Dallas Car Accident Lawyers

Dallas Car Accident Statistics & Common Causes

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) tracks every motor vehicle accident in Texas through its Crash Records Information System (CRIS) by obtaining crash reports from every city and county in the State. TxDOT then aggregates these crash reports every year to analyze how auto collisions have changed over the years.

Dallas Car Accidents Statistics

In 2021 in Dallas, TX, there were 35,355 automobile crashes (one crash roughly every 15 minutes) that included:

• Fatality crashes:  206 fatal crashes which led to the deaths of 227 individuals
• Serious injury crashes:  1,075 serious crashes that resulted in 1,284 people sustaining serious injuries
• Minor injury crashes:  3,928 minor crashes that led to 5,333 individuals receiving minor injuries
• Possible injury crashes:  5,876 possible injury crashes which resulted in 9,639 possibly injured individuals
• No injury crashes:  21,644 non-injury crashes in which 61,492 vehicle occupants were uninjured
• Unknown severity crashes:  2,626 unknown severity crashes which resulted in unknown injuries to 13,010 people

Dallas County Car Accidents Statistics

In all of Dallas County in 2021 there were 55,634 total crashes that included:

• Fatality crashes:  324 fatal crashes which led to the deaths of 352 individuals
• Serious injury crashes:  1,646 serious crashes that resulted in 1,963 people sustaining serious injuries
• Minor injury crashes:  6,681 minor crashes that led to 8,925 individuals receiving minor injuries
• Possible injury crashes:  9,577 possible injury crashes which resulted in 15,301 possibly injured individuals
• No injury crashes:  33,810 non-injury crashes in which 99,268 vehicle occupants were uninjured
• Unknown severity crashes:  3,596 unknown severity crashes which resulted in unknown injuries to 16,748 people

Source: Texas Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics (TxDOT) – 2021; Crashes and Injuries by Cities and Towns; Crashes and Injuries by County.

Most Common Causes of Car Accidents in Dallas, TX

The most common causes of car accidents that have been reported by the Dallas Police Department in 2021 were:

1. Failed to control speed:  7,503 collisions
2. Failed to drive in single lane:  4,184 collisions
3. Changed lane when unsafe:  4,090 collisions
4. Failed to yield right of way turning left:  2,476 collisions
5. Followed too closely:  2,444 collisions
6. Disregard of stop and go signal:  2,250 collisions
7. Faulty evasive action:  2,016 collisions
8. Unsafe speed:  1,802 collisions

If you or a loved one was injured by the negligent actions of another car, truck, or motorcycle driver, call our Dallas car accident lawyers today for a FREE CASE REVIEW. Click to learn about dangerous intersections in Dallas-Fort Worth!

What Should I Do After a Car Accident?

Steps to Take After a Car Accident

It does not matter whether you live in Dallas, were visiting Dallas for a concert or sporting event, or were just traveling through Dallas when your accident occurred – the Dallas injury lawyers at Thompson Law can help.

If you were severely injured in your accident, you should immediately seek medical assistance for your injuries. Once your condition is stable, you should contact the experienced Dallas car accident lawyers at Thompson Law to file a claim against the negligent driver.

However, if you are physically capable of moving and standing after the car crash, then you should be sure to take the following steps:

1. Stop and Move to Safety:  Regardless of the severity of the collision, you must stop to prevent being cited for a hit-and-run accident per Texas Transportation Code § 550.022. Also, if you are able move to a safe location off the roadway to avoid being the victim of a secondary collision. You may also want to put on your hazard lights to signal other drivers that an accident has occurred.
2. Dial 911:  Calling 911 in an emergency, such as a car accident, will alert the Dallas Police Department and EMS to work on ensuring your safety, creating a crash report, and contacting an ambulance, if needed.
3. Provide an Honest Statement:  Your statement to the police should describe how you believe the accident happened, but do not apologize for the accident as it can be construed as an admission of fault, even when you are saying it in politeness. Never comment on how you feel physically or allow an insurance adjuster to record your statement, and do not comment on social media about your accident as insurance companies can use it against you later. Our Dallas car accident lawyers will obtain your Dallas crash report and work to establish liability with the insurance companies based off the report and other evidence.
4. Collect Info and Take Pictures: Take pictures of everything, as this early post-accident information will serve as the basis for your injury claim. You should take photos of every vehicle involved in the collision to show property damage and establish a basis for the mechanism of injury due to the force of the collision. When collecting data from the other drivers – drivers licenses, insurance cards, license plates, vehicle identification numbers (VIN) – be sure to take photos in addition to writing the information down, so you can ensure accuracy of the data.
5. Scan for Evidence:  Look to see if anyone witnessed or captured the accident, for example with a dash camera or cameras at nearby businesses.
6. Seek Medical Treatment:  Getting medical treatment after an accident is important both for ensuring your physical health, and to establish a causal relationship between your injuries and the accident.
7. Document Everything:  Personal injury claims can take time to resolve, so it is crucial to document your injuries in photos even before they heal (e.g., bruising, lacerations, abrasions, scarring). You may have missed work, so it is important to document lost wages. Often property other than the vehicle itself is damaged in accidents (e.g., laptop computers, mobile phones), so document that damage and retain any repair receipts.
8. Call Our Dallas Car Accident Lawyers: Insurance claims involving a personal injury attorney have been shown to result in up to a 3x increase in compensation to victims of car accidents, versus claims handled independently by an individual. Our Dallas car accident lawyers have a strong track record of providing excellent results for our clients, and we stand ready to assist with your claim.

Remember, it is the job of insurance adjusters to reduce insurance claims payouts. They have no interest in you getting you full and fair compensation. Thus, never sign any release, authorization, or anything for the insurance company of the party at fault. If you were hurt in a wreck where you were the driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian, call us today for a FREE CONSULTATION.

What Compensation Can I Receive for a Car Wreck?

Texas laws related to car accidents recognize the right of an accident victim to obtain full compensation for the damages they incur in an accident caused by the negligence of another driver. The forms of financial compensation accident victims may seek under Texas law are legally referred to as “damages”. These damages in civil claims fall into two broad categories:  special damages and general damages.

What are Special Damages in Injury Claims?

Special damages are commonly referred to as economic damages, since they are payments made by the at-fault party in a motor vehicle collision to cover the accident victim’s monetary losses from the crash. Common examples of special damages in injury claims include:

• Medical bills, such as doctor’s visits, physical therapy, chiropractic care, prescription medications, medical devices, pain management, surgical procedures, or life-care costs
• Lost wages or other income
• Vehicular property damage
• Damage to other personal property
• Replacement services, such as home cleaning or lawn maintenance

Special damages are usually easy to calculate since they involve a specific monetary loss to the accident victim. Our Dallas car accident lawyers will obtain medical bills, invoices, and other financial documents to calculate the economic damages you are owed.

What are General Damages in Injury Claims?

General damages are less easily quantifiable since they do not involve a set monetary loss from an accident. Rather, general damages are intended to compensate for non-monetary, real losses such as:

• Physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering
• Decreased enjoyment of life
• Disability, impairment, or disfigurement
• In wrongful death claims, loss of consortium, companionship, and society
• In cases of extreme recklessness, such as drunk driving, punitive damages may be available

While it is not fully clear how insurers value these types of harm caused by a car crash, insurance adjusters likely refer to jury verdicts in the county in which the accident occurred to calculate these awards. Thus, it is important to speak with the knowledgeable tort attorneys at Thompson Law to help assess the general damages available to you in your case. Our Dallas car accident lawyers will work to ensure you obtain the full value of these non-economic damages.

No amount of money can truly compensate for the damage to your health and well being following an auto accident, nor for the wrongful death of a loved one. However, filing an injury claim in Texas does bring victims some relief by covering your economic losses and providing a sense of closure and justice. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in an automobile accident, call our Dallas car accident lawyers today for a FREE CONSULTATION.

No Upfront Cost Representation by Our Dallas Car Accident Lawyers

Call Our Dallas Car Accident Lawyers Today!

If you are asking yourself “When is the best time to contact a personal injury lawyer after a car accident,” the answer is NOW! Thompson Law offers FREE CASE REVIEWS, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Further, our Dallas car accident lawyers charge NO FEE unless we win.

You will not incur any attorney fees, court costs, legal expenses, or any other costs unless we recover money on your behalf. If our Dallas car accident lawyers do obtain a settlement for you, our fee will only come out of a portion of the settlement.

If you need a Dallas car accident lawyer, give us a call today and let us do the fighting for you. If you do not need an accident lawyer today, save our contact card in your phone instead of searching “auto accident attorney near me” after you are in an accident, so we will be there for you when you do need us.

The statute of limitations in Texas is 2 years in most injury accidents. If you have been injured in an accident, call our Dallas car accident lawyers today or submit a form for a NO COST, NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION with a Dallas car accident lawyer at Thompson Law. Take action to protect your right to a full value monetary recovery. The sooner you know your options, the faster you’ll be on the path to recovery.