Galveston & Upper Texas Coast Personal Injury Attorneys · 30+ Years

Galveston Personal Injury Lawyer

Hurt in a wreck on I-45, a cruise-ship injury, a Jones Act maritime case, a refinery accident, or a hurricane displacement case? Patterson Law Group has recovered $100 Million+ for injured Texans. Free phone or Zoom consultation. No fee unless we win.

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How we serve Galveston clients

Patterson Law Group does not maintain a brick-and-mortar office in Galveston. We serve Galveston County and the upper Texas Gulf Coast from our Fort Worth and San Antonio offices. The initial case review is by phone or Zoom — at no cost — and our attorneys travel to Galveston for depositions, mediations, court hearings, and trial. Cruise-line and maritime cases are time-critical: contractual notice deadlines on cruise tickets can be as short as six months. Read the back of your ticket and call us right away.

Cities we serve in Galveston County and the upper Texas coast

Galveston Texas City La Marque Dickinson Hitchcock Santa Fe Bolivar Peninsula

Counties covered: Galveston, plus adjacent Brazoria, Harris, and Chambers.

What to do after a Galveston accident or cruise-line injury

Get medical care immediately. UTMB Galveston (John Sealy Hospital) is the Level I trauma center for the upper Texas coast and one of the major trauma resources for Southeast Texas — and it sits on the island, so it sees the bulk of serious-injury cases from anywhere on Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula, and the cruise terminal. UTMB also operates a major burn unit. UTMB League City Campus and Mainland Medical Center (Texas City) handle a significant share of mainland-Galveston-County emergency care.
For cruise-ship cases, preserve the ticket and the medical log. Photograph the ticket terms and conditions, the onboard incident report, the infirmary visit summary, and any guest-service correspondence. Cruise contracts often dictate venue (typically S.D. Fla.) and shorten limitations — written notice deadlines of six months and one-year suit deadlines are common.
Report the crash or incident. Galveston PD handles crashes on the island. Texas City, La Marque, Dickinson, Hitchcock, and Santa Fe have their own departments. Galveston County Sheriff handles unincorporated areas including Bolivar Peninsula. DPS handles I-45, SH-87, FM-3005 (Seawall Blvd / San Luis Pass Rd). For maritime incidents, the U.S. Coast Guard takes the initial report.
Photograph everything.
Do not give a recorded statement.
Call a lawyer before you sign anything. Cruise-line incident-report waivers and "settlement program" releases routinely show up at the infirmary or guest-service desk. Do not sign anything without legal review.

Texas and maritime law — what Galveston clients should know

Two-year Texas statute of limitations

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003 gives you two years from the date of the injury for most personal injury and wrongful death claims.

Three-year maritime limitations

Jones Act and general-maritime claims have a federal three-year period under 46 U.S.C. §30106 — but contractual notice and limitations clauses on cruise tickets can shorten this dramatically (often to six months / one year).

Modified comparative fault

Texas state-court cases follow the 51% bar under §33.001. Maritime cases follow pure comparative fault — any percentage of contributory fault only reduces, never bars, recovery.

Paid or incurred medical bills

§41.0105 limits state-court medical damages to amounts paid or incurred. Maritime cases include "maintenance and cure" — the vessel owner's duty to pay a daily living allowance and medical care for an injured seaman.

Wrongful Death Act and DOHSA

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71 governs Texas wrongful death actions. For deaths on the high seas (more than 3 nautical miles offshore), the Death on the High Seas Act governs and limits recovery to pecuniary damages.

Texas Tort Claims Act notice

Claims against governmental entities (City of Galveston, County, Port Authority, Park Board) have notice deadlines as short as six months under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Hurricane-related re-entry or evacuation cases against governmental entities often involve these timelines.

Galveston's most crash-prone corridors

I-45 (Gulf Freeway). The lifeline between Houston and the island. The Houston-to-League-City-to-Texas-City stretch is one of the highest-volume crash corridors in Texas.
SH-87 (Seawall Blvd). The bayfront route on the island. Heavy tourist and beach traffic.
FM-3005 (San Luis Pass Rd). The west-end route to San Luis Pass and Surfside. Long open stretches with severe crashes.
Causeway and Pelican Island Causeway. The two main bridges connecting the island. Hurricane evacuation chokepoints.
Bolivar Peninsula and the Bolivar Ferry. SH-87 east of the ferry produces high-speed rural crashes.
SH-3 / SH-146. Mainland north-south arterials through La Marque, Texas City, and Bayou Vista.
Port of Galveston access roads and cruise-terminal traffic. Embarkation-day surges of taxis, rideshares, and tour buses produce predictable pickup-window crashes.
61st St, Broadway (Ave J), 25th St, Stewart Rd. Major Galveston Island surface arterials.

Where Galveston personal injury cases are heard

Galveston County

Civil cases are heard at the Galveston County Courthouse, 600 59th Street, Galveston. The 10th, 56th, 122nd, 212th, 306th, and 405th District Courts handle the civil docket.

Federal court

Maritime, Jones Act, LHWCA, and federal cases are filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, 601 Rosenberg, Galveston. Cruise-line cases are typically filed in S.D. Fla. (Miami) under cruise-ticket forum-selection clauses.

Cases we handle in Galveston

Cruise-line and cruise-ship injuries — Jones Act, LHWCA, passenger claims
Maritime, offshore, and port injuries
Car accidents — I-45 Gulf Freeway, Causeway, Seawall Blvd
18-wheeler and commercial truck accidents
Hurricane displacement and re-entry premises cases
Wrongful death
Catastrophic injuries — burns, amputations, spinal
Slip and fall / premises liability

Common questions from Galveston clients

Does Patterson Law Group have an office in Galveston?

We do not have a brick-and-mortar office in Galveston. We serve Galveston County and the upper Texas Gulf Coast from our Fort Worth and San Antonio offices, with our attorneys traveling to Galveston for depositions, mediations, court hearings, and trial. The initial case review is by phone or Zoom — at no cost — and signed retainers, medical authorizations, deposition prep, and settlement signings can all be handled remotely. UTMB is the regional Level I trauma center, so a meaningful share of serious-injury cases anywhere in the upper Texas coast travel through Galveston either way.

Do you handle cruise-ship and maritime injury cases?

Yes. The Port of Galveston is one of the busiest cruise homeports in North America (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and others), and that traffic produces a steady volume of maritime injury claims — slips on wet decks, fall injuries on gangways, food-poisoning outbreaks, medical malpractice at onboard infirmaries, and excursion-related injuries. Cruise lines almost always require suits to be filed in federal court (Carnival in S.D. Fla., Royal Caribbean in S.D. Fla., Disney in M.D. Fla.) under short contractual notice and limitations clauses — often as short as six months to file written notice and one year to sue. Read the back of your ticket immediately. Jones Act seamen, longshoremen (LHWCA), and harbor-worker cases are also handled.

How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Texas?

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003 sets a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury and wrongful death cases. Jones Act and general-maritime claims have a federal three-year period under 46 U.S.C. §30106. Cruise-line tickets typically impose a contractual one-year limitations period plus a six-month written-notice requirement — these contract terms are routinely enforced. Read the ticket and call a lawyer immediately.

How much does a Galveston personal injury lawyer cost?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee — our fee comes out of the settlement or verdict, not your pocket.

What is my Galveston case worth?

It depends on the severity of injuries, the medical bills, lost income, and the available insurance or vessel-owner coverage. Maritime, cruise, and refinery cases routinely involve multi-million-dollar policies. Hurricane Harvey and Ike displacement and re-entry cases produced unique premises and rebuilding liabilities. We will give you an honest assessment on the free consultation.

Where will my case be heard if it goes to court?

Civil personal injury cases in Galveston County are heard at the Galveston County Courthouse, 600 59th Street, Galveston. The 10th, 56th, 122nd, 212th, 306th, and 405th District Courts handle the civil docket. Federal cases (Jones Act, LHWCA, OCSLA, DOHSA, and most cruise-line cases) are filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division — 601 Rosenberg, Galveston.

What if my injury happened during a hurricane evacuation or re-entry?

Galveston has a long history of major-storm displacement (Ike 2008, Harvey 2017). Premises liability during evacuation orders, slip-and-fall on damaged property during re-entry, and re-occupancy injuries all involve unusual duties of care — and city, county, and state liability questions when governmental entities are involved. The Texas Tort Claims Act notice periods are short. Call early.

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