Texas Auto Insurance Requirements

Texas law requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance, but here’s what most people don’t realize until it’s too late: the state minimum of 30/60/25 often leaves accident victims tens of thousands of dollars short of covering their actual losses. If you’ve been seriously injured by an underinsured driver, or you’re wondering whether your own coverage will protect your family, understanding these numbers could be the most important financial decision you make this year.

At Varghese Summersett, our personal injury attorneys have seen countless clients suffer devastating injuries only to discover the at-fault driver carried the bare minimum coverage. We’ve also helped clients navigate the complex process of recovering compensation through their own underinsured motorist policies. This guide explains what Texas requires, why it’s not enough, and how to actually protect yourself.

If you’ve been injured in a car accident and are dealing with insurance issues, call our team at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation.

Minimum Car Insurance Texas

Under Texas Transportation Code § 601.072, every driver must carry liability insurance with at least these minimum limits:

$30,000 for bodily injury per person
$60,000 for total bodily injury per accident (when multiple people are hurt)
$25,000 for property damage per accident

This is commonly written as “30/60/25” coverage. You’ll see it on your insurance declarations page and in policy documents. Texas has required this coverage since 2008, when the minimums increased from the previous 20/40/15 standard.

These amounts represent the maximum your liability insurance will pay if you cause an accident that injures someone else or damages their property. Once you hit that ceiling, you’re personally responsible for any remaining costs.

What Does Liability Coverage Actually Pay For?

Liability coverage protects other people when you’re at fault in an accident. It pays for the other driver’s medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and vehicle repairs. It does not pay for your own injuries or damage to your own car.

Here’s how those limits work in practice. Say you run a red light and hit another vehicle. The other driver breaks her leg and needs surgery. Her medical bills total $45,000, she misses six weeks of work ($8,000 in lost wages), and her car is totaled ($20,000).

Her damages exceed $73,000. Your 30/60/25 policy would pay $30,000 toward her injury claim and $20,000 for her car (assuming that was her actual value). She’s still $23,000 short on her medical bills alone, not counting pain and suffering or lost wages.

That remaining amount? She can sue you personally for it. Your savings, your house, your future wages could all be at risk.

Why Texas Minimum Coverage Is Dangerously Inadequate

The 30/60/25 minimum was set in 2008. It hasn’t changed since, despite medical costs rising dramatically. According to the Health Care Cost Institute, average emergency room visits now cost over $2,000. A single night in the hospital averages more than $3,000. Serious injuries requiring surgery, rehabilitation, or long-term care can easily exceed $100,000.

Our attorneys at Varghese Summersett regularly handle cases where clients face medical bills of $50,000, $100,000, or more. In 2023, we represented a client struck by a distracted driver in Fort Worth whose spinal surgery alone cost $127,000. The at-fault driver carried only minimum coverage. Without our client’s own underinsured motorist policy, she would have recovered less than a quarter of her medical expenses.

Property damage limits are equally outdated. The average new car in Texas costs over $48,000. Even used vehicles commonly sell for $25,000 to $35,000. If you total someone’s car, that $25,000 property damage limit may not cover it.

What Happens If You’re Hit by an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver

Texas has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. According to the Insurance Research Council, approximately 14% of Texas motorists drive without any insurance at all. That’s roughly one in seven drivers on the road with you right now.

Even more drivers carry only the state minimum. When these drivers cause serious accidents, their coverage runs out quickly, leaving victims with few options.

This is where uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage becomes essential. These optional coverages protect you and your family when the other driver can’t cover your losses.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM) pays your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. It also covers hit-and-run accidents where the driver flees.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) kicks in when the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t enough to cover your damages. If your injuries cost $80,000 and the other driver only has $30,000 in coverage, your UIM policy covers the gap.

Texas law requires insurance companies to offer you UM/UIM coverage, but you can reject it in writing. Many Texans decline this coverage to save money on premiums without understanding what they’re giving up.

How UM/UIM Coverage Works in a Real Case

One of our clients was rear-ended at a stoplight on I-35 in Dallas by a driver who was texting. Our client suffered herniated discs requiring two surgeries and months of physical therapy. Her total medical bills exceeded $210,000, and she couldn’t work for eight months.

The at-fault driver carried only $30,000 in liability coverage. His insurance paid that amount quickly, but it barely covered a fraction of her losses.

Fortunately, our client had $100,000 in underinsured motorist coverage on her own policy. After exhausting the at-fault driver’s limits, we filed a UIM claim with her insurance company. Through negotiation, we recovered an additional $95,000 from her own policy.

Without UIM coverage, she would have been left with over $180,000 in unpaid medical bills. The extra premium she paid for UIM coverage, roughly $150 per year, saved her from financial ruin.

What Is an Umbrella Policy and Why Should You Consider One?

An umbrella policy provides an extra layer of liability protection above your auto and homeowner’s insurance limits. It kicks in after your underlying policies max out.

Umbrella policies typically start at $1 million in coverage and can go much higher. The cost is surprisingly affordable. Most people pay between $150 and $300 per year for $1 million in umbrella coverage.

Consider this scenario. You cause an accident that seriously injures a family of four. Their combined medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering total $400,000. Your auto policy with 100/300/50 limits pays $300,000, but you’re still $100,000 short. Without an umbrella policy, that $100,000 comes out of your personal assets.

Umbrella policies also cover you in situations beyond car accidents. They protect against lawsuits from injuries on your property, defamation claims, and other liability exposures. For anyone with assets to protect, including a home, savings, or retirement accounts, umbrella coverage is one of the smartest insurance purchases available.

How Much Auto Insurance Coverage Do You Actually Need?

Insurance agents have a general rule: carry enough liability coverage to protect your net worth. If you have $200,000 in assets, you should have at least $200,000 in liability coverage. But that’s just the starting point.

Most financial advisors recommend at least 100/300/100 coverage for Texas drivers. This means $100,000 per person for bodily injury, $300,000 total per accident, and $100,000 for property damage. Combined with a $1 million umbrella policy, this provides solid protection for most families.

For UM/UIM coverage, match your liability limits. If you carry 100/300/100 liability, carry the same for uninsured and underinsured motorist protection. This ensures you’re protected whether you cause an accident or are the victim of one.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Texas

If you’ve been in an accident, especially one involving serious injuries, the steps you take immediately after can affect your ability to recover compensation.

At the scene: Call 911 and report the accident. Exchange insurance information with all drivers involved. Take photos of vehicle damage, the accident scene, and any visible injuries. Get contact information from witnesses.

Within 24-48 hours: Seek medical attention, even if you feel fine. Many injuries don’t show symptoms right away. Document everything in writing while your memory is fresh.

When dealing with insurance: Report the accident to your own insurance company promptly. Be careful what you say to the other driver’s insurance company. They may try to get you to admit fault or minimize your injuries. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.

Before accepting any settlement: Talk to a personal injury attorney. Insurance companies often make quick lowball offers before you understand the full extent of your injuries. Once you sign a release, you can’t go back for more money.

What Happens After You Call Varghese Summersett

When you contact our firm after a car accident, here’s what to expect. First, you’ll speak with a member of our personal injury team who will ask about your accident and injuries. This initial call is free and confidential.

If we believe you have a case, we’ll schedule a consultation to review your medical records, insurance policies, and the facts of your accident. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

Our team will deal with the insurance companies so you can focus on recovery. We gather evidence, negotiate with adjusters, and prepare your case for trial if necessary. We’ve recovered millions for injured Texans, and we fight hard to maximize every client’s recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Auto Insurance

Can I drive legally in Texas with just liability insurance?

Yes. Texas law only requires liability coverage at the 30/60/25 minimum. However, this protects other people, not you. If you’re injured by an uninsured driver and you don’t have UM coverage, you may have no way to recover your medical expenses.

Does my insurance cover me if I’m driving someone else’s car?

Generally, auto insurance follows the car first and the driver second. The car owner’s insurance is primary. Your insurance acts as secondary coverage if the owner’s policy isn’t enough or doesn’t apply.

What happens if I’m hit by an uninsured driver and I don’t have UM coverage?

You can sue the uninsured driver personally, but collecting is often difficult or impossible. Many uninsured drivers have few assets. Without UM coverage, you may be left paying your own medical bills even though the accident wasn’t your fault.

How long do I have to file an insurance claim after an accident in Texas?

You should report accidents to your insurance company as soon as possible, typically within a few days. For lawsuits against the at-fault driver, Texas has a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the accident. However, waiting can hurt your case as evidence disappears and memories fade.

Will my rates go up if I file a UM/UIM claim?

Texas Insurance Code § 1952.0545 prohibits insurers from raising your rates solely because you filed a UM/UIM claim for an accident that wasn’t your fault. If your rates increase, it should be based on other factors.

Get Help from an Experienced Texas Personal Injury Attorney

Understanding your insurance coverage is one thing. Knowing how to use it when you’re injured is another. Insurance companies, including your own, are businesses focused on minimizing payouts. Having an experienced attorney on your side levels the playing field.

At Varghese Summersett, our personal injury lawyers have decades of combined experience handling auto accident cases across Texas. We’ve recovered compensation for clients in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and throughout the state. We understand the tactics insurance companies use to reduce or deny claims, and we know how to fight back.

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, don’t navigate the insurance process alone. Call us at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, explain your options, and help you understand what your claim is really worth. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

What Is a Gap in Treatment After a Car Accident?

A gap in treatment is any delay between your accident and your first doctor visit, or a pause in your ongoing medical care. Insurance companies use these gaps to argue you weren’t really hurt, and it’s one of the fastest ways to destroy a legitimate personal injury claim.

If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas and haven’t seen a doctor yet, or you stopped going to appointments, your claim may already be losing value by the day. The good news: an experienced personal injury attorney can often help explain or close that gap, but only if you act quickly.

If you’re dealing with a gap in treatment and worried about your claim, call Varghese Summersett at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation. We’ve helped thousands of Texans recover compensation even when insurance companies tried to use gaps against them.

Why “I Feel Fine” Is the Most Dangerous Thing You Can Say

You walked away from the crash. You’re sore, maybe a little shaken, but nothing feels broken. You figure you’ll see how you feel in a few days.

This is exactly what insurance companies are counting on.

Here’s what’s actually happening in your body: Immediately after a collision, your system floods with adrenaline and endorphins. This is your “fight or flight” response, and it effectively numbs your pain sensors. You might have a herniated disc, torn ligaments, or even internal bleeding, but your brain won’t register it as pain for 24 to 72 hours.

Soft tissue injuries are particularly deceptive. Whiplash, muscle strains, and ligament tears involve microscopic damage that doesn’t show up on X-rays. As inflammation builds over three to five days, the pain often gets worse, not better. By the time you realize something is seriously wrong, you’ve already created a gap that the insurance adjuster will use against you.

In one recent case, our attorneys represented a client who felt “just stiff” after a rear-end collision on I-30 in Fort Worth. She waited six days to see a doctor. By then, her neck pain had become severe. The insurance company’s first offer was 60% lower than what her injuries warranted, and their adjuster argued repeatedly that she must not have been hurt badly since she didn’t seek immediate care. Our team had to fight significantly harder to recover fair compensation for her, documenting the medical reasons for delayed symptom onset and bringing in expert testimony about soft tissue injury patterns.

The lesson: what feels minor today can become a major problem, both physically and legally.

The Timeline: When Insurance Companies Start Cutting Your Claim Value

There’s no Texas statute that says “your claim loses 40% after two weeks.” But after handling thousands of personal injury cases across Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and throughout Texas, our attorneys have seen clear patterns in how adjusters evaluate gaps.

0 to 72 Hours: The Golden Window

This is considered “immediate” treatment. When you see a doctor within three days of an accident, you create a solid, documented link between the crash and your injuries. Insurance companies have a much harder time disputing causation. Your claim retains its full value.

4 to 7 Days: The Suspicious Zone

Adjusters start asking questions. They’ll check whether you went to work during this time. Did you go to the gym? Post on social media about weekend activities? Even if your delayed treatment was reasonable, expect the insurance company to offer 10 to 20% less than your claim is worth. They’ll argue that if you were really hurt, you would have gone sooner.

8 to 14 Days: The Danger Zone

This is where claims start suffering serious damage. Offers typically drop by 40 to 50%. Adjusters will aggressively argue “intervening causes,” meaning they’ll suggest something else caused your injury during that gap period. Did you lift something heavy? Sleep wrong? Fall? They’ll look for any alternative explanation.

30+ Days: The Deal Breaker

At this point, most insurance adjusters will either deny the injury claim entirely or offer what’s called “nuisance value,” sometimes as little as $500 just to make you go away. They’ll assume, at least publicly, that your injuries are unrelated to the crash. Even legitimate, serious injuries become nearly impossible to recover compensation for once you’ve waited this long without documentation.

How Insurance Adjusters Weaponize Your Gap in Treatment

Insurance companies train their adjusters to use gaps strategically. Understanding their playbook helps you see why immediate treatment matters so much.

The “Rational Person” Argument

This is their go-to. The adjuster will argue: “A rational person who is genuinely injured goes to the doctor. You didn’t see a doctor for two weeks. Therefore, you were not injured, or at least not seriously.”

It sounds logical on the surface. Juries sometimes buy it. The problem is that it ignores basic medical reality about delayed symptoms, adrenaline response, and how soft tissue injuries actually work.

The Causation Break

This is the most damaging argument, and the hardest to overcome. To win a personal injury claim in Texas, you must prove that the accident caused your injury. A gap gives the insurance company room to suggest something else did.

Here’s how it plays out: You wait 10 days to see a doctor for back pain. The adjuster responds, “How do we know you didn’t hurt your back lifting groceries on day seven? Or at the gym on day five? Since there’s no medical record from day one, you cannot prove this car accident caused your back pain.”

Without that initial documentation tying your symptoms to the crash, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

Failure to Mitigate Damages

Under Texas law, injured people have a duty to “mitigate” their damages. This means you must take reasonable steps to get better and prevent your injuries from worsening.

If you delay treatment and your condition deteriorates, the insurance company can refuse to pay for that worsening. Their argument: you failed to take care of yourself, so they shouldn’t have to pay for the consequences.

This is particularly brutal with soft tissue injuries. Untreated whiplash can develop into chronic pain. A disc injury that might have healed with early physical therapy can become a surgical case. The insurer will pay for what they claim would have been the outcome with proper treatment, not what actually happened.

What Happens to Your Body After an Accident That You Can’t Feel Yet

Understanding the medical reality helps explain why gaps happen, and why they’re so unfair.

Adrenaline masks your pain. Your body’s stress response suppresses pain signals for hours or even days after trauma. You genuinely feel okay at the scene. That doesn’t mean you are okay.

Inflammation takes time to build. Swelling around injured tissue typically peaks at 48 to 72 hours, not immediately. This is why many accident victims feel worse on day three than they did at the scene.

Internal injuries are silent. Organ damage and internal bleeding don’t always present with dramatic symptoms. Some people have walked around for days with life-threatening internal injuries.

Concussions hide. Traumatic brain injuries often don’t show obvious signs right away. Confusion, headaches, memory problems, and cognitive issues can emerge gradually over days or weeks.

Disc injuries progress. A herniation that feels like mild stiffness today can worsen as it impinges on nerves, eventually causing severe pain, numbness, or weakness in your extremities.

The medical community understands all of this. Insurance adjusters understand it too. They just don’t care, because their job is to pay you as little as possible.

How a Texas Personal Injury Attorney Can Help Close the Gap

Even if you’ve already created a gap, an experienced attorney can sometimes explain it, document it, or minimize its impact. But timing matters.

Controlling the Narrative

Maybe you waited because you don’t have health insurance. Maybe you were afraid of the cost. Maybe you’re a single parent who couldn’t take time off work. Maybe you genuinely thought you were fine until symptoms worsened.

These are valid reasons. But if you don’t document them properly, the insurance company will spin your gap as evidence of fraud or exaggeration. An attorney can help establish a record of why you delayed, so it doesn’t look like you’re making up injuries after the fact.

Letters of Protection

Many people avoid the doctor after an accident because they’re worried about cost. They don’t have health insurance, or they’re afraid of copays and deductibles piling up.

A personal injury attorney can issue what’s called a Letter of Protection (LOP). This is a document that tells the medical provider: treat this patient now, and you’ll be paid out of the eventual settlement. It allows you to get the care you need immediately without paying out of pocket, closing your gap right away.

At Varghese Summersett, we work with a network of medical providers throughout Texas who accept LOPs, ensuring our clients can access treatment regardless of their insurance situation.

Preventing Recorded Statement Mistakes

One of the first things an insurance adjuster will do is ask for a recorded statement. They’ll ask friendly-sounding questions designed to get you to minimize your injuries.

“But you didn’t go to the hospital, so you must have felt okay at the scene, right?”

“You went to work the next day, so the pain couldn’t have been that bad?”

Anything you say can and will be used to reduce your claim. An attorney can handle communications with the insurance company, preventing you from accidentally undermining your own case.

Building the Medical Evidence

Our attorneys work closely with medical professionals to document the connection between your accident and your injuries, even when there’s been a gap. This might include expert testimony explaining delayed symptom onset in soft tissue injuries, medical literature supporting the timeline of your specific injury type, documentation of your symptoms and their progression, and independent medical examinations that establish causation.

This doesn’t guarantee we can overcome a significant gap, but it gives you the best possible chance.

What to Do Right Now If You’ve Been in an Accident

Whether your accident happened today or two weeks ago, here’s what you should do.

If you’re within 72 hours of your accident: Go to urgent care or the emergency room today. Tell the doctor clearly: “I was in a car accident on [date] at [time], and I am experiencing [symptoms].” Be specific and thorough. Mention everything, even symptoms that seem minor. This creates the medical record that protects your claim.

If you’re within one to two weeks: See a doctor immediately. The longer you wait, the more value your claim loses. Even a late record is better than no record.

If it’s been more than two weeks: You still have options, but you need legal help now. Call an attorney before seeing the doctor so they can help you document the gap appropriately.

Regardless of timing: Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company without talking to an attorney first. Follow through on every medical referral. If the doctor recommends imaging, physical therapy, or specialist evaluation, do it. Don’t skip appointments. Missed visits show up in medical records, and adjusters will find them. Document your symptoms daily. Keep notes on your pain levels, limitations, and how your injuries affect your daily life.

What Happens After You Call Varghese Summersett

We understand that dealing with injuries, medical bills, and insurance companies is overwhelming. Here’s what to expect when you reach out to our team.

During your free consultation, we’ll review the details of your accident, your injuries, and any treatment you’ve received (or haven’t received). We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case, including how any gap in treatment might affect it.

If we take your case, we handle everything: communicating with insurance companies, connecting you with medical providers who accept Letters of Protection, gathering evidence, and fighting for the compensation you deserve.

Our personal injury team has recovered millions of dollars for Texas accident victims. We have offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Southlake, and we handle cases throughout the state.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gaps in Treatment

How long is too long to wait to see a doctor after a car accident?

Ideally, you should seek medical attention within 72 hours. After one week, your claim starts losing value. After two weeks, you’ll face significant challenges. After 30 days, most insurers will deny or severely devalue your claim. However, even with a gap, an attorney may be able to help. Call us for a free consultation to discuss your specific situation.

What if I couldn’t afford to see a doctor after my accident?

This is common, and it’s a valid reason for delay. A personal injury attorney can issue a Letter of Protection that allows you to receive treatment now and pay later out of your settlement. Don’t let cost keep you from getting the care and documentation you need.

Can I still file a claim if I have a gap in treatment?

Yes, but your claim will be harder to prove and likely worth less than it would have been with immediate treatment. An experienced attorney can help document the reasons for your gap and build the strongest possible case given the circumstances.

What counts as a “gap” in treatment?

Both an initial delay (time between the accident and your first doctor visit) and treatment gaps (stopping physical therapy or doctor visits for weeks, then resuming) can hurt your claim. Consistency matters throughout your recovery.

What should I tell the doctor when I go?

Be specific: “I was in a car accident on [date] at [approximate time] and I am experiencing [list all symptoms].” Mention everything, even things that seem minor. This creates the medical record linking your symptoms to the accident.

Protect Your Claim. Talk to a Texas Personal Injury Attorney Today.

Insurance companies have teams of adjusters trained to find reasons to pay you less. A gap in treatment hands them exactly what they need.

At Varghese Summersett, we’ve spent years fighting insurance companies on behalf of injured Texans. We know their tactics, and we know how to counter them. Our firm has more than 70 team members across four Texas offices, and our personal injury attorneys have recovered millions for clients, including many who came to us worried that a gap in treatment had ruined their case.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, whether it happened yesterday or weeks ago, call us at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation. We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case and explain your options.

Don’t let a gap in treatment cost you the compensation you deserve. Call Varghese Summersett today.

What Is a Gap in Treatment After a Car Accident?

A gap in treatment is any delay between your accident and your first doctor visit, or a pause in your ongoing medical care. Insurance companies use these gaps to argue you weren’t really hurt, and it’s one of the fastest ways to destroy a legitimate personal injury claim.

If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas and haven’t seen a doctor yet, or you stopped going to appointments, your claim may already be losing value by the day. The good news: an experienced personal injury attorney can often help explain or close that gap, but only if you act quickly.

If you’re dealing with a gap in treatment and worried about your claim, call Varghese Summersett at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation. We’ve helped thousands of Texans recover compensation even when insurance companies tried to use gaps against them.

Why “I Feel Fine” Is the Most Dangerous Thing You Can Say

You walked away from the crash. You’re sore, maybe a little shaken, but nothing feels broken. You figure you’ll see how you feel in a few days.

This is exactly what insurance companies are counting on.

Here’s what’s actually happening in your body: Immediately after a collision, your system floods with adrenaline and endorphins. This is your “fight or flight” response, and it effectively numbs your pain sensors. You might have a herniated disc, torn ligaments, or even internal bleeding, but your brain won’t register it as pain for 24 to 72 hours.

Soft tissue injuries are particularly deceptive. Whiplash, muscle strains, and ligament tears involve microscopic damage that doesn’t show up on X-rays. As inflammation builds over three to five days, the pain often gets worse, not better. By the time you realize something is seriously wrong, you’ve already created a gap that the insurance adjuster will use against you.

In one recent case, our attorneys represented a client who felt “just stiff” after a rear-end collision on I-30 in Fort Worth. She waited six days to see a doctor. By then, her neck pain had become severe. The insurance company’s first offer was 60% lower than what her injuries warranted, and their adjuster argued repeatedly that she must not have been hurt badly since she didn’t seek immediate care. Our team had to fight significantly harder to recover fair compensation for her, documenting the medical reasons for delayed symptom onset and bringing in expert testimony about soft tissue injury patterns.

The lesson: what feels minor today can become a major problem, both physically and legally.

The Timeline: When Insurance Companies Start Cutting Your Claim Value

There’s no Texas statute that says “your claim loses 40% after two weeks.” But after handling thousands of personal injury cases across Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and throughout Texas, our attorneys have seen clear patterns in how adjusters evaluate gaps.

0 to 72 Hours: The Golden Window

This is considered “immediate” treatment. When you see a doctor within three days of an accident, you create a solid, documented link between the crash and your injuries. Insurance companies have a much harder time disputing causation. Your claim retains its full value.

4 to 7 Days: The Suspicious Zone

Adjusters start asking questions. They’ll check whether you went to work during this time. Did you go to the gym? Post on social media about weekend activities? Even if your delayed treatment was reasonable, expect the insurance company to offer 10 to 20% less than your claim is worth. They’ll argue that if you were really hurt, you would have gone sooner.

8 to 14 Days: The Danger Zone

This is where claims start suffering serious damage. Offers typically drop by 40 to 50%. Adjusters will aggressively argue “intervening causes,” meaning they’ll suggest something else caused your injury during that gap period. Did you lift something heavy? Sleep wrong? Fall? They’ll look for any alternative explanation.

30+ Days: The Deal Breaker

At this point, most insurance adjusters will either deny the injury claim entirely or offer what’s called “nuisance value,” sometimes as little as $500 just to make you go away. They’ll assume, at least publicly, that your injuries are unrelated to the crash. Even legitimate, serious injuries become nearly impossible to recover compensation for once you’ve waited this long without documentation.

How Insurance Adjusters Weaponize Your Gap in Treatment

Insurance companies train their adjusters to use gaps strategically. Understanding their playbook helps you see why immediate treatment matters so much.

The “Rational Person” Argument

This is their go-to. The adjuster will argue: “A rational person who is genuinely injured goes to the doctor. You didn’t see a doctor for two weeks. Therefore, you were not injured, or at least not seriously.”

It sounds logical on the surface. Juries sometimes buy it. The problem is that it ignores basic medical reality about delayed symptoms, adrenaline response, and how soft tissue injuries actually work.

The Causation Break

This is the most damaging argument, and the hardest to overcome. To win a personal injury claim in Texas, you must prove that the accident caused your injury. A gap gives the insurance company room to suggest something else did.

Here’s how it plays out: You wait 10 days to see a doctor for back pain. The adjuster responds, “How do we know you didn’t hurt your back lifting groceries on day seven? Or at the gym on day five? Since there’s no medical record from day one, you cannot prove this car accident caused your back pain.”

Without that initial documentation tying your symptoms to the crash, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

Failure to Mitigate Damages

Under Texas law, injured people have a duty to “mitigate” their damages. This means you must take reasonable steps to get better and prevent your injuries from worsening.

If you delay treatment and your condition deteriorates, the insurance company can refuse to pay for that worsening. Their argument: you failed to take care of yourself, so they shouldn’t have to pay for the consequences.

This is particularly brutal with soft tissue injuries. Untreated whiplash can develop into chronic pain. A disc injury that might have healed with early physical therapy can become a surgical case. The insurer will pay for what they claim would have been the outcome with proper treatment, not what actually happened.

What Happens to Your Body After an Accident That You Can’t Feel Yet

Understanding the medical reality helps explain why gaps happen, and why they’re so unfair.

Adrenaline masks your pain. Your body’s stress response suppresses pain signals for hours or even days after trauma. You genuinely feel okay at the scene. That doesn’t mean you are okay.

Inflammation takes time to build. Swelling around injured tissue typically peaks at 48 to 72 hours, not immediately. This is why many accident victims feel worse on day three than they did at the scene.

Internal injuries are silent. Organ damage and internal bleeding don’t always present with dramatic symptoms. Some people have walked around for days with life-threatening internal injuries.

Concussions hide. Traumatic brain injuries often don’t show obvious signs right away. Confusion, headaches, memory problems, and cognitive issues can emerge gradually over days or weeks.

Disc injuries progress. A herniation that feels like mild stiffness today can worsen as it impinges on nerves, eventually causing severe pain, numbness, or weakness in your extremities.

The medical community understands all of this. Insurance adjusters understand it too. They just don’t care, because their job is to pay you as little as possible.

How a Texas Personal Injury Attorney Can Help Close the Gap

Even if you’ve already created a gap, an experienced attorney can sometimes explain it, document it, or minimize its impact. But timing matters.

Controlling the Narrative

Maybe you waited because you don’t have health insurance. Maybe you were afraid of the cost. Maybe you’re a single parent who couldn’t take time off work. Maybe you genuinely thought you were fine until symptoms worsened.

These are valid reasons. But if you don’t document them properly, the insurance company will spin your gap as evidence of fraud or exaggeration. An attorney can help establish a record of why you delayed, so it doesn’t look like you’re making up injuries after the fact.

Letters of Protection

Many people avoid the doctor after an accident because they’re worried about cost. They don’t have health insurance, or they’re afraid of copays and deductibles piling up.

A personal injury attorney can issue what’s called a Letter of Protection (LOP). This is a document that tells the medical provider: treat this patient now, and you’ll be paid out of the eventual settlement. It allows you to get the care you need immediately without paying out of pocket, closing your gap right away.

At Varghese Summersett, we work with a network of medical providers throughout Texas who accept LOPs, ensuring our clients can access treatment regardless of their insurance situation.

Preventing Recorded Statement Mistakes

One of the first things an insurance adjuster will do is ask for a recorded statement. They’ll ask friendly-sounding questions designed to get you to minimize your injuries.

“But you didn’t go to the hospital, so you must have felt okay at the scene, right?”

“You went to work the next day, so the pain couldn’t have been that bad?”

Anything you say can and will be used to reduce your claim. An attorney can handle communications with the insurance company, preventing you from accidentally undermining your own case.

Building the Medical Evidence

Our attorneys work closely with medical professionals to document the connection between your accident and your injuries, even when there’s been a gap. This might include expert testimony explaining delayed symptom onset in soft tissue injuries, medical literature supporting the timeline of your specific injury type, documentation of your symptoms and their progression, and independent medical examinations that establish causation.

This doesn’t guarantee we can overcome a significant gap, but it gives you the best possible chance.

What to Do Right Now If You’ve Been in an Accident

Whether your accident happened today or two weeks ago, here’s what you should do.

If you’re within 72 hours of your accident: Go to urgent care or the emergency room today. Tell the doctor clearly: “I was in a car accident on [date] at [time], and I am experiencing [symptoms].” Be specific and thorough. Mention everything, even symptoms that seem minor. This creates the medical record that protects your claim.

If you’re within one to two weeks: See a doctor immediately. The longer you wait, the more value your claim loses. Even a late record is better than no record.

If it’s been more than two weeks: You still have options, but you need legal help now. Call an attorney before seeing the doctor so they can help you document the gap appropriately.

Regardless of timing: Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company without talking to an attorney first. Follow through on every medical referral. If the doctor recommends imaging, physical therapy, or specialist evaluation, do it. Don’t skip appointments. Missed visits show up in medical records, and adjusters will find them. Document your symptoms daily. Keep notes on your pain levels, limitations, and how your injuries affect your daily life.

What Happens After You Call Varghese Summersett

We understand that dealing with injuries, medical bills, and insurance companies is overwhelming. Here’s what to expect when you reach out to our team.

During your free consultation, we’ll review the details of your accident, your injuries, and any treatment you’ve received (or haven’t received). We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case, including how any gap in treatment might affect it.

If we take your case, we handle everything: communicating with insurance companies, connecting you with medical providers who accept Letters of Protection, gathering evidence, and fighting for the compensation you deserve.

Our personal injury team has recovered millions of dollars for Texas accident victims. We have offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Southlake, and we handle cases throughout the state.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gaps in Treatment

How long is too long to wait to see a doctor after a car accident?

Ideally, you should seek medical attention within 72 hours. After one week, your claim starts losing value. After two weeks, you’ll face significant challenges. After 30 days, most insurers will deny or severely devalue your claim. However, even with a gap, an attorney may be able to help. Call us for a free consultation to discuss your specific situation.

What if I couldn’t afford to see a doctor after my accident?

This is common, and it’s a valid reason for delay. A personal injury attorney can issue a Letter of Protection that allows you to receive treatment now and pay later out of your settlement. Don’t let cost keep you from getting the care and documentation you need.

Can I still file a claim if I have a gap in treatment?

Yes, but your claim will be harder to prove and likely worth less than it would have been with immediate treatment. An experienced attorney can help document the reasons for your gap and build the strongest possible case given the circumstances.

What counts as a “gap” in treatment?

Both an initial delay (time between the accident and your first doctor visit) and treatment gaps (stopping physical therapy or doctor visits for weeks, then resuming) can hurt your claim. Consistency matters throughout your recovery.

What should I tell the doctor when I go?

Be specific: “I was in a car accident on [date] at [approximate time] and I am experiencing [list all symptoms].” Mention everything, even things that seem minor. This creates the medical record linking your symptoms to the accident.

Protect Your Claim. Talk to a Texas Personal Injury Attorney Today.

Insurance companies have teams of adjusters trained to find reasons to pay you less. A gap in treatment hands them exactly what they need.

At Varghese Summersett, we’ve spent years fighting insurance companies on behalf of injured Texans. We know their tactics, and we know how to counter them. Our firm has more than 70 team members across four Texas offices, and our personal injury attorneys have recovered millions for clients, including many who came to us worried that a gap in treatment had ruined their case.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, whether it happened yesterday or weeks ago, call us at (817) 203-2220 for a free consultation. We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case and explain your options.

Don’t let a gap in treatment cost you the compensation you deserve. Call Varghese Summersett today.

How Business Valuation Works in Texas Divorce Cases

Business valuation in divorce determines what your company is worth so the court can divide marital assets fairly. If you or your spouse owns a business, that ownership interest will likely be subject to division, and getting the valuation right can mean the difference between keeping your company intact or watching years of hard work get split unfairly.

At Varghese Summersett, our family law attorneys have handled complex property divisions involving businesses ranging from single-member LLCs to multi-million dollar enterprises. We understand that your business isn’t just an asset on a spreadsheet. It’s your livelihood, your legacy, and often your family’s primary source of income.

Is Your Business Community or Separate Property in Texas?

Before anyone can value your business, the court must first decide how much of it belongs to the marriage. Texas is a community property state, which means most assets acquired during the marriage belong equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the paperwork.

Under Texas Family Code § 3.003, property owned before marriage is separate property. But here’s where it gets complicated: if your separate property business increased in value during the marriage because of your time, effort, and skill, that growth may be considered community property.

Texas courts call this “active appreciation.” If you worked 60-hour weeks building your company while your spouse managed the household and raised your children, the value you created through that effort likely belongs to both of you.

On the other hand, “passive appreciation” stays separate. If your business grew simply because the market improved or your industry expanded, that increase typically remains yours alone.

Questions That Determine Characterization

Courts look at several factors when deciding how to characterize a business:

• When did you start or acquire the business? A company started before marriage is separate property at its core.
• What was the business worth on your wedding day? This baseline matters tremendously.
• How was growth funded? If community income was reinvested into a separate property business, some of that value may now be community property.
• Did your spouse contribute? Contributions don’t have to be direct. A spouse who handled all domestic responsibilities so you could focus on the business may have a claim to the appreciation.

What Valuation Standard Do Texas Courts Use?

Texas divorce courts use “fair market value” as the standard for valuing businesses. This means the price a hypothetical willing buyer would pay a hypothetical willing seller in an arm’s length transaction, where neither party is under pressure to buy or sell.

This standard matters because it’s different from “investment value,” which considers what the business is worth to you specifically. Your company might be worth more to you because of your relationships, your skills, or your plans for the future. But the court doesn’t care about that. They want to know what a stranger would pay for it.

The Discount Debate

One of the most contested issues in business valuation is whether to apply discounts for lack of marketability or lack of control. The spouse who owns the business usually argues for these discounts because they lower the value. The non-owning spouse argues against them.

In a 2023 Tarrant County case, our attorneys represented a business owner whose spouse’s expert applied no discounts whatsoever, inflating the company’s value. By presenting credible expert testimony on appropriate minority interest and marketability discounts, we helped our client reach a settlement that reflected the business’s actual worth in the real world, not a theoretical maximum.

The Three Methods for Valuing a Business in Divorce

Business appraisers typically use one or more of three approaches to determine fair market value. Understanding these methods helps you evaluate whether the valuation in your case makes sense.

The Asset Approach

The asset approach values a business by adding up everything it owns and subtracting everything it owes. Think of it as a snapshot of the balance sheet. This method works well for companies that hold significant tangible assets, like real estate investment firms or equipment rental companies.

For service businesses or professional practices, the asset approach often produces a “floor value” that underestimates what the company is actually worth. A successful law firm or medical practice might have minimal hard assets but generate substantial income.

The Market Approach

The market approach looks at what similar businesses have sold for recently. Appraisers find comparable companies and adjust for differences in size, risk, location, and industry conditions.

This approach works best when good comparable data exists. For common business types like restaurants, dental practices, or HVAC companies, industry databases often provide useful benchmarks. For unique or niche businesses, finding true comparables can be challenging.

The Income Approach

The income approach values a business based on its ability to generate money. Appraisers look at historical earnings, normalize them to remove one-time events or owner perks, and then apply a multiplier or discount rate to arrive at present value.

For small to mid-size Texas businesses, appraisers frequently use a capitalization multiple applied to normalized EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) or seller’s discretionary earnings.

This approach often produces the highest valuations for profitable businesses, which is why the owning spouse’s expert may prefer asset-based methods while the non-owning spouse’s expert gravitates toward income methods.

Active vs. Passive Appreciation: Why It Matters

Understanding the difference between active and passive appreciation can significantly impact your divorce settlement.

Active appreciation is value growth you caused through your efforts. This includes management decisions, marketing initiatives, capital investments, hiring talented employees, and simply showing up and working hard. Texas courts generally treat active appreciation as community property.

Passive appreciation is value growth caused by external forces beyond your control. This includes rising industry multiples, favorable tax law changes, economic booms, and general market conditions. Passive appreciation on separate property typically remains separate.

How Courts Allocate Appreciation

When a separate property business has grown during the marriage, courts must determine how much of that growth came from each source. This usually requires expert testimony and detailed financial analysis.

A common approach establishes the business value at the date of marriage and again at trial. The expert then allocates the increase between active and passive components using both qualitative evidence (what did the owner actually do?) and quantitative modeling (how did similar businesses perform during the same period?).

Key Dates That Affect Your Business Valuation

The date chosen for valuation can dramatically change the result. Texas courts consider several potentially relevant dates:

• Date of marriage establishes baseline value for separate property businesses
• Date of separation may be relevant if one spouse stopped contributing to the business
• Date of service (when divorce papers were filed) sometimes serves as a practical cutoff
• Date of trial gives the most current picture but may reflect market changes unrelated to either spouse’s efforts

Choosing the right valuation date is a strategic decision. If your business has declined since separation, you may want a later date. If it’s grown substantially, you may prefer an earlier date.

Texas courts have discretion in selecting valuation dates, and the choice often becomes a point of negotiation or litigation.

How Business Value Affects Your Divorce Settlement

Once the court establishes fair market value for the community portion of a business, several options exist for handling it in the final division.

Offset with Other Assets

The most common approach awards the entire business to the operating spouse and compensates the other spouse with a larger share of other community assets. If the community interest in your business is worth $500,000 and your total community estate is $1.5 million, your spouse might receive the house, retirement accounts, and other assets totaling $750,000 while you keep the business.

Structured Buyout

When other assets aren’t sufficient to offset the business value, courts may order a structured buyout. The operating spouse pays the other spouse their share over time, usually with interest. This arrangement can strain cash flow but allows the business to continue operating.

Sale of the Business

In rare cases, courts approve or order the sale of the business with proceeds divided between the spouses. This is typically a last resort when neither spouse can afford a buyout and the parties cannot agree on other arrangements.

What “Just and Right” Means

Texas law requires courts to divide community property in a manner that is “just and right.” This doesn’t necessarily mean 50/50. Judges consider factors including length of marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, who was primarily responsible for building the business, and whether either spouse committed fraud or wasted community assets.

The same business valuation can produce different divisions depending on these factors. A spouse who sacrificed career opportunities to support the other’s business may receive more than 50% of the community estate.

Common Business Valuation Disputes in Texas Divorces

Certain issues arise repeatedly in business valuation cases. Knowing what to expect helps you prepare.

Hidden Income and Underreported Earnings

Business owners who control the books may be tempted to minimize reported income before a divorce. Cash-heavy businesses are particularly susceptible. Forensic accountants can analyze bank deposits, lifestyle expenses, and industry benchmarks to uncover discrepancies.

Excessive Owner Compensation

When normalizing earnings, appraisers must determine reasonable compensation for the owner’s services. An owner who pays themselves $500,000 annually for a role that typically commands $200,000 is suppressing the business’s apparent profitability. The excess compensation should be added back when calculating true earnings.

Goodwill: Personal vs. Enterprise

Goodwill is the value of a business beyond its tangible assets. Texas courts distinguish between enterprise goodwill (which attaches to the business itself) and personal goodwill (which depends on a specific individual’s reputation and relationships).

This distinction matters most in professional practices. A physician’s patient relationships may constitute personal goodwill that shouldn’t be divided. But the practice’s location, staff, systems, and reputation independent of any one doctor would be enterprise goodwill subject to division.

Dueling Experts

Each side typically hires their own business appraiser, and the results can vary wildly. We’ve seen cases where one expert valued a company at $2 million while the opposing expert claimed $5 million. The court must weigh the credibility, methodology, and assumptions of each expert.

Having an attorney who understands business valuation and can effectively cross-examine opposing experts is essential in these cases.

What to Do If You’re Facing Business Valuation in Your Divorce

Protecting your interests requires proactive steps from the beginning.

Gather financial records early. You’ll need several years of tax returns, financial statements, bank records, contracts, and organizational documents. The more complete your records, the more accurate the valuation.

Understand your business’s true worth. Even before hiring a formal appraiser, you should have a sense of what your company might be worth using industry multiples and comparable sales data.

Choose your experts wisely. A credentialed business appraiser (look for CVA, ASA, or ABV designations) with experience in divorce cases and your specific industry will produce more credible testimony than a generalist.

Be honest with your attorney. If there are skeletons in your financial closet, your lawyer needs to know about them before the other side discovers them through discovery.

Think beyond the valuation number. The final outcome depends not just on what the business is worth but on how the court decides to handle that value in the overall property division.

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Valuation in Texas Divorce

Can my spouse take half my business in a Texas divorce?

Your spouse cannot literally take half ownership of your business in most cases. However, they are entitled to their share of the community property value of the business. This usually means you keep the business but compensate your spouse through other assets or a buyout.

What if I started my business before we got married?

A business started before marriage is separate property. However, any increase in value caused by your efforts during the marriage may be community property. You’ll need a valuation at both the date of marriage and the present to determine what portion is subject to division.

Do I need a business valuation expert?

For any business worth more than a nominal amount, yes. Texas courts expect credentialed expert testimony for business valuations. While a business owner can testify to value, that testimony typically carries less weight than formal expert analysis.

How long does business valuation take in a divorce?

A thorough business valuation typically takes 4-8 weeks once the appraiser has all necessary documents. Complex businesses with multiple entities, extensive real estate holdings, or disputed characterization issues may take longer.

Can I get alimony based on my spouse’s business income?

Business income can affect spousal maintenance calculations in Texas. However, Texas has strict limits on spousal maintenance, and it’s only available in specific circumstances. The business’s profitability may be more relevant to property division than ongoing support.

Get Help from an Experienced Texas Divorce Attorney

Business valuation in divorce is too complex and consequential to handle without skilled legal guidance. The decisions made during this process will affect your financial future for years, possibly decades.

At Varghese Summersett, our family law team includes attorneys who understand both the legal framework and the financial intricacies of business valuation disputes. We work with top forensic accountants and business appraisers to ensure our clients’ interests are protected.

Whether you’re the business owner trying to preserve what you’ve built or the spouse seeking your fair share of marital assets, we can help you understand your rights and pursue the best possible outcome.

Contact us today at (817) 900-3220 for a free consultation. We serve clients throughout Texas from our offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Southlake.

Finding the Right Fort Worth Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in Fort Worth, you should contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer immediately. Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule (the “51% bar”) means insurance companies will aggressively try to assign you more fault to reduce or eliminate your compensation. An attorney can protect your rights, preserve evidence, and fight the anti-motorcyclist bias that often influences these cases.

At Varghese Summersett, our personal injury attorneys have represented injured riders across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and understand the unique challenges motorcyclists face after a crash. We know that a motorcycle accident isn’t just a legal matter. It’s a life-altering event that can affect your health, your income, and your family’s future.

Why Motorcycle Accidents in Fort Worth Are So Serious

Motorcycle crashes are fundamentally different from car accidents. With no protective frame, airbags, or seatbelt system, riders absorb the full force of impact. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, motorcyclists are roughly 24 times more likely to die in a collision than occupants of passenger vehicles.

The statistics are sobering. In 2024, Texas recorded 585 motorcycle fatalities and 2,534 serious injuries. That’s an average of one motorcyclist dying every single day on Texas roads. Worse, fatal crashes involving motorcycles at intersections increased by 21% between 2022 and 2023, and overall motorcycle fatalities have risen every year since 2019.

Fort Worth’s rapid growth has created new hazards for riders. The intersection of Interstate 35W and Interstate 30, the heavily trafficked Camp Bowie Boulevard corridor, and the expanding roadways in northwest Fort Worth near the Texas Motor Speedway all present elevated risks for motorcyclists navigating alongside distracted or inattentive drivers.

What Causes Motorcycle Accidents in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area?

Most motorcycle crashes aren’t caused by reckless riding. They’re caused by other drivers who fail to see motorcyclists or misjudge their speed and distance. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 76% of motorcycle accidents involving two or more vehicles, the motorcycle was struck from the front, indicating the other driver simply didn’t see the bike.

The most common causes our attorneys see in Fort Worth motorcycle cases include:

• Left-turn collisions. These occur when a driver turns left at an intersection without noticing an oncoming motorcycle. One-third of all motorcycle fatalities in Texas happen at intersections, making this the single deadliest scenario for riders.
• Lane-change accidents. Motorcycles can disappear in a car’s blind spot. When drivers change lanes without properly checking, they can sideswipe a rider or force them off the road entirely.
• Rear-end collisions. What might be a fender-bender between two cars can be catastrophic for a motorcyclist stopped at a red light. Without a protective structure, even low-speed rear impacts can throw riders from their bikes.
• Door strikes. In urban areas of Fort Worth, parked drivers opening doors without checking for oncoming motorcycles create sudden, unavoidable obstacles. These “dooring” incidents can eject riders at full speed.
• Road hazards. Potholes, debris, uneven pavement, and railroad crossings pose minimal threat to cars but can cause a motorcyclist to lose control instantly. In some cases, the government entity responsible for road maintenance may share liability for the crash.

Understanding Texas’s 51% Bar Rule and How It Affects Your Claim

Texas uses a system called modified comparative negligence, codified in Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. This rule has enormous implications for motorcycle accident victims.

Here’s how it works: If you bear 51% or more of the fault for your accident, you cannot recover any compensation. Period. If you’re found 50% or less at fault, you can still pursue a claim, but your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example, if a jury awards you $100,000 but determines you were 30% responsible for the crash, your recovery would be reduced to $70,000. But if that same jury found you 51% at fault, you’d receive nothing.

This is why insurance companies work so hard to blame motorcyclists. They know that if they can push your fault percentage above that 51% threshold, they eliminate their payout entirely. They’ll argue you were speeding, weaving between lanes, or otherwise riding recklessly, even when the evidence says otherwise.

An experienced Fort Worth motorcycle accident attorney understands these tactics and can gather the evidence needed to counter them: surveillance footage, witness statements, accident reconstruction analysis, and expert testimony that establishes the true cause of your crash.

Texas Motorcycle Helmet Laws: What You Need to Know

Under Texas Transportation Code § 661.003, all motorcycle operators and passengers under 21 must wear a helmet. Riders 21 and older may ride without a helmet only if they meet two specific requirements: completing a state-approved motorcycle safety course and carrying at least $10,000 in health insurance that covers motorcycle injuries.

Texas law prohibits police officers from stopping motorcyclists solely to check whether they qualify for the helmet exemption. However, if you’re pulled over for another reason, officers can ask for proof of your safety course completion or insurance coverage.

What many riders don’t realize is that helmet use can significantly affect your personal injury claim, even if you legally qualified to ride without one. In 2024, 37% of Texas motorcycle fatalities involved riders not wearing helmets. Insurance companies and defense attorneys will argue that your injuries would have been less severe had you worn a helmet, potentially reducing your compensation under the comparative fault rules.

The CDC reports that helmets reduce the risk of motorcycle death by 37% and head injuries by 69%. Even if Texas law gives you the choice, that choice can have legal and financial consequences if you’re ever in a crash.

Common Injuries in Fort Worth Motorcycle Accidents

The lack of protection on a motorcycle means even moderate-speed crashes often result in severe injuries. Our attorneys have represented clients suffering from:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Even with a helmet, the violent forces of a crash can cause concussions, brain swelling, or internal bleeding. TBIs can lead to cognitive impairment, personality changes, and permanent disability.
• Spinal cord injuries. Damage to the spinal cord can result in partial or complete paralysis. These injuries often require lifelong medical care and adaptive equipment.
• Broken bones and fractures. The arms, legs, ribs, pelvis, and collarbone are especially vulnerable. Complex fractures may require multiple surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation.
• Road rash and degloving injuries. When skin scrapes across pavement at speed, it can cause deep abrasions, infections, and permanent scarring. Severe road rash may require skin grafts.
• Internal organ damage. The blunt force of a crash can rupture the spleen, liver, or kidneys, cause internal bleeding, or collapse a lung.
• Amputation. In the most severe crashes, limbs may be lost at the scene or surgically amputated afterward due to irreparable damage.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Motorcycle Accident in Texas?

If another driver’s negligence caused your crash, you may be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include quantifiable losses with specific dollar amounts, while non-economic damages compensate for the personal impact of your injuries.

Economic damages typically include:

• Medical expenses (emergency care, surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, medications, and future medical needs)
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Property damage (motorcycle repair or replacement, gear, equipment)
• Home modifications required by your disability
• Costs of hiring help for tasks you can no longer perform

Non-economic damages may include:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress, anxiety, and depression
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Loss of consortium (impact on your relationship with your spouse)

The value of a motorcycle accident settlement varies enormously based on the severity of injuries, the clarity of fault, available insurance coverage, and the skill of your legal representation. While some minor injury cases settle for $20,000 to $50,000, catastrophic injury cases can reach into the millions.

What If the Other Driver Was Uninsured or Underinsured?

Texas law requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance, but not everyone complies. If the driver who hit you was uninsured or didn’t have enough coverage to compensate you fully, you may still have options.

Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage can step in to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other damages when the at-fault driver can’t pay. Many Texas riders carry this coverage without fully understanding its value.

However, insurance companies don’t make it easy to access UM/UIM benefits, even though you paid for them. They may delay payment, dispute the extent of your injuries, or argue about the applicability of your policy. An attorney can navigate these insurance disputes and ensure you receive what your policy promises.

In some cases, other parties may share liability for your crash: a bar that overserved a drunk driver (under Texas dram shop laws), a vehicle manufacturer responsible for a defective part, or a government entity that failed to maintain safe road conditions.

Wrongful Death Claims After Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

When a motorcycle accident takes a life, Texas law allows surviving family members to pursue a wrongful death claim against the responsible parties. Under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a surviving spouse, children, or parents may sue for damages including:

• Loss of the deceased’s earning capacity and financial contributions
• Loss of companionship, comfort, and guidance
• Mental anguish and emotional suffering
• Funeral and burial expenses

Additionally, the estate of the deceased may file a survival action to recover damages the victim would have been entitled to had they survived, including pain and suffering experienced before death and medical expenses incurred.

Wrongful death claims have the same two-year statute of limitations as personal injury claims. Families dealing with grief should not have to navigate complex legal procedures alone. Our attorneys handle these cases with the sensitivity they require while aggressively pursuing accountability.

Why Insurance Companies Fight Harder Against Motorcyclists<h2

Unfair as it is, insurance companies know that juries can be biased against motorcyclists. Outdated stereotypes paint riders as reckless daredevils who assumed the risk of injury by choosing to ride. Adjusters exploit these biases to push settlements down or deny claims entirely.

This bias affects every stage of a motorcycle accident case. Witnesses who assume the motorcyclist was at fault may report events differently. Police officers influenced by these assumptions may write reports that favor the car driver. Insurance adjusters use this tainted evidence to justify lowball offers.

An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer knows how to counter this bias. We present clear evidence of the other driver’s negligence, work with accident reconstruction experts to demonstrate exactly what happened, and prepare cases that hold up against prejudice, whether in settlement negotiations or before a jury.

Steps to Take After a Motorcycle Accident in Fort Worth

The actions you take immediately after a crash can significantly affect your ability to recover compensation. Here’s what you should do:

Get to safety and call 911. If you’re physically able, move out of traffic. Request police and emergency medical services, even if you think your injuries are minor.

Document everything. Photograph your motorcycle, the other vehicle(s), road conditions, traffic signals, skid marks, and your visible injuries. Capture the surrounding area, weather conditions, and any debris.

Exchange information. Get the other driver’s name, contact details, driver’s license number, insurance information, and vehicle make, model, and license plate.

Get witness contact information. If anyone saw what happened, ask for their name and phone number. Independent witness testimony can be invaluable when the other driver disputes fault.

Seek immediate medical attention. Some injuries, including internal bleeding and traumatic brain injuries, may not show symptoms immediately. A medical evaluation creates documentation linking your injuries to the crash.

Don’t give recorded statements to insurance companies. Adjusters may try to get you on record saying something they can use against you. Politely decline until you’ve spoken with an attorney.

Contact a Fort Worth motorcycle accident lawyer. The sooner you have legal representation, the sooner evidence can be preserved and your interests protected.

How Long Do You Have to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Texas?

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, you have two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline is strictly enforced. If you miss it, you lose your right to pursue compensation, no matter how strong your case.

For wrongful death claims, the two-year clock typically starts on the date of death rather than the date of the accident.

While two years may sound like plenty of time, evidence disappears, witnesses move away, and memories fade. Insurance companies begin building their defense immediately after a crash. The earlier you involve an attorney, the better your chances of a successful outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fort Worth Motorcycle Accidents

Can I still recover compensation if I wasn’t wearing a helmet?

Yes, but it may affect your claim. Texas law allows riders over 21 who meet certain requirements to ride without helmets, but defense attorneys will argue your injuries would have been less severe with one. Your compensation could be reduced under comparative fault rules, though you wouldn’t be barred from recovery entirely.

What if I was partially at fault for the accident?

You can still recover compensation as long as you were 50% or less at fault. Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule, your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault. If you were 20% responsible, you’d receive 80% of your total damages. But if you’re found 51% or more at fault, you receive nothing.

Is lane splitting legal in Texas?

No. Unlike California, Texas has not legalized lane splitting (riding between lanes of slow or stopped traffic). If you were lane splitting when an accident occurred, the other driver’s attorney will certainly use this against you in a fault determination.

How long does a motorcycle accident case take to resolve?

Settlement timelines vary widely. Simple cases with clear liability and moderate injuries may settle within several months. Complex cases involving disputed fault, severe injuries, or multiple defendants can take a year or more, especially if litigation becomes necessary.

How much does a motorcycle accident lawyer cost?

Most personal injury attorneys, including those at Varghese Summersett, work on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront and no legal fees unless we recover compensation for you. This arrangement ensures access to quality legal representation regardless of your financial situation.

Get Help from an Experienced Fort Worth Motorcycle Accident Attorney

A motorcycle accident can change everything in an instant. Medical bills pile up. Lost wages strain your finances. Pain and uncertainty affect every aspect of your life. You shouldn’t have to fight insurance companies alone while trying to recover.

At Varghese Summersett, our team of over 70 attorneys and legal professionals has helped injured Texans across Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Southlake pursue the compensation they deserve. We have the resources, experience, and determination to take on insurance companies and fight for fair outcomes.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, explain your options, and answer your questions with no obligation. Call (817) 203-2220 or contact us online to get started.

Time matters. Evidence fades. Insurance companies are already working against you. Let us work for you.