What to Do After a Car Accident in Texas

At the scene: what Texas law requires

If anyone may be hurt, every driver involved must stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, check whether anyone needs help, and stay until the information exchange is done (Texas Transportation Code §550.021). Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a felony.

Call police immediately if anyone is hurt or killed, or if any vehicle can’t be driven normally and safely (§550.026). Inside a city, that means the city police department; outside city limits, the county sheriff or the nearest DPS office.

Every driver must then give the others (§550.023):

• Your name and address
• The registration (plate) number of the vehicle you were driving
• The name of your auto liability insurance company
• Your driver license, if someone asks to see it
• Reasonable help for anyone who is hurt — including arranging a ride to a doctor or hospital

What to collect before you leave

• Photos of every vehicle, license plate, and point of damage — plus the road, traffic signals, skid marks, and debris
• A photo of the other driver’s license and insurance card
• Names and phone numbers of witnesses (they leave fast)
• The officer’s name and badge number, and the report or case number
• The exact location: nearest cross street, exit, or mile marker
• Nearby business, traffic, or doorbell cameras that may have recorded it — footage is often overwritten within days

Will police write a crash report?

An officer who investigates a crash must write a report if it injured or killed someone or caused at least $1,000 in damage to any one person’s property, and file it with TxDOT within 10 days (§550.062). Police don’t come out for every fender-bender, so a minor crash may have no report at all — see what to do when there’s no police report.

Once it’s filed, buy the report — form CR-3 — from TxDOT’s CRIS portal: $6, or $8 certified. Most appear 7–14 days after the crash. You can check whether yours should be ready, or see how each DFW police department releases reports.

In the days after the crash

1. Get checked by a doctor, even if you feel fine. Some injuries show up hours or days later, and a record made soon after the crash is what ties an injury to it (delayed pain after a crash).
2. Tell your own insurance company about the crash promptly — policies require prompt notice.
3. Use your PIP coverage for medical bills and lost income no matter who was at fault, unless you rejected it in writing (how PIP works in Texas).
4. Keep a file: medical bills, receipts, repair estimates, rental costs, photos, and a list of work days missed.
5. Remember who the other driver’s insurer works for. It represents its own policyholder. Many people wait to give that company a recorded statement until they know the full extent of their injuries.

Deadlines that start the day of the crash

• 2 years to file a lawsuit for injuries or vehicle damage (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003) — the full rules and exceptions
• 6 months to give written notice if a city, county, DART, or other government vehicle or employee was involved — and a city charter can require notice sooner (§101.101)
• Your own policy’s notice rules — check your insurance policy for how quickly you must report a claim