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Texas Car Accident Injuries — Complete Guide

Common Car Accident Injuries in Texas

From whiplash and concussion to spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury — what every Texas car-crash victim should know about diagnosis, documentation, treatment, and damages. Patterson Law Group has spent 30+ years documenting these injuries for Texas juries. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.

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Common car accident injuries — quick answers

  • Most common? Whiplash and cervical soft-tissue strain — present in roughly 70% of rear-end crashes.
  • Delayed onset? Soft-tissue symptoms peak 24-72 hours after impact. Get medical care within 24 hours.
  • TBI signs? Headache, dizziness, cognitive slowing, mood changes, memory issues. Get neuro evaluation.
  • Pre-existing conditions? Texas "eggshell plaintiff" rule — at-fault driver responsible for exacerbation.
  • Damages range? Soft-tissue $25K-$100K typical, surgery cases $100K-$1M, catastrophic 7-8 figures.
  • Statute of limitations? Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003.

Why documentation of crash injuries matters as much as treatment

Texas insurance carriers and defense lawyers approach every car-accident case with a single goal: minimize what they pay. The most effective tool they have is to attack the medical record — questioning whether the injury was actually caused by the crash, whether the treatment was necessary, whether the symptoms are real or "subjective," and whether pre-existing conditions account for the complaints. A polished medical record built on contemporaneous care, objective testing, and consistent treating-physician opinion is what beats those defenses.

The first 24 hours after a crash are the single most important documentation window. ER or urgent-care evaluation produces an objective record dated to the date of the crash. Imaging — even when "negative" — documents the absence of pre-existing pathology. Triage notes capture pain location, mechanism, and initial neurological assessment. Patients who don't seek immediate care give the defense ammunition to argue the injury was not crash-related.

The next critical decision is the treating-physician selection. Texas allows full continuity of care from primary-care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, neurosurgeons, physical-medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialists, pain-management physicians, neuropsychologists, and physical therapists. We coordinate with North Texas providers including JPS Health Network, Texas Health Resources, Methodist Health System, Baylor Scott & White, Cook Children's (pediatric), Parkland (Level I trauma), UMC in Lubbock, and Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio.

The most common Texas car accident injuries

Whiplash and cervical strain

The most common car-accident injury, present in approximately 70% of rear-end crashes. Mechanism: rapid acceleration-deceleration stretches cervical soft tissues. Symptoms peak 24-72 hours post-crash. Treatment: physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, sometimes injections. Documentation: imaging baseline, persistent-symptom log, FCE if chronic.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Concussion through severe brain damage. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, cognitive slowing, mood changes, memory deficits. Diagnosis: clinical assessment, sometimes CT or MRI. Severe cases require ICU and rehabilitation. Documentation: neuropsychological testing, treating neurologist opinion, life-care planning.

Spinal cord injury

Compression, contusion, or transection of the spinal cord — produces partial or complete paralysis below the injury level. Lifetime medical and functional consequences. Documentation: detailed MRI, ASIA exam, life-care planning, vocational expert.

Herniated and bulging discs

Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are routine in high-impact crashes. Diagnosis: MRI. Treatment: conservative (PT, injections) progressing to surgical (laminectomy, discectomy, fusion). Pre-existing degenerative disc disease commonly aggravated.

Fractures

Lower-extremity fractures from steering-column or dashboard impact (tibia, fibula, femur), upper-extremity from bracing (radius, ulna, humerus, clavicle), rib fractures from seat-belt loading, pelvic fractures in high-impact crashes.

Internal organ injuries

Splenic rupture, liver laceration, kidney injury, bowel perforation, pulmonary contusion. Often require emergency surgery. Diagnosis: CT imaging, FAST exam.

Facial injuries

From airbag deployment, steering-wheel impact, or shattered glass. Orbital fractures, nasal fractures, maxillofacial injuries, dental injuries. Often require oral-maxillofacial surgery.

Burn injuries

Post-crash vehicle fires, airbag chemical burns, friction burns from seat-belt loading. See our burn injury page for full coverage.

Texas damages framework for car accident injuries

Two-year statute of limitations (§16.003)

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 — two years from the date of the crash for personal-injury claims. Minors get tolling under §16.001.

Modified comparative fault (§33.001)

51% bar — you can recover damages as long as you were 50% or less at fault. Damages reduced by your fault percentage.

Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)

Limits medical-bill recovery to amounts actually paid or incurred. Critical because billed amounts are routinely 2-3x paid amounts in Texas hospital systems.

Eggshell plaintiff rule

Texas common-law rule — the at-fault driver takes the plaintiff as they find them. Pre-existing conditions that are aggravated by the crash are fully compensable.

PIP and MedPay

Texas auto policies include PIP at $2,500 default unless rejected. PIP pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault.

UM/UIM coverage (§1952.0511)

Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 requires Texas insurers to offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing. Critical when at-fault driver has minimum coverage and injuries exceed limits.

Exemplary damages (§41.003)

Available on clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence — DWI, racing, knowing distraction (texting), repeated traffic violations.

No statutory cap on non-economic damages

Texas does NOT cap non-economic damages in ordinary motor-vehicle injury cases. Medical-malpractice caps under §74.301-302 do not apply.

How to protect your car injury claim from Day One

  1. Get medical care within 24 hours. Even when you feel fine. Adrenaline masks pain; soft-tissue and concussion symptoms develop over 24-72 hours.
  2. Follow through on treatment. Gaps in care are weaponized by defense to argue you weren't really hurt. Attend every appointment.
  3. Tell every provider about every symptom. If the provider doesn't write it down, it didn't happen as far as the carrier is concerned.
  4. Keep a symptom and impact journal. Document daily pain levels, sleep disruption, activity limitations, mood, and missed work. This becomes evidence at trial.
  5. Photograph visible injuries. Bruising, swelling, lacerations, surgical scars over time. Pictures don't fade like memories.
  6. Save every medical bill and EOB. §41.0105 paid-or-incurred documentation requires both billed and paid amounts.
  7. Don't post on social media about the crash, injuries, or activities. Carriers monitor and screenshot every public post. A photo of you smiling at a barbecue becomes "look, she's not really hurt."
  8. Get a Texas personal injury lawyer involved early. The investigation, expert workup, and damages strategy are all easier to build when started immediately.

Related Texas car accident resources

Common questions about car accident injuries

What are the most common injuries from Texas car accidents?
Whiplash and other cervical-spine soft-tissue injuries (the single most common — present in roughly 70% of rear-end crashes), traumatic brain injuries (TBI) ranging from concussion to severe brain damage, spinal cord injuries (often producing partial or complete paralysis in severe cases), fractures (especially extremity fractures from steering-column impact and shoulder/clavicle from seat-belt loading), internal organ injuries (splenic rupture, liver laceration, pulmonary contusion), facial injuries from airbag deployment, and burn injuries from post-crash vehicle fires.
Why do car accident injuries sometimes not show up until days later?
Adrenaline and shock mask pain at the crash scene. Soft-tissue injuries (whiplash, muscle strains, ligament tears) often peak in symptom severity 24-72 hours after the crash. Closed-head injuries (concussion, TBI) can have a delayed-onset symptom progression as inflammation develops. Internal bleeding may not produce noticeable symptoms for hours. This is why we always recommend a medical evaluation within 24 hours of any crash, even when you 'feel fine' at the scene. Gaps in treatment are weaponized by insurance defense to argue the injury wasn't caused by the crash.
What is whiplash and how is it diagnosed?
Whiplash is a cervical strain injury caused by rapid acceleration-deceleration of the head and neck — most commonly in rear-end crashes. The mechanism stretches and tears the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) of the neck. Diagnosis combines patient history, physical examination, and imaging (X-ray, MRI). Imaging often shows no acute findings but the injury is real — chronic whiplash can persist for months or years. The defense will argue 'soft-tissue, no objective findings' — we counter with treating physician testimony, functional capacity evaluations, and persistent-symptom documentation.
How are TBI cases different in Texas?
Traumatic brain injury cases routinely require neurology, neuropsychology, and life-care planning experts to fully document the injury. Mild TBI (concussion) symptoms — cognitive slowing, memory issues, headaches, mood changes — can persist for months and sometimes years. Severe TBI cases produce permanent cognitive, behavioral, and motor deficits. Texas allows full economic and non-economic damage recovery for TBI; we work with neuropsychological testing to objectively document deficits the defense will otherwise dismiss.
What if I had a pre-existing condition?
Texas follows the 'eggshell plaintiff' rule — the at-fault driver takes the plaintiff as they find them. If a crash exacerbated a pre-existing condition (degenerative disc disease, prior cervical injury, prior concussion), the at-fault driver is responsible for the exacerbation. The defense will argue the symptoms were pre-existing — we counter with treating physician testimony distinguishing pre-crash baseline from post-crash deterioration.
How much are damages worth for common Texas car accident injuries?
Texas damages calculation depends on injury severity, treatment cost, lost wages, permanent impairment, and pain and suffering — there's no formula. General benchmarks: soft-tissue cases with full recovery typically settle in the $25,000-$100,000 range; cases requiring surgery or producing permanent impairment range $100,000-$1M+; severe TBI and spinal-cord cases with lifetime care needs exceed $1M routinely and can reach 7-8 figures. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §41.0105 limits medical-bill recovery to amounts paid or incurred.
What if the injury is permanent?
Permanent-impairment cases unlock additional damage categories — life-care planning, future loss of earning capacity, and substantially higher non-economic damages for impairment and disfigurement. Texas does not cap non-economic damages in ordinary personal-injury cases (medical-malpractice cases have separate caps under §74.301-302 that do not apply to motor-vehicle cases).
How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group?
Nothing up front. We take Texas car injury cases on contingency — no fees unless we recover. We advance investigation, expert, and litigation costs. Free consultation, no obligation. Se habla español.

Injured in a Texas car accident? Talk to a trial lawyer today.

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