Dallas Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Hit by a driver on Central Expressway, LBJ, the Dallas North Tollway, or a Lower Greenville surface street? Patterson Law Group knows Texas motorcycle law cold — the §661.003 helmet rule + §661.003(f) evidentiary bar, the §545.060 lane-splitting prohibition, and the UM/UIM stacking rules that fund rider claims.
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How we serve Dallas clients
Patterson Law Group does not maintain a brick-and-mortar office in Dallas. We serve our Dallas-area clients from our physical offices in Fort Worth (2409 Forest Park Boulevard, about 30 minutes west on I-30), Arlington (2310 W Interstate 20 #100, 20 minutes west on I-30/I-20), and San Antonio (926 Chulie Drive). The initial case review is by phone or Zoom — at no cost — and our attorneys travel to Dallas for depositions, mediations, court hearings, and trial. Signed retainers, medical authorizations, deposition prep, and settlement signings can all be handled remotely when that is what you prefer. We know Texas motorcycle law cold — the §661.003 helmet rule + §661.003(f) evidentiary bar, the §545.060 lane-splitting and lane-usage statute, and the §1952.0511 UM/UIM rules that fund rider claims. We file cases in Dallas County, work with Dallas-area medical providers, and litigate at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building like any local Dallas firm. When your case calls for an in-person attorney at the Dallas County courthouse or across the mediation table, we are there.
Dallas motorcycle accident law — quick answers
- Statute of limitations? Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003. Six-month notice deadlines apply when the City of Dallas, Dallas County, or DART is a defendant under §101.101.
- Helmet defense? Tex. Transp. Code §661.003(f) bars helmet status as evidence of negligence in Texas civil cases. Riders 21+ with $10,000 in medical coverage or DPS training are exempt from the helmet requirement.
- Lane splitting? Not legal in Texas under Tex. Transp. Code §545.060. §545.060(c) does permit two motorcycles to ride two abreast in a single lane.
- Comparative fault? Texas allows recovery if the rider is 50% or less at fault under §33.001. Damages are reduced by the rider's fault percentage.
- UM/UIM? Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 requires Texas insurers to offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing. Stack household policies in low-limit cases.
- Damages? Medical (§41.0105 paid-or-incurred), lost wages, pain and suffering, impairment, disfigurement; exemplary damages under §41.003 when gross negligence (DWI, racing) is shown.
Greater Dallas cities we serve
We represent motorcycle-accident clients across the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metro — Dallas, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, and Ellis counties.
Additional cities served: DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Wylie, Rowlett, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Grand Prairie, and Highland Village. Counties covered: Dallas, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, and Ellis.
What to do after a Dallas motorcycle crash
- Get medical care immediately. Dallas has more high-acuity trauma capacity than any city in North Texas — Parkland Memorial Hospital (Level I trauma, the busiest in Dallas County), Baylor University Medical Center (Level I), Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Medical City Dallas, UT Southwestern, and Texas Health Presbyterian Plano in the northern suburbs. Motorcycle crashes routinely produce concussions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal fractures, internal bleeding, multi-system trauma, and road-rash infections that take time to fully present. Even riders who walk away from the scene should be evaluated within 24 hours.
- Report the crash. Dallas PD handles crashes inside the City of Dallas; smaller cities like Plano, Frisco, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Carrollton, Lewisville, McKinney, and Allen have their own departments. Dallas County Sheriff and the Dallas County Constables handle unincorporated Dallas County. DPS handles state highways, interstates, and the toll roads (Dallas North Tollway, President George Bush Turnpike). Collin County, Denton County, Rockwall County, Kaufman County, and Ellis County sheriffs handle unincorporated portions of their respective counties. Get the case number from the responding officer — that is the key the official CR-3 will be filed under.
- Photograph everything. The bike, the at-fault vehicle, the scene, sight lines from the driver's position, lane markings, skid marks, debris pattern, traffic controls, road conditions, your gear (especially the helmet — its condition is evidence), and visible injuries. Photograph the same scene a second time in daylight if your initial photos were taken at night.
- Get witness contact info. Motorcycle cases turn on who-was-where evidence. Independent witnesses are gold — they did not have a financial stake in the outcome. Get a name and phone number before the witness leaves the scene. Witnesses who walk away rarely come back.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurance company. Their adjusters typically call within 24–48 hours. They are trained to get you to say things that limit your recovery — minimizing injury, undercutting fault, locking in low-ball numbers. Refer them to us.
- Call a lawyer before you sign anything. Early settlement offers from the carrier are almost always low. Once you sign a release, you cannot reopen the claim, even if your injuries turn out to be worse than expected. We send preservation-of-evidence letters within hours so dashcam, traffic-cam, business surveillance, and the at-fault vehicle's ECM (event data recorder) are locked down before the carrier or its insured can spoliate them.
Texas motorcycle law — what Dallas riders should know
Two-year statute of limitations
Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003 gives you two years from the date of the crash. Claims against the City of Dallas, Dallas County, DART, or other governmental defendants may have Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as six months under §101.101. The City of Dallas charter is even tighter — six-month written notice is a hard bar.
Modified comparative fault (§33.001)
Under §33.001, Texas follows a 51% bar rule: you can recover damages as long as you are 50% or less at fault. The defense will push fault hard against motorcycle riders — we counter with reconstruction evidence, ECM data, traffic-camera footage, and the responding officer's CR-3 contributing-factor codes.
Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)
§41.0105 limits medical-bill recovery to amounts actually paid or incurred — particularly important for clients with substantial Parkland or Baylor trauma stays. Documenting both billed and paid amounts protects the recoverable value of medical specials.
Helmet rule and §661.003(f)
Texas Transportation Code §661.003 requires helmets generally but exempts riders 21+ who carry at least $10,000 in medical-insurance coverage or who completed a DPS-approved motorcycle operator training course. §661.003(f) bars helmet status as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence in a Texas civil case.
Lane splitting and lane usage (§545.060)
Texas Transportation Code §545.060 requires a motor vehicle to be driven within a single marked lane. Texas does not authorize lane splitting or lane filtering. §545.060(c) does permit two motorcycles to ride two abreast in a single lane.
Following too closely (§545.062)
§545.062 prohibits following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent. Rear-end crashes into stopped or slowing motorcycles are a routine fact pattern in Dallas's Central Expressway and LBJ corridors.
UM/UIM coverage for riders (§1952.0511)
UM and UIM coverage on your own auto or motorcycle policy fills the gap when the at-fault driver has no insurance or low limits. Under Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511, insurers must offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing. A resident relative's policy may also apply.
Exemplary damages (§41.003)
§41.003 permits exemplary damages on clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Drunk driving, racing, knowing distraction, and street racing all support gross-negligence pleadings. §41.008 caps exemplary damages with statutory exceptions including felony DWI.
Wrongful Death Act (Chapter 71)
Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 71 governs wrongful death and survival actions. Surviving spouse, children, and parents can recover for loss of love, companionship, financial support, and mental anguish. The survival statute (§71.021) preserves the rider's own pre-death pain-and-suffering claim for the estate.
Stowers doctrine
When the at-fault carrier refuses a reasonable within-limits demand on a severe-injury motorcycle case, the Texas Stowers doctrine exposes the insurer to liability for any excess judgment — important leverage when rider injuries blow past available policy limits.
Hospital liens
Texas hospitals can attach liens to settlements under the Texas Hospital and Emergency Services Lien Act (Tex. Prop. Code Chapter 55). Parkland and Baylor hospital liens are routine in Dallas motorcycle cases. We negotiate liens down to maximize the rider's net recovery.
Dallas's most crash-prone motorcycle corridors
- Central Expressway (US-75). Heavy commuter traffic between downtown and the northern suburbs (Richardson, Plano, Allen). Lane-change crashes from drivers failing to check blind spots are routine.
- LBJ Freeway (I-635) and LBJ TEXpress managed lanes. Managed-lane merging confusion and the tight curvature around the High Five interchange at US-75 produce severe motorcycle crashes.
- Dallas North Tollway. High posted speeds and weekend leisure traffic to and from Plano, Frisco, and The Colony. The Tollway-LBJ interchange concentrates crashes.
- I-30 east-west through downtown. The Canyon and the mixmaster interchange with I-35E, I-45, and US-75 concentrate crashes in a tight downtown footprint.
- I-35E through downtown and the Stemmons Freeway corridor. Construction zones and heavy commercial-truck volume between the Trinity River bridges and the Northwest Highway interchange.
- I-345 connector. The elevated structure linking I-45 to US-75 through downtown — short merges and tight geometry.
- Spur 366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway). The downtown-to-Uptown connector. Sudden-stop crashes at the Klyde Warren Park overpass.
- Loop 12 (Northwest Highway / Walton Walker). The original Dallas loop. Mixed commercial and commuter traffic, frequent left-turn crashes at signalized intersections.
- President George Bush Turnpike (SH-190). The outer ring through Garland, Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, and Irving. 70 mph speed limits.
- I-45 south of downtown. Heavy commercial-truck volume on the route to Houston.
- South Dallas FM-roads. Two-lane rural sections (FM-1382, FM-3, FM-148) where drivers misjudge passing distance produce head-on motorcycle crashes.
- White Rock Lake and Trinity Forest perimeter. Recreational weekend riding routes. Slow vehicle-vs-motorcycle crashes at intersections and parking-lot turn-ins.
Common Dallas motorcycle crash types
Most Dallas motorcycle cases fall into a handful of recurring collision patterns. Each one has its own liability fingerprint, evidence checklist, and defense playbook. We have dedicated case pages for the four most common:
- Dallas head-on motorcycle crashes — wrong-way and crossover collisions on FM roads, divided highways, and managed lanes.
- Dallas intersection motorcycle crashes — left-turn and red-light collisions, the most common Dallas-area rider fatality pattern.
- Dallas rear-end motorcycle crashes — distracted-driving impacts into stopped or slowing riders on Central Expressway and LBJ.
- Dallas T-bone motorcycle crashes — side-impact collisions at uncontrolled or poorly-signaled intersections.
Where greater-Dallas motorcycle cases are heard
Dallas County
Civil personal injury cases in Dallas County are heard at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75202. Dallas County operates more than two dozen civil district courts, including the 14th, 44th, 68th, 95th, 101st, 116th, 134th, 160th, 162nd, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 298th, and 330th District Courts.
Collin & Denton Counties
Collin County (Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Wylie) cases go to the Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney — the 199th, 219th, 296th, 366th, 380th, 401st, and 416th District Courts. Denton County (Lewisville, Carrollton, Denton, Highland Village) cases go to the Denton County Courts Building, 1450 E McKinney Street, Denton — the 16th, 158th, 211th, 362nd, 393rd, and 431st District Courts.
Federal court (N.D. Tex.)
Cases with diversity of citizenship or substantial federal-law issues can be filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, 1100 Commerce Street, Dallas.
Rockwall County cases go to the Rockwall County Courthouse at 1101 Ridge Road, Rockwall. Kaufman County cases go to the Kaufman County Courthouse at 100 W Mulberry Street, Kaufman. Ellis County cases go to the Ellis County Courthouse at 109 S Jackson Street, Waxahachie.
Damages available in a Dallas motorcycle accident case
Economic damages
- Past and future medical expenses (§41.0105 paid-or-incurred)
- Past lost wages and future loss of earning capacity
- Property damage to motorcycle, helmet, riding gear
- Out-of-pocket costs (mileage, prescriptions, durable medical equipment)
- Life-care planning costs in catastrophic-injury cases
Non-economic damages
- Past and future physical pain and suffering
- Past and future mental anguish
- Past and future physical impairment
- Disfigurement (road rash, surgical scarring, burn scarring)
- Loss of consortium for a spouse
Exemplary (punitive) damages
Under §41.003 — clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. DWI, racing, street takeovers, and knowing distraction (texting) all support gross-negligence pleadings. §41.008 caps exemplary damages with statutory exceptions including felony DWI.
Wrongful Death recovery (Chapter 71)
If a Dallas rider dies in a motorcycle crash, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71 governs. Statutory beneficiaries — surviving spouse, children, parents — recover for loss of love, companionship, financial support, mental anguish. The §71.021 survival statute preserves the rider's pre-death pain-and-suffering claim for the estate. Read more on Dallas wrongful death cases.
Common questions from Dallas motorcycle clients
What is the deadline to file a Dallas motorcycle accident lawsuit?
Is not wearing a helmet a defense to my Dallas motorcycle injury claim?
Is lane splitting legal in Texas?
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance or low limits?
What if I was partially at fault for the Dallas motorcycle crash?
Where will my Dallas motorcycle case be filed?
What hospitals handle the most severe motorcycle injuries in Dallas?
Does Patterson Law Group have an office in Dallas?
How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group for a Dallas motorcycle case?
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Legally reviewed by Travis Patterson, Managing Partner of Patterson Law Group.