Fort Worth Personal Injury Lawyer

About Our Fort Worth Office

Patterson Law Group has practiced personal injury law from Fort Worth since the early 1990s. Our Fort Worth office sits at 2409 Forest Park Boulevard, on the south side of downtown near the Cultural District and the Medical District — a few minutes from Texas Health Harris Methodist, Baylor Scott & White All Saints, and the Tarrant County courthouse. The location is no accident. It puts our lawyers, our investigators, and our clients within easy reach of the hospitals where the injuries are treated and the courthouses where the cases are decided.

Thirty-plus years in Tarrant County. That is not a marketing line. Three decades of trying Fort Worth cases means we know the local judges, the local defense firms, the local insurance adjusters, and how Tarrant County juries respond to the kinds of arguments insurers run. The longer a personal injury firm has been in a market, the harder it is to bluff. Carriers know who actually files suit, who shows up to docket call, and who walks cases to verdict. Patterson Law Group has been on that list in Fort Worth longer than most defense lawyers in this county have been licensed.

Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Se Habla Español. That is how every case at our Forest Park office begins. You sit down with an attorney — not an intake screener — and we go through what happened, what the medical picture looks like, and what we think a fair outcome would be. There is no charge to find out, and no obligation to hire us. If we do take the case, you pay nothing out of pocket. We advance the costs of investigation, experts, filing fees, and depositions, and we only recover a fee if we recover money for you. That is the contingency promise, and it is the same in English and Spanish.

Featured Fort Worth Practice Areas

Personal injury is not one thing. Each type of case has its own evidence, its own deadlines, and its own defense playbook. The Fort Worth team at Patterson Law Group practices across the full range of injury cases that arise in Tarrant County, and we maintain dedicated pages for the ones that come through our door most often.

Fort Worth car accident lawyers. Wrecks on I-35W, I-30, I-820, Loop 820, Chisholm Trail Parkway, and the surface streets feeding the Medical District, the Stockyards, and the Cultural District. Rear-end, T-bone, head-on, hit-and-run, and uninsured/underinsured motorist claims.

Fort Worth truck accident lawyers. 18-wheeler and commercial vehicle crashes on the freight corridors that feed Alliance Texas, the BNSF intermodal, and the warehouses on the north and east sides of the city. These cases are governed by both Texas law and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and the evidence — driver logs, ECM downloads, dashcam — disappears fast.

Fort Worth motorcycle accident lawyers. Riders are routinely blamed for crashes that were not their fault. We counter the bias head-on with scene investigation, expert reconstruction, and treating-physician testimony.

Fort Worth wrongful death attorneys. When negligence takes a life, Texas law gives surviving spouses, children, and parents specific claims under the Wrongful Death Act and the Survival Statute. In 2024 our firm secured the highest wrongful death settlement in Texas — an 8-figure result for a Texas family.

Fort Worth slip and fall lawyers. Premises liability cases against grocery stores, apartment complexes, restaurants, hotels, and other property owners across Tarrant County. The proof — surveillance footage, sweep logs, incident reports — has to be preserved fast, often within days of the fall.

We also handle dog bites, pedestrian and bicycle collisions, dram shop, product liability, daycare injuries, and nursing home neglect cases out of the Fort Worth office. If you are not sure whether what happened qualifies as a case, call. The consultation is free, and we will tell you straight.

What to Do After a Fort Worth Accident

The first 72 hours after a crash or fall in Fort Worth set the floor on what your case can become. Evidence vanishes. Surveillance footage gets overwritten. Witnesses scatter. Adjusters call. What you do — and what you don't do — in that window matters enormously. Here is the checklist we give every Fort Worth client.

1. Call 911 and stay at the scene. Get a Fort Worth Police Department or Tarrant County Sheriff's Office officer on scene to generate a crash report. That report becomes the foundation document for everything that follows. Do not negotiate "off the record" with the other driver.

2. Get medical treatment — even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks injuries. TBI symptoms and soft-tissue injuries often do not appear for hours or days. JPS Health Network is Fort Worth's Level I trauma center; Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth and Baylor Scott & White All Saints are also fully equipped to treat serious crash injuries. For children, Cook Children's Medical Center is the regional pediatric trauma center. Refusing the ambulance at the scene is something insurance adjusters use later to argue you "weren't really hurt."

3. Document the scene if you safely can. Photos of vehicle damage, debris, skid marks, traffic signals, weather conditions, your visible injuries. Get the other driver's license, insurance card, and license plate. Photograph the inside of any business where a fall occurred — wet floor signs (or the absence of them), the spill, your surroundings.

4. Get witness names and phone numbers. Witnesses fade fast. A bystander who was happy to talk at the scene becomes impossible to reach two weeks later. Get a name and a number before anyone leaves.

5. Do not give a recorded statement. The other driver's insurer will call within days, in a friendly voice, asking you to "just walk us through what happened." That recording will be combed for any inconsistency or any phrase ("I'm fine," "I didn't see them") that can be twisted into shared fault. You are under no obligation to give one.

6. Do not post on social media. Defense lawyers screenshot Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X. A photo of you smiling at a graduation, a check-in at a gym, a casual "feeling better" post — any of it can be used to argue your injuries are exaggerated. Lock your accounts down and stop posting until your case is closed.

7. Preserve evidence. Do not repair the vehicle until it has been photographed and inspected. Keep the clothes you were wearing. Save every medical bill, every prescription receipt, every mileage record for trips to and from doctors. Keep a daily pain journal.

8. Talk to a Fort Worth personal injury lawyer before signing anything. Not after. Before. The first settlement offer is almost always a fraction of what the case is worth, and once you sign a release, the case is over. Our consultation is free and there is no obligation. Call (817) 784-2000.

Common Injuries We See in Fort Worth Cases

Injury severity drives case value. The defense playbook is to minimize — to argue your pain is pre-existing, your treatment was excessive, your symptoms are subjective. Our job is to document the injury thoroughly enough that those arguments fail. These are the categories we routinely build cases around for Fort Worth and Tarrant County clients.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussions. A blow or violent jolt to the head — even without loss of consciousness — can cause lasting cognitive, behavioral, and emotional changes. TBI symptoms often do not appear for hours or days, which is why we tell clients: do not refuse the ambulance, and follow up with a doctor even if you "feel fine" at the scene. Mild TBI claims get attacked aggressively by insurers; we work with neurologists and neuropsychologists at hospitals like JPS Health Network and Texas Health Harris Methodist to document the injury with imaging, formal testing, and treating-physician opinion.

Spinal cord injuries and herniated discs. A serious wreck on I-35W or a fall in a Fort Worth retail store can rupture discs in the neck or back, pinch nerves, or in catastrophic cases cause partial or complete paralysis. These injuries often require injections, surgery, hardware, and in the worst cases lifetime attendant care. The medical expense and lost earning capacity in these cases is substantial, and they require careful work to document.

Orthopedic injuries — fractures, torn ligaments, joint damage. Broken ribs from a seatbelt, fractured wrists from a fall, torn ACLs, rotator cuff tears, ankle and pelvis fractures from collision impacts. These injuries interrupt work, require physical therapy and often surgery, and frequently leave permanent limitations even after maximum medical improvement.

Internal organ injuries and internal bleeding. Common in high-speed crashes on the interstates around Tarrant County and in pedestrian-vehicle collisions. Often diagnosed only at the trauma center — Fort Worth clients in this category are usually treated at JPS or Baylor Scott & White All Saints. Lacerated spleens, liver injuries, and internal bleeding can be life-threatening and require emergency surgery.

Burns, scarring, and disfigurement. Especially in fire-following crashes and certain premises liability cases. Texas law recognizes disfigurement as a separate, compensable category of harm under the pattern jury charge, and our cases treat it that way.

Pediatric injuries. Children injured in Fort Worth crashes are typically transported to Cook Children's Medical Center, the regional pediatric trauma center. Children's cases require care — minor settlements involve court approval and a friendly suit, and growth-plate and developmental injuries may not fully manifest for years.

Psychological injuries — PTSD, anxiety, depression. Mental injuries are real injuries under Texas law, and we document them with the same rigor as physical ones. Treating therapist records, formal diagnoses, and treating-physician testimony all build the record.

Texas Personal Injury Law: What Tarrant County Plaintiffs Need to Know

Texas law shapes every Fort Worth personal injury case. Five rules in particular control whether a case can be brought, how fault is apportioned, what damages are recoverable, and what gets capped. Plaintiffs in Tarrant County need to understand all five.

Statute of limitations — two years. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003, most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of the injury. Miss the deadline, and the case is gone forever — no matter how clear the negligence. There are limited exceptions (claims involving minors, claims against governmental entities under the Texas Tort Claims Act, which has a much shorter notice deadline), but the safe default is: two years, no exceptions. Hire a lawyer well before the clock runs out.

Modified comparative fault — the 51 percent bar. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001, a plaintiff can recover damages only if their share of responsibility is 50 percent or less. If a Tarrant County jury finds you 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. If they find you 30 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by 30 percent. This is why insurers fight so hard to push fault onto injured plaintiffs — even a small shift in apportionment translates into real dollars off the verdict.

Paid-or-incurred — §41.0105. Texas limits recovery of medical expenses to the amount actually paid by the plaintiff or insurer, plus what remains owed — not the gross amount billed by the hospital. This rule, designed to reduce what injured Texans can recover, is one of the most fought-over in personal injury practice. How medical bills, health insurance contractual adjustments, and liens are handled directly affects what ends up in the client's pocket.

Exemplary damages cap — §41.008. When a defendant's conduct is grossly negligent, malicious, or fraudulent, Texas allows exemplary (punitive) damages. They are capped at the greater of (a) $200,000 or (b) two times economic damages plus an amount equal to non-economic damages up to $750,000. Certain felony-based conduct — intoxication manslaughter, for example — is exempted from the cap. Securing exemplary damages requires clear and convincing evidence, which is a higher burden than the standard preponderance.

Wrongful death — Chapter 71. When negligence causes death, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71 gives the surviving spouse, children, and parents a claim for loss of earnings, loss of care, services, maintenance, support, advice, counsel, and the mental and emotional pain of the loss. The Survival Statute lets the deceased's estate recover for the pain and suffering between injury and death and for funeral expenses. These cases require careful handling — beneficiaries must be properly identified, and the recovery must be apportioned between survivors and the estate.

How Insurance Companies Hurt Fort Worth Injury Victims

Insurance companies are not on your side. That sentence sounds blunt, but it is how every adjuster handbook reads in practice. The other driver's insurer exists to pay you as little as possible. Even your own insurer has a financial interest in minimizing what they pay out on a UM/UIM or PIP claim. Here is how that plays out in Fort Worth cases, and how Patterson Law Group counters it.

The fast lowball offer. Within days of the crash, the adjuster calls and offers a settlement that sounds like a lot of money — until you realize your back surgery is six months away and your lost wages have not been calculated. Once you accept, the case is over. We tell clients: do not sign anything, do not cash any check, until the full scope of the injury is known and treatment has stabilized.

The recorded statement trap. The adjuster will ask, in a friendly tone, to "just get your side of the story." That recording will be combed for any inconsistency, any "I feel okay today," any admission that can later be twisted into shared fault under Texas's modified comparative fault rule (§33.001). You are under no obligation to give one. Don't.

The medical-records fishing expedition. They will ask for a blanket authorization to access every medical record you have — going back years — looking for any prior complaint they can blame your current injuries on. We provide records relevant to the injury at issue, not a fishing license into your entire medical history.

Delay and grind. Some adjusters simply stop returning calls, hoping you will get desperate and accept pennies on the dollar. When deadlines start running, the pressure mounts on the injured plaintiff. We file suit in Tarrant County District Court. The phone rings back fast after that.

Disputing the severity of your injuries. Insurers send your records to a hired "peer review" doctor who concludes — without ever examining you — that your treatment was unnecessary or your pain is exaggerated. We meet that with treating-physician testimony, life-care plans, and where needed, our own retained experts. The defense doctor's report rarely survives a sharp cross-examination.

Surveillance and social media monitoring. Once a claim is opened, defense investigators may follow plaintiffs, photograph them at the gym or carrying groceries, and screenshot every public social media post. We prepare clients for that reality from day one.

Insurance companies count on injured people being scared, in pain, and unfamiliar with the process. The job of a Fort Worth personal injury lawyer is to even the playing field.

What Compensation Can You Recover Under Texas Law?

Texas law divides personal injury damages into three categories. Understanding them is the first step toward understanding what a Fort Worth case is worth.

Economic damages are out-of-pocket losses you can put a number on. Past and future medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, household services, and — in wrongful death cases — funeral and burial expenses. There is no statutory cap on economic damages in most Texas personal injury cases. The fight in this category is usually over future medical care and future earning capacity, which require expert testimony to project.

Non-economic damages are the human losses — physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life. In standard negligence cases (car wrecks on I-35W, truck collisions on I-820, slip-and-falls at a Tarrant County grocery store), Texas does not cap non-economic damages. The exception is medical malpractice cases, which have separate caps under Chapter 74. Non-economic damages are where most of the real fight happens — they are subjective, they are jury-driven, and the difference between a $50,000 and a $500,000 verdict often comes down to how thoroughly the human cost is documented.

Exemplary (punitive) damages are available when the defendant's conduct goes beyond ordinary negligence — gross negligence, fraud, or malice. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §41.008, exemplary damages are generally capped at the greater of (a) $200,000 or (b) two times economic damages plus an amount equal to non-economic damages up to $750,000. The caps do not apply to certain felony-based conduct (intoxication manslaughter is the most common exception in DWI fatality cases).

Wrongful death damages under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71 are available to a surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased. They cover lost earning capacity, loss of care, services, maintenance, support, advice, and counsel, plus the mental and emotional pain and anguish of the loss. The Survival Statute separately allows the estate to recover for the pain and suffering experienced by the decedent between injury and death, plus funeral expenses.

One rule to watch closely: paid-or-incurred (§41.0105). Texas limits recoverable medical expenses to what was actually paid by the plaintiff or insurer, plus what remains owed — not the gross amount billed by the hospital. This rule directly affects what ends up in the client's pocket. How we handle medical bills, health-insurance contractual adjustments, and provider liens is a substantial part of the work on every case.

Where Personal Injury Cases Are Filed in Tarrant County

Where a Fort Worth case is filed depends on how much is at stake and who is being sued. The court system in Tarrant County has three tiers, and knowing which tier a case belongs in is part of building a sound litigation plan.

Tarrant County District Courts — civil district benches at 100 N. Calhoun Street. Cases worth more than $250,000 — and most serious personal injury cases involving permanent injury, surgery, lost earning capacity, or death — are filed in the Tarrant County civil district courts. There are multiple civil district benches, and each has its own judge, docket, and practice quirks. Knowing those quirks matters: how a judge handles discovery disputes, summary-judgment standards, and motions in limine affects trial preparation in a real way.

Tarrant County Courts at Law. County courts at law have civil jurisdiction over cases with amounts in controversy up to $250,000. They handle a substantial share of moderate-severity personal injury cases — soft-tissue injuries, undisputed-liability rear-enders, smaller premises cases. The docket pace is usually faster than district court, which can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on case posture.

Justice of the Peace courts. Tarrant County JP courts have civil jurisdiction up to $20,000. Small property-damage-only claims and very modest injury cases sometimes go here, though personal injury cases that warrant a lawyer almost always belong in county court at law or district court.

Federal court — Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. Cases with diversity of citizenship and more than $75,000 at stake can be — or be removed to — federal court. Trucking cases involving out-of-state defendants frequently land in the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District. Federal practice has different procedural rules and a different jury pool, both of which factor into venue strategy.

Texas Tort Claims Act notice. Cases against governmental entities — the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TxDOT — are governed by the Texas Tort Claims Act, which requires notice within six months (often shorter under city charters) and caps damages. These deadlines are fatal if missed. Any case potentially involving a governmental defendant needs to be in front of a lawyer immediately.

Our Fort Worth Awards & Recognition

Awards do not win cases. Results do. But the recognition our attorneys have earned reflects a long track record of trying cases and recovering for Texas families. The Fort Worth office is proud of credentials we can verify and stand behind.

Super Lawyers. Attorneys at Patterson Law Group have been recognized by Super Lawyers, the peer-nominated and independently-researched rating service that lists only the top 5 percent of lawyers in a state.

AVVO 10.0 ratings. AVVO's 10.0 "Superb" rating reflects a combination of experience, peer endorsements, and disciplinary record. Our attorneys have earned these ratings across multiple practice categories.

$100 Million+ recovered. Across the firm's three decades in Texas personal injury work, Patterson Law Group has recovered more than $100 million for clients. That number represents thousands of families — wrecks, falls, wrongful death claims, catastrophic injuries — across Tarrant, Dallas, Bexar, and surrounding counties.

Top 10 Texas Wrongful Death Settlement, 2024. In 2024, our firm secured the highest wrongful death settlement in the state of Texas — an 8-figure result for a Texas family. The settlement amount is not publicly disclosed under the terms of the resolution.

Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Life Member. The MDAF recognizes trial lawyers who have secured verdicts or settlements of $1 million or more. Life membership reflects a sustained record of high-value resolutions.

5.0 stars across 483+ Google reviews. Across our Fort Worth, Arlington, and San Antonio offices, Patterson Law Group's Google Business Profiles carry a 5.0-star average across more than 483 verified client reviews. Read the reviews directly on Google, where every one of them is verified.

Serving Fort Worth and Nearby Cities

The Fort Worth office serves clients across Tarrant County and the surrounding North Texas suburbs. If you live in one of the communities below — or were injured in one — we have a dedicated page for your city with local hospital, courthouse, and law-enforcement information.

Mid-Cities. Bedford, Hurst, Euless, and Grapevine sit along the I-820 / SH-121 corridor between Fort Worth and DFW Airport. Crashes on Airport Freeway, the 121, and the 183 service roads make up a large share of the Mid-Cities cases we handle.

Northeast Tarrant. Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, and North Richland Hills sit along the SH-114 / SH-26 / SH-377 corridors. Many of our clients in these communities work in Fort Worth or DFW and were injured on the commute.

South Tarrant and Johnson County. Mansfield, Burleson, Crowley, and Cleburne sit south of Fort Worth along the I-35W and US-67 corridors. The growing Chisholm Trail Parkway has driven a steady increase in crash volume across this corridor.

West Tarrant and Parker County. Weatherford, Azle, and Saginaw sit west and northwest of Fort Worth along the I-20 and US-287 corridors. Wrecks here often involve commercial vehicles servicing Alliance and the freight terminals on the north side.

If your city is not listed, that does not mean we cannot help. The Fort Worth office routinely handles cases throughout Tarrant, Parker, Johnson, Wise, and Hood counties. Call (817) 784-2000 for a free consultation, regardless of where in North Texas the accident happened.