video should go out quickly. If it was a store parking lot or a poorly marked intersection, additional defendants may belong in the case. Those decisions are easier with counsel than with a claims app.

How do you choose counsel in DFW?

Ask who will actually handle your file. Ask how the firm communicates. Ask whether they try cases when an offer is unfair. A car wreck attorney should explain contingency fees in writing and tell you what costs come out of a recovery.

Feizy Law Office is a Frisco personal injury firm that represents people hurt in car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, and premises incidents across the Dallas–Fort Worth area. We do not treat your crash as a volume file. We investigate, document the full loss, and deal with the insurer so you can focus on treatment.

Call (214) 651-8686. Consultations are free. There is no fee unless we recover money for you.

Conclusion

A car wreck attorney is the person who keeps the claim from shrinking while you heal. Texas law gives you two years to file, a 51 percent fault bar, and several insurance layers that may apply. Use the first days after a crash to get care, preserve proof, and avoid recorded statements. Then get advice before you sign anything.

If you were hurt in North Texas, Feizy Law Office can review what happened and outline your options. Call (214) 651-8686 for a free consultation.