Tamara is a certified copywriter and editor with over four years of experience writing legal content for some of the U.S.' best-known law firms, marketing agencies and legal service providers. She has crafted thousands of practice pages, FAQs, blog posts, case studies and long-form articles on topics such as personal injury law, mass torts and criminal law.
Tamara Armstrong
Tamara is a certified copywriter and editor with over four years of experience writing legal content for some of the U.S.' best-known law firms, marketing agencies and legal service providers. She has crafted thousands of practice pages, FAQs, blog posts, case studies and long-form articles on topics such as personal injury law, mass torts and criminal law.
Jeffrey Johnson has written novels and movies in addition to legal analyses of eminent domain and immigration law. His experience in writing engaging fiction makes him uniquely capable of making the most dry and academic legal topics interesting (or as interesting as possible).
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Jeffrey Johnson, J.D.
Jeffrey Johnson has written novels and movies in addition to legal analyses of eminent domain and immigration law. His experience in writing engaging fiction makes him uniquely capable of making the most dry and academic legal topics interesting (or as interesting as possible).
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
It sometimes seems like car accident lawyers in Houston are everywhere. You can’t drive anywhere without seeing their billboards, and they have commercials running all the time. But how do you know which Houston car accident attorneys are good?
Well, here at Forbes Advisor we have put together a list of the very best Houston car accident lawyers to help you find the right lawyer for you. We also created a guide for what to look for when considering an attorney, so that you can find the perfect advocate for your case.
Read more
Show Summary
- Best Houston Car Accident Lawyers
- Compare Our Best Houston Car Accident Attorneys
- Car Accident Laws in Houston, Texas
- How to Find The Best Houston Car Accident Lawyer
- Why Do I Need a Car Accident Lawyer in Houston?
- What to Do If Someone Sues You for a Car Accident in Houston
- Methodology
- Frequently Asked Questions
Best Houston Car Accident Lawyers
Compare Our Best Houston Car Accident Attorneys
Other Texas Car Accident Lawyers
Car Accident Laws in Houston, Texas
In the Austin, Texas area there’s a road that has a maximum speed limit of 85 miles per hour—the highest speed limit in the country.
Texas is the second most populous state in the nation, too. If you combine high speed limits and lots of drivers, you’ll usually get plenty of car accidents. If you’re unlucky enough to be involved in one, here’s a quick primer on the insurance and driving laws to know in the Lone Star state.
Texas Is a Fault-Based State
When there’s a car accident, sometimes it can be hard to figure out who’s to blame. In a few states—no-fault states—the responsibility doesn’t matter all that much. In these states, unless there are severe injuries or extremely costly property damage, each driver’s insurance covers their harm, and the fault is irrelevant.
Most states, however, are fault states—including Texas.
In these states, the insurance companies investigate accidents and assign fault to one of the involved drivers. According to the insurance companies, the driver who causes the accident will have to pay for it.
Of course, that driver will most likely have insurance, so the insurance company pays the cost.
Unlike in a no-fault state, where you are barred from suing except in extreme circumstances, in a fault-based state, anyone injured in an accident can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company or file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for damages.
Car Insurance Requirements in Texas
Texas requires drivers to carry a certain amount of liability insurance in order to drive. Liability insurance pays for damages to other cars and injuries to other people when you cause an accident. Damage to your car is covered by either collision or comprehensive insurance, and Texas does not require that you carry any.
| Texas Auto Insurance Requirements (minimum) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
$30,000 in bodily injury liability per person
|
$60,000 total bodily injury liability
|
$25,000 property damage
|
It’s important to keep in mind that these are the minimum requirements for each type of coverage. Having less coverage than this will prevent you from being able to register your car in Texas and could lead to being cited for being underinsured. However, just because your insurance will only pay for $25,000 in property damage doesn’t mean you can’t be held responsible if you cause more than that amount of property damage.
You could cause an accident that totals a brand new SUV and be liable for twice the $25,000 minimum. In that circumstance, the SUV owner could sue you for the difference between your insurance coverage and their actual loss.
Personal Injury Protection in Texas
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is optional in Texas, but insurance companies in the state are required to offer it as an additional option on all policies. PIP covers medical expenses and lost wages for a driver and their passengers regardless of who was at fault in the accident.
How to Find The Best Houston Car Accident Lawyer
Conducting a Google search for car accident lawyers in Houston yields hundreds of results. There are certainly many to choose from. Finding the best for you means asking the right questions when you are considering them. Remember that you don’t need to select the first lawyer you meet; there are lots of options. Take your time and find the best one for you.
Here are the most important things to consider when looking for a car accident lawyer in Houston.
Seek Referrals
An excellent place to start when looking for a car accident lawyer is to ask for referrals from friends, family and colleagues. There’s a good chance that you know more than one person who has needed a lawyer in an accident case. When you find someone who has a referral, ask them specifically what they liked about working with the lawyer. This will give you a good idea of what to expect in the interaction. Also, ask about things they didn’t like so that you get a broad picture of the relationship.
If you come up short with referrals, try searching for a car accident lawyer in Houston online. For example, go to Google and search lawyers and law firms using reviews. Consider both the overall rating as well as the number of reviews to get a good read on how satisfied clients are with the lawyers.
Ask About Expertise
Ask the lawyers you are interviewing what their expertise is. While some lawyers specialize in car accident cases exclusively, others are more generalists who practice personal injury law dealing with other cases such as workers’ compensation. You can work with either, but you do want to make sure that a generalist has worked on a lot of car accident cases and be sure that they know the ins and outs of the insurance game.
What Do They Charge?
Car accident lawyers in Houston will likely not charge an hourly fee to retain them. Injury attorneys work on contingency, which means they only get paid when you get a settlement. Their pay is a percentage of the settlement, so you want to be sure the fees fall in line with the industry standards of 33% to 40%. Settlement amounts usually factor these fees in so you aren’t losing money by having a lawyer work for you, but if someone is charging more than the standard, this might start to eat into what you take home from a settlement.
Can They Litigate?
Most car accident cases don’t ever see the inside of a courtroom because lawyers can negotiate directly with insurance companies to get settlements. However, if your case is one of the 5% that go to trial because of serious injuries, you want to make sure that your lawyer has the experience to litigate the case. Going to court is very different from negotiating with insurance carriers, so you want to find someone who has the experience to fight.
How Organized Are They?
You don’t want details about your case slipping through the cracks and getting forgotten about in negotiations or court proceedings. This means that your attorney needs to be organized. You can get a sense of organization from their office presentation. Everything should be in its place with files put away and not stacked on a desk. Take note of how the receptionist takes phone messages and how information is added to the file. A clean, organized office is a sign of a professional.
Why Do I Need a Car Accident Lawyer in Houston?
If you were hurt in a car accident, pain from injuries and worries about medical bills and wage losses can become overwhelming. This is when hiring a Houston car accident lawyer can be essential for your peace of mind and for protecting your best interests. They can offer legal advice, clarify your options, ensure the insurance company isn’t taking advantage of you and so much more. Here’s how an attorney can help:
- Identifying who is responsible for your car crash
- Gather evidence to build a case against the liable party or parties
- Communicate and negotiate with insurance companies
- Handle legal paperwork and proceedings
- Represent you at trial
Hiring an attorney can be vital for recovering what you deserve, especially if you suffered a catastrophic or disabling injury in the crash and your life is forever changed. They can assess the accident’s impact on your physical, emotional and financial health and pursue adequate damages on your behalf.
What to Do If Someone Sues You for a Car Accident in Houston
First, don’t panic if you discover someone is suing you for a car accident. While you should always take the matter seriously, your insurance company will most likely defend you against any claims and provide you with a defense attorney. However, taking some vital steps can help to mitigate the impact of a lawsuit:
- Tell your insurance company immediately. If you receive notice that someone has filed a lawsuit against you, promptly contact your insurer. They should offer guidance on how to proceed and will likely hire a Houston car accident lawyer on your behalf.
- Collect evidence for your case. Gather all evidence related to the car accident, such as photographs, police reports, witness statements and dash camera footage. This evidence could help prove your innocence or a lesser degree of fault.
- Be careful with your words. Don’t admit fault or apologize for the accident. Refrain from posting anything on social media relating to the case.
Don’t ignore a summons. If you don’t file your answer to the legal complaint within the specified time, the other party could win their case by default. Moreover, your attorney may determine that you are not at fault for the crash. In that case you could file a counterclaim against the other party.
Methodology
To come up with the Best Car Accident Lawyers in Houston in 2024, Forbes Advisor considered many factors. Forbes Advisor’s mathematical analysis considers and weighs the information collected to calculate a specific rating and reviews these results to find the best attorneys in a given practice area.
Within the model, we take into account factors that legal professionals and consumers value in an attorney’s qualifications. After assigning weighted scores to hundreds of data points, we narrowed the field down to our top choices based on:
- Legal experience
- Special licenses and certifications
- Ethics and bar disciplinary measures
- Legal thought leadership
- Education and employment background
- Scholarly lectures & writings
- Awards and honors
Forbes Advisor collects public data from a variety of sources, including state bar associations, court records and other published sources on the internet. This information should not be considered comprehensive, however. It might not include additional relevant information on an attorney’s legal skills and experience.
Each lawyer listed here has their own merits. Bear in mind that our list relates to these lawyers’ legal backgrounds, but does not evaluate their personalities or their knowledge of the law. One attorney may be more suitable than another for your specific legal situation.
One thing that can’t be quantified, though, is the rapport you establish with your attorney. Personality goes a long way when teaming up with an attorney, especially when going through a potentially difficult legal situation. These rankings should serve as a reference and potential starting point in your search for the right lawyer for you and your legal concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long after an accident can you sue in Texas?
You have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit on it. This means that you have to pinpoint injuries and losses resulting from the accident within a timely manner.
How long does an insurance company have to settle a claim in Texas?
Texas insurance carriers have 35 business days to settle a claim once it is filed. If there is a delay, the insurance company needs to notify you in writing what the delay is and the expected decision date.
Can you be sued over a car accident in Texas if you have insurance?
Yes, you can. Texas is a fault-based state for car accidents which means the person who causes the accident is responsible for damages. If you are insured, your insurance company will try to settle the case. If it cannot settle, it will go to court. Your insurance company will defend you in the court case. If you don’t have insurance however, you must pay for your own representation.
Can I handle a car accident case in Houston without a lawyer?
Yes, handling your car accident case without a lawyer is possible. You could even represent yourself at trial if you wanted to. However, self-representation can severely disadvantage you, especially if the other party has a skilled lawyer.
Whether you could handle your case without legal help also depends on its specifics. For example, if you only have minor or moderate injuries and the value of your case is low, you could handle it alone. However, recovering an adequate settlement from an insurance company can be tricky if you suffer a life-changing injury and have high damages, such as steep medical bills and income loss.
Insurance companies are in it for profit. When much money is at stake, some insurers fight tooth and nail to avoid a large payout. They may even have a team of lawyers on retainer to fight your case. Legal advice and representation by a car accident lawyer in Houston can be invaluable if you have a complex case or high damages. Going it alone may leave you vulnerable to recovering less than you need and deserve.
How much does it cost to hire a car accident lawyer in Houston?
The cost of hiring a car accident lawyer in Houston can vary significantly based on the complexity of your case, the attorney’s experience and other factors. Most personal injury lawyers work with a contingency fee, meaning you don’t have to pay them unless they win your case. The fees will be a percentage of your compensation, which could be around a third of your recovery or more.
However, while hiring a lawyer can seem costly, it can also help you maximize your compensation and protect your rights. In other words, you could be stuck with your medical bills and other damages if you lose your case due to a lack of skilled legal representation.
What happens if you are at fault in a car accident in Houston?
Texas is a fault state, meaning the insurance of the person responsible for a car accident must reimburse the other driver. Therefore, if you caused a car accident in Houston, your insurance company typically pays the other party’s damages up to your policy limit. However, if those damages exceed your policy limit, you could be on the hook for the remaining amount.
If you are at fault for a crash and are facing a lawsuit or legal action, a Houston car accident lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and obligations and represent you in court if necessary.
