If someone sues you after a car accident in Texas, do three things in order:
- Do not ignore the court papers.
- Send them to your auto insurance company the same day they arrive.
- Make sure a written answer is filed with the court before the deadline on your citation.
Your answer is the written response your side files, and the petition lists the claims against you. Being sued after a car accident in Texas is an allegation, not a finding of fault, and the claim and the lawsuit now run on separate court deadlines no adjuster controls.
How Long Do You Have to Respond to a Texas Car Accident Lawsuit?
Your deadline to respond is printed on the citation you were served. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 99, that deadline is 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next after 20 days from the date of service, and the safe assumption is that it is the shortest deadline in the case.
Service starts that clock, and a pending insurance claim does not pause it. If you file nothing, the court can enter a default judgment, deciding the case without hearing your side at all.
Separately, Texas gives the other driver two years to sue you, starting on the day the crash caused the injury.
Send the Lawsuit to Your Insurance Company the Same Day
The petition and citation should go to your carrier the day they reach you. Your auto insurer cannot defend a lawsuit it does not know about.
Texas requires a minimum auto policy that covers $30,000 for one person’s injury or death, $60,000 for two or more people hurt in one collision, and $25,000 for property damage.
Ask your carrier in writing whether it will hire a lawyer for you. That duty comes from your policy, not a statute.
How Texas Splits the Blame in a Car Accident Lawsuit
In a Texas car accident lawsuit, blame is not all-or-nothing. The trier of fact, the judge or jury deciding the facts, assigns a percentage of responsibility to the person suing, each person sued, anyone who settled, and anyone properly named a responsible third party. Lawyers call this split proportionate responsibility.
Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility law, a claimant, meaning the person suing, recovers nothing if they are found more than 50% responsible.
You may also be able to bring another driver into the case as a responsible third party, though strict deadlines apply well before trial. A car accident service page can walk you through how fault gets decided after a Texas crash.
What Happens If the Claim Is Bigger Than Your Policy Limits?
If a lawsuit demands more than your policy will pay, the gap is yours to cover. Minimum coverage stops at the statutory floor, so a serious injury can easily produce a demand well above that amount.
Texas law still shields some of what you own from a judgment creditor, the side collecting on the judgment:
- Your homestead and burial lots: Creditors generally cannot seize them, except for a lien or other encumbrance properly fixed on the homestead.
- Your personal property: Up to $100,000 in total value for a family, or $50,000 for a single adult, with liens excluded.
Exemption law is no defense to the lawsuit itself. Which assets qualify is a question for a lawyer looking at your specific papers.
Filing Your Own Claim If You Were Hurt in the Same Crash
Being sued does not cancel your own claim. Texas law preserves a window to bring your own counterclaim even when the ordinary deadline has passed, if you were also hurt in the same collision.
Texas law lets you file a claim from the same crash even though the ordinary deadline would otherwise bar it as a separate suit. It must be filed within 30 days after your answer is due, and that window can stay open after the two-year deadline has passed.
Car Accident Lawsuit Questions Texas Drivers Also Ask
Can an Insurance Company Sue You After a Car Accident in Texas?
An insurer that paid personal injury protection benefits usually cannot sue you to get that money back, even if the crash was your fault. Lawyers call that kind of claim subrogation.
There is one exception. Under a specific rule in the Texas Insurance Code, the insurer can pursue you if you had not established financial responsibility, meaning coverage or proof of it, for the vehicle you were driving that day.
Does the Filing Deadline Change If the Crash Caused a Death?
Yes. The same two-year window still applies, but it runs from the date of death instead of the date of the crash.
Does Being Served Mean the Court Has Already Decided You Were at Fault?
No. Fault gets decided later, based on the evidence both sides present, not at the moment a petition is filed.
Before You Answer, Talk to a Texas Injury Lawyer
Before you respond to a car accident lawsuit, have a Texas injury lawyer read the petition with you. The response deadline and the split of fault are both decided early and hard to undo, and your answer date is the one line you cannot renegotiate.
Mokaram Injury Lawyers’ founder, Ali Mokaram, has been a Texas lawyer since November 1995. Our team handles the calls and paperwork while you recover, and we answer around the clock. We offer a free case review and charge no fee unless we win. Case expenses such as filing fees, expert costs, and medical record fees are generally advanced by our firm and repaid from your settlement or award. Our published results include a $3 million car accident settlement.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Houston for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident in Houston, Texas, our team is ready to fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact our experienced personal injury attorneys at Mokaram Injury Lawyers and request your free, no-obligation consultation today.
We proudly serve Harris County and its surrounding areas:
Mokaram Injury Lawyers
Address: 2500 W Loop S #450, Houston, TX 77027
Phone: 281-222-2222
Hours: Open 24/7
Our firm is located near you. Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 29.74123620, -95.45899350
