Car Accidents

By Andrew Traub

Austin Car Accident Lawyers: Our Legal Advocates

If you’ve been involved in a Texas car accident, you know the moment: the screech, the impact, the sudden fear that you or a passenger isn’t okay. Insurance companies routinely underpay accident victims — it protects their profits. If you’ve been hurt in an Austin car accident, the Traub Law Office can help you pursue fair compensation for your injuries, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Don’t dismiss seemingly minor aches or pains after a crash — they can worsen over time. See a doctor promptly. A medical evaluation creates the documented link between the accident and your injury that a claim depends on, especially if symptoms develop or worsen later.

Texas Auto Injury Law

Comparative Fault and the 51% Bar Rule

Texas uses “modified comparative fault”: your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If an accident causes $100,000 in damages and you’re found 30% at fault, you’d recover $70,000. Under Texas’s 51% bar rule, if you’re found 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing at all.

Insurance companies know this rule well, and they use it — assigning you more fault than you actually bear reduces what they have to pay. This is where an experienced car accident lawyer earns their fee: pushing back on an inflated fault percentage can be the difference between a fair recovery and nothing.

For more on auto insurance requirements in Texas, see the Texas Department of Insurance’s official guide.

How Insurance Companies Actually Work Against You

The law isn’t always as fair to injured people as it should be, and it’s tilted further over the last decade. Two examples:

Insurance companies employ in-house defense attorneys — firms with names like Susan Florence & Associates or The Law Office of Gregory V. DeBernard (formerly The Law Offices of Kelly O’Connor) — who never disclose that they work for Allstate or USAA. Under Texas law, a jury isn’t told the defendant has insurance; you can only sue the at-fault driver, not their insurer, so the insurance company’s involvement stays hidden from the jury. These firms are paid a fixed salary regardless of whether your case settles or goes all the way to trial, so cost is never a reason for them to offer you more.

Since 2003, Texas law has also let the at-fault party benefit from the discount your own health insurance negotiated for your treatment — even though you paid premiums for that coverage, not them. It sounds backwards, because it is, but it’s the law, and it has saved insurance companies billions of dollars in payouts.

Statute of Limitations for Texas Car Accident Claims

In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file an injury lawsuit. Certain circumstances can affect this deadline, so it’s worth talking to an attorney early rather than waiting until it’s close.

Do Damage Caps Apply to Car Accident Cases in Texas?

Generally, no — standard car accident cases in Texas are not subject to damage caps. Caps only apply in specific situations:

• Medical malpractice claims: non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are capped at $250,000 per provider, up to $500,000 if multiple institutions are involved, and $750,000 total. Economic damages like medical bills and lost wages are not capped.
• Government entities: the Texas Tort Claims Act caps recovery at $250,000 per person / $500,000 per incident against the state, or $100,000 per person / $300,000 per incident against local governments.
• Punitive damages: capped at the greater of $200,000, or twice economic damages plus non-economic damages, up to $750,000.

For a standard car accident claim, your recovery is limited by available insurance coverage and the at-fault party’s ability to pay — not by a statutory cap. Always confirm the specifics with an attorney, since laws and their interpretation change over time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Car Accidents in Austin

What types of damages can I claim after a car accident in Texas?

You can generally claim compensatory damages — both economic (medical expenses, lost wages, property damage) and non-economic (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). Exemplary (punitive) damages are rare, reserved for fraudulent, malicious, or grossly negligent conduct.

Can slow-moving accidents still cause serious injuries?

Yes. Even a low-speed fender bender can jolt your body enough to cause whiplash, a concussion, or soft tissue damage — neck and back strains, sprains, muscle tears, and bruising are all common. Don’t brush off pain after a “minor” crash; get checked out and document it.

Is my car accident worth claiming?

If you were hurt or incurred real costs, and the other driver was at fault — reckless driving, a traffic violation, or plain carelessness — you likely have a claim worth pursuing.

Why The Traub Law Office?

As an Austin car accident lawyer practicing in Austin, Texas for over two decades, I’ve had to help many people suffering through injuries, medical bills, lost income, and sometimes facing eviction and starvation because of how someone’s carelessness has now impacted their lives.

Unfortunately, auto accidents occur too often because someone is needlessly careless – distracted by their phone, child, or another passenger. Sometimes it’s worse – the driver is drunk or intoxicated or texting or reading a book. Other times, the driver is simply in a hurry and doesn’t realize that a several hundred-pound chunk of steel moving at high velocity has substantial force – it’s simply mass times velocity equals force – and tragedy can occur.

Many crash victims, especially those with neck injuries, have lifelong problems while a few lucky ones heal after a few months. In every case, vigorous fighting for our clients is involved which means not only knowing the law and the facts but being able to counter the medical doctors the insurance companies hire to try to make you out as a “lottery winner,” and keeping the jury focused on the truths and not the insurance defense lawyer lies.

Insurance companies are only interested in one thing – their profits. They see you as someone trying to decrease their profits. They don’t care if you were injured or how it has affected your life. They only care how they can get away with not paying you or how little they must pay. They only pay what you make them pay. It’s a zero-sum game to them, meaning someone has to win and someone has to lose. They’ll put those billions of dollars of insured’s money to make sure they win and not you.

How much do you charge for legal representation?

What to expect in Austin car accident injury claims.

Our injury lawyers do not collect fees until we successfully resolve your case.

Retaining legal counsel with The Traub Law Office means there is no risk to you. Our Austin car accident lawyers work on contingency, meaning you will not pay any upfront costs or legal fees. If we successfully recover money for you, we will take our fees out of your settlement or judgment. You can also speak with your Austin car accident lawyers about help with medical bills.

If you were involved in an accident in Texas contact the Austin car accident lawyers at the Traub Law Office, P.C. today.

What areas does the firm serve in Central Texas?

While we can and do assist clients all over Texas, our firm caters to clients from a wide range of areas, including, but not limited to:

• Austin
• Cedar Park
• Round Rock
• Georgetown
• Pflugerville
• Dripping Springs
• West Lake Hills
• Rollingwood
• Barton Creek
• Manchaca
• Sunset Valley
• Lost Creek
• Wells Branch
• Onion Creek

Our dedication to serving these communities underscores our commitment to helping neighbors and residents throughout Central Texas dealing with the aftermath of car accidents. If you are located in this region and have suffered from such an incident, we are readily available to assist.