Statewide Texas Motorcycle Accident Attorneys · 30+ Years

Texas Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Hit on your bike anywhere in Texas? Patterson Law Group represents riders statewide under Texas Transportation Code §§545.060 and 661.003(f), Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001 comparative fault, and the full Texas damages framework. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.

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Texas motorcycle accident law — quick answers

Statute of limitations? Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003. Six-month TTCA notice when a governmental defendant is involved under §101.101.
Helmet defense? Tex. Transp. Code §661.003(f) bars helmet status as evidence of negligence in Texas civil cases.
Lane splitting? Not legal in Texas under §545.060. Two motorcycles two abreast in a single lane is permitted under §545.060(c).
Comparative fault? 50% or less under §33.001 — damages reduced by your fault percentage.
UM/UIM? Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 requires Texas insurers to offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing.
Damages? Medical (§41.0105), lost wages, pain and suffering, impairment, disfigurement; exemplary damages under §41.003 in gross-negligence cases.

Statewide Texas motorcycle representation

Patterson Law Group represents Texas riders statewide. Our physical offices are in Fort Worth, Arlington, and San Antonio — but our Texas Bar admission is statewide, and we appear in courts from Beaumont to El Paso and from Amarillo to the Rio Grande Valley. The motorcycle-injury legal framework is the same in every Texas county; the local corridors, hospitals, and courthouses vary.

For local representation in our home regions, see:

Texas motorcycle law — the framework every rider should know

Two-year statute of limitations (§16.003)

Two years from the date of the crash. Government-vehicle and roadway-condition claims trigger Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as six months under §101.101.

Helmet rule and §661.003(f)

Helmets generally required under Tex. Transp. Code §661.003 with exemptions for riders 21+ with $10,000 medical coverage or DPS training. §661.003(f) bars helmet status as evidence of negligence in Texas civil cases.

Lane usage (§545.060)

Tex. Transp. Code §545.060 requires every motor vehicle to be driven within a single marked lane. Lane splitting and lane filtering are not authorized. §545.060(c) permits two motorcycles to ride two abreast in a single lane.

Motorcycle license endorsement

Tex. Transp. Code §521.084 requires a Class M endorsement to operate a motorcycle. Failure to hold the endorsement does not bar civil recovery but is sometimes argued by the defense as a comparative-fault element.

Modified comparative fault (§33.001)

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

Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)

Medical-bill recovery is limited to amounts actually paid or incurred. Critical for high-trauma motorcycle cases where billed amounts can be multiples of paid amounts.

UM/UIM coverage (§1952.0511)

Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 requires Texas insurers to offer UM and UIM unless rejected in writing. Critical when the at-fault driver carries minimum or no liability coverage.

Exemplary damages (§41.003)

Available on clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. DWI, racing, street takeovers, and knowing distraction all support gross-negligence pleadings. §41.008 caps with statutory exceptions including felony DWI.

Wrongful Death Act (Chapter 71)

Chapter 71 governs Texas wrongful death and survival. Statutory beneficiaries recover for loss of love, companionship, financial support, mental anguish. §71.021 preserves the rider's own pre-death claims for the estate.

Stowers doctrine

When the at-fault carrier refuses a reasonable within-limits demand, the Texas Stowers doctrine exposes the insurer to excess-judgment liability — often decisive in catastrophic-injury motorcycle cases.

Common Texas motorcycle crash patterns

Left-turn-across-motorcycle (Tex. Transp. Code §545.152). Statewide, this is the single most common motorcycle crash fact pattern. A driver turning left across the rider's direction of travel fails to yield to oncoming traffic.
Rear-end at signalized intersections (§545.062, §545.351). A driver fails to slow for the motorcycle stopped at a red light. Following too closely plus failure to control speed.
Lane-change side-swipes (§545.060). A driver changes lanes without seeing the motorcycle in the destination lane. Routine on Texas freeways.
Head-on crashes (§545.051, §545.057). Wrong-way drivers, center-line crossovers on FM and farm-to-market roads. Often impaired-driver fact patterns.
T-bone intersection crashes (§544.007, §545.151). Signal-running and stop-sign violations producing right-angle motorcycle impacts.
Drunk-driver crashes. Texas DPS data identifies impaired driving as a contributing factor in a substantial portion of fatal motorcycle crashes. Gross-negligence and exemplary-damage cases.
Construction-zone crashes. TxDOT work zones with temporary traffic control routing — MUTCD Chapter 6 compliance becomes relevant.
Defective-equipment crashes. Defective braking systems, tires, or motorcycle components. Product-liability theories under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 82.

Damages available in a Texas motorcycle accident case

Economic damages

Past and future medical expenses (§41.0105)
Past lost wages, future loss of earning capacity
Property damage to motorcycle, helmet, gear
Out-of-pocket costs
Life-care planning costs for catastrophic injuries

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)
Loss of consortium for a spouse

Exemplary (punitive) damages

Under §41.003 — clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. §41.008 caps damages with statutory exceptions including felony DWI.

Wrongful Death / Survival

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71. Statutory beneficiaries recover non-economic and economic losses; §71.021 survival action preserves the rider's pre-death claims for the estate.

Related Texas injury resources

Common questions from Texas motorcycle accident clients

What is the deadline to file a Texas motorcycle accident lawsuit?

Two years from the date of the crash under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003. If a governmental entity (city, county, state agency, transit authority) contributed, Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines under §101.101 can be as short as six months.

Does Texas's helmet law affect my motorcycle case?

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. The critical provision is §661.003(f) — it bars helmet status as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence in any Texas civil case. The defense will still try to bring it up. We enforce the statute at trial.

Is lane splitting legal in Texas?

No. Tex. Transp. Code §545.060 requires every 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.

Texas is a comparative fault state — what if I was partly at fault?

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001, you can still recover damages as long as you were 50% or less at fault. Damages are reduced by your fault percentage. Defense routinely argues the motorcyclist was speeding, lane-splitting, or 'came out of nowhere' — we counter with reconstruction, ECM data, and the CR-3 contributing-factor codes.

What if the at-fault driver had no insurance or low policy limits?

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage on your own motorcycle or auto policy fills the gap. Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 requires every Texas insurer to offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing. A resident relative's policy may also apply. We map every available policy layer.

What kinds of damages are available in a Texas motorcycle case?

Past and future medical expenses (subject to §41.0105 paid-or-incurred), lost wages, future loss of earning capacity, property damage to the bike and gear, past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, and loss of consortium. Exemplary damages under §41.003 are available on clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence — DWI, racing, knowing distraction, and other aggravated conduct all support the pleading.

What if a Texas rider died in the crash?

Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 71 governs wrongful death and survival. Statutory beneficiaries (surviving spouse, children, parents) recover for loss of love, companionship, financial support, and mental anguish. The §71.021 survival statute preserves the rider's own pre-death pain-and-suffering claim for the estate.

Where does Patterson Law Group represent Texas riders?

Statewide. Our physical offices are in Fort Worth, Arlington, and San Antonio, but we handle motorcycle cases anywhere in Texas — Houston, Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Lubbock, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, and every county between. Texas Bar admission is statewide; we appear in courts across the state.

Hit on your bike anywhere in Texas? Talk to a Texas trial lawyer today.

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Legally reviewed by Travis Patterson, Managing Partner of Patterson Law Group.