Dallas–Fort Worth · Auto accidents
What to do after a car accident in Dallas–Fort Worth
The first hours after a crash in Dallas–Fort Worth decide most of what follows — your health, your claim, and how much of the story is ever written down. This guide walks the steps in order, with the Texas rules that apply at each one.
At the scene: safety first, then the law
Check yourself and your passengers for injuries, and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Texas law requires you to stop, and it expects you to move a drivable vehicle out of the travel lanes. Turn on your hazard lights and get people behind a barrier or well off the roadway before anything else.
Exchange information with every driver involved: name, address, phone number, driver license number, license plate, and insurance carrier with the policy number. Texas Transportation Code § 550.023 requires it. Photograph the other driver’s insurance card instead of copying it by hand.
Document everything you can
Photograph the vehicles where they came to rest, the damage up close, the roadway, skid marks, traffic signs, and the weather. Get names and phone numbers for every witness. Notes you make in the first hour outlast every memory of the crash.
The police report
Each Metroplex city’s own police department investigates crashes inside its limits — Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, and Irving all keep separate records desks — and the Texas Department of Public Safety covers the highways between them. When an officer investigates a crash with an injury, a death, or damage that appears to reach $1,000, the officer files a Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (CR-3). That report becomes the backbone of the insurance claim.
You can buy a copy of the crash report online through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS). Reports usually appear within about two weeks of the crash.
See a doctor, even if you feel fine
Adrenaline hides injuries. Soft-tissue damage, concussions, and internal injuries often surface a day or two later. A prompt medical evaluation protects your health first, and it also creates the record that connects your injuries to the crash. Long gaps between the crash and treatment are the first thing an insurer questions.
Dealing with the insurers
Report the crash to your own insurer promptly; your policy requires cooperation with your own carrier. The other driver’s insurer will likely call within days. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and you can decline politely until you understand your injuries.
The Texas numbers
| Rule | What it says | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Two-year deadline | Most injury and property claims must be filed within two years of the crash. | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| 51% fault bar | You can recover if you were 50% or less at fault; your recovery shrinks by your share. At 51% you recover nothing. | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 |
| 30/60/25 minimums | Texas drivers must carry at least $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage. | Texas Transportation Code § 601.072 |
Exceptions can extend or shorten these rules — claims involving government vehicles carry much shorter notice deadlines, and claims for minors run differently. The Metroplex spans Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton Counties, and the county where the crash happened controls where a claim would be filed — note it on your checklist the same day.
Do I have to call the police?
Call 911 whenever someone is hurt, a driver has no insurance, a driver appears impaired, or a vehicle cannot be moved. Texas law requires an immediate report when a crash injures or kills someone. For minor no-injury crashes, drivers sometimes exchange information and file claims without an officer — but without a CR-3 report, fault becomes one word against another.
What if I was partly at fault?
Texas uses proportionate responsibility with a 51% bar. If you were 50% or less at fault, you can still recover, reduced by your percentage. If you were 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. Fault percentages are argued, not fixed — the evidence you gathered at the scene is what moves them.
How long do I have to act?
Generally two years from the date of the crash for injury and property claims, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. Some situations shorten it sharply — government defendants require formal notice within months — and some extend it. Insurance claims have their own, much shorter, practical clocks.
Do I need a lawyer?
That decision is yours, and this site will not make it for you. Accident Atlas does not recommend or endorse lawyers, and nothing here evaluates your case. Many people handle small property-damage claims themselves; injury claims involve deadlines, fault arguments, and medical liens where people often want professional help. If you talk to a lawyer, most offer free consultations for injury cases.