Texas rules

Texas, on one page.

Every Texas rule this site relies on, verified against the statutes and the cited opinions. Texas is the state where the fight over fault matters most, because a person found more than half responsible recovers nothing.

The short answer

Two years to sue for an injury, a death or property damage.
Barred above 50 percent. Your share reduces your recovery, and if it passes 50 percent there is no recovery at all.
Government notice within six months, and a city’s charter can set a shorter period.
Personal injury protection is in every policy unless rejected in writing, at least $2,500 per person, paid regardless of fault.
Hit and run coverage requires actual physical contact with the unidentified vehicle.

What is different about Texas

The 51 percent bar shapes everything. In California and Washington a person who was mostly at fault still recovers part of the loss; in Texas, a person found 51 percent responsible recovers nothing. Insurers know this, and a Texas adjuster’s questions in the first week are aimed at that number. It is the strongest reason not to give a recorded statement before talking to a lawyer.

Texas is also generous with no fault coverage. Personal injury protection is part of every policy unless rejected in writing and pays medical bills and some lost income no matter who caused the crash. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is in the policy on the same terms. A claim on that coverage against your own insurer is a contract claim with a general four year limit, while the suit against the other driver keeps the two year limit.

A few Texas rules have no match in the other states. Texas no longer has a crash report for drivers to file; the investigating officer files form CR-3. A commercial vehicle defendant can ask that the trial be split into two phases, with the company’s own conduct heard only in the second. The dog bite rule comes from decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas rather than a statute. A rider 21 or older may go without a helmet after an approved safety course or with qualifying health insurance. Lane splitting is not allowed. And the wrongful death statute names the spouse, children and parents, and gives the estate’s executor a duty to file if none of them has within three months.

The guides apply these rules to each kind of case: car, truck, rideshare, motorcycle, pedestrian, fall or dog bite, uninsured driver and wrongful death.

How to read the table

Every row below is one rule of Texas law, in plain words, with the statute or decision it comes from and a link to the primary text. The date at the bottom is when each rule was last checked against its source. A rule can change between checks, and a rule can apply differently to your facts than to the usual case, so read the table as a map, not as advice.

Your next step

Talk to a lawyer licensed in Texas

Tell the firm what happened, in your own words. It tells you what it can do and what comes next. The call commits you to nothing, and the line is answered at any hour.

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The rules, with their sources

These are the rules of law this page relies on. Each one is a general statement with exceptions that are not shown, and each links to the statute, regulation or court decision it comes from.

Topic	Texas
Deadline to sue for an injury	Two years from the day the claim arises. For most crashes and falls that is the day of the injury. [1]
Deadline to sue after a death	Two years, counted from the date of death. [2]
Deadline for vehicle and property damage	Two years for damage to a vehicle or other property. [1]
Claims against a government agency	A city, county, school district or state agency must receive notice of the claim within six months of the incident. The notice describes the injury or damage, the time and place, and what happened. A city’s charter can set its own notice period, which may be shorter, so do not assume you have the full six months. [3]
If the injured person is under 18	If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the time before their 18th birthday is generally not counted against the two years. That rule does not apply the same way to medical malpractice claims, and it should not be assumed to extend the notice deadline for a claim against a government agency. [4]
Claims with different deadlines	Medical malpractice claims have their own rules: generally two years, with a separate rule for children under 12 and an outer limit of 10 years. [5]
If you were partly at fault	Texas reduces your damages by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing. [6]
Minimum liability insurance drivers must carry	$30,000 for the injury or death of one person, $60,000 for two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage, in one collision. [7]
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage	An auto policy in Texas must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, you may have this coverage without knowing it. [8]
Coverage for your own medical bills	Personal injury protection (PIP) is part of every auto policy unless it was rejected in writing. The statute does not require an insurer to provide more than $2,500 per person, and PIP pays no matter who was at fault. [9]
Deadline for a claim under your own policy	A claim against your own insurer for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits is a contract claim, generally subject to a four year limit. The deadline to sue the driver who caused the crash is still two years. [10]
Hit and run and unidentified drivers	To use uninsured motorist coverage for a driver who was never identified, Texas requires actual physical contact between that driver’s vehicle and you or your property, such as your vehicle. [11]
Reporting the crash	Call the police right away if anyone is hurt or killed, or if a vehicle cannot be safely driven. Texas no longer has a state crash report for drivers to file. The investigating officer files the report (form CR-3) when there is an injury, a death, or apparent damage of $1,000 or more. [12]
Duties at the scene	Stop, stay at the scene, exchange your name, address, vehicle registration and insurance information, show your license if asked, and give reasonable help to anyone who is hurt. [13]
Rideshare driver logged in, no ride accepted	At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage. [14]
Rideshare driver heading to a rider or on a trip	From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the last rider gets out: $1,000,000 in total liability coverage per incident. Uninsured motorist coverage and PIP also apply where Texas law requires them. [15]
Commercial trucks	A trucking company hauling general freight across state lines must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage under federal rules. Texas requires $500,000 for commercial vehicles over 26,000 pounds that stay inside the state. In a lawsuit over a commercial vehicle crash, the defendant can ask for the trial to be split into two phases. [16]
Motorcycle helmets	Required, with one exception: a rider who is at least 21 and has completed an approved safety course, or has health insurance that covers motorcycle injuries. [17]
Riding between lanes	Not allowed. A motorcycle may not travel between lanes of traffic moving in the same direction or pass a vehicle within the same lane. [18]
Pedestrians in a crosswalk	Where there is no working traffic signal, a driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk who is on the driver’s half of the road or close enough to be in danger. [19]
Crossing outside a crosswalk	A pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles. Drivers still have to use due care to avoid hitting anyone on the road. [20]
Injuries on someone else’s property	What the owner owed you depends on why you were there. A business must make safe, or warn customers about, hidden dangers it knew of or should have known of. The injured person generally has to show the owner knew or should have known about the condition. [21]
Dog bites	In Texas the rule comes from decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas. An owner who knew or had reason to know the dog was dangerous can be held strictly liable, except to a trespasser on the owner’s land. Otherwise the owner can be liable for handling the dog carelessly. [22]
Who can bring a wrongful death claim	The surviving spouse, children and parents. Any of them can file for the benefit of all. If none has filed within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator of the estate must file unless all of them ask that no claim be brought. Siblings and grandparents are not included. [23]
Claim on behalf of the person who died	The injury claim the person could have brought had they lived continues after death and belongs to their heirs and estate. [24]
Bars and others who serve alcohol	A bar or other provider can be liable when it was apparent that the person it served was obviously intoxicated to the point of being a clear danger, and that intoxication caused the harm. [25]

Sources

The rules on this page were last checked against these sources on October 3, 2026. Laws change, so follow the link before you rely on a rule.

Attorney review in progress. Responsible attorney: Emery Brett Ledger. Page last updated October 26, 2026.