Austin Car Accident Attorneys

The Personal Injury Law Firm of Carabin Shaw has fought for injured Texans for over 34 years to receive full compensation for their pain and suffering. We help accident victims from car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes and many more causes.

The city of Austin is no stranger to car accidents. It has one of the highest collision rates per capita in the state, and several factors contribute to the dangerous nature of Austin's streets. Traffic on congested highways can make drivers impatient and careless. Because the city is a crossroads for many major transportation arteries connecting Texas, travelers and commercial vehicles passing through add to the source of danger.

Worst of all, the city's status as a tourist and party destination leads to one of the most common - and most deadly - causes of auto accidents in Austin, Texas: driving while intoxicated. Understanding what caused your crash is the foundation of your legal case. Proving negligence requires showing the other driver violated safety rules or drove carelessly.

Distracted Driving: With 26% of Austin crashes involving distracted drivers, this is the city's top safety crisis. Texting while driving, adjusting GPS systems, eating, applying makeup, and dealing with children in the back seat all take eyes off the road. Even a two-second glance at a phone means traveling blind for the length of a football field at highway speeds.

Speeding: Accounting for 35% of Texas crash fatalities, excessive speed reduces reaction time and exponentially increases impact forces. Drivers running late or simply impatient create deadly conditions. Austin's 85-mph speed limits on some highways contribute to severe crashes.

Drunk Driving: Despite causing 25% of Texas traffic deaths, drunk drivers continue getting behind the wheel. Austin's nightlife districts generate DUI crashes regularly, particularly on weekend nights. Intoxicated drivers have impaired judgment, slower reflexes, and reduced ability to stay in lanes.

Aggressive Driving and Road Rage: Austin's growing traffic congestion fuels aggressive behavior. Tailgating, cutting off other vehicles, excessive speed, and hostile gestures escalate into dangerous situations. Road rage incidents sometimes result in intentional collisions.

Failure to Yield at Intersections: Drivers rolling through stop signs or misjudging gaps when turning left cause serious T-bone crashes. Impatience and poor judgment at intersections kill people daily.

Running Red Lights and Stop Signs: Drivers racing to beat yellow lights or simply ignoring traffic signals create chaos at intersections. These crashes are often severe because vehicles strike each other at high speeds with minimal warning.

Following Too Closely: Tailgating eliminates the buffer zone needed for safe stops. When traffic ahead slows suddenly, rear-end crashes are inevitable. Aggressive drivers who intentionally follow closely to pressure slower vehicles create dangerous conditions.

Weather Conditions: Rain-slicked roads reduce traction, particularly when oil residue first mixes with water. Fog on rural roads outside Austin limits visibility-drivers who fail to adjust speed for conditions cause crashes.

Fatigued Driving: Drowsy driving impairs reaction time as much as alcohol. Commercial truck drivers pushing hours-of-service limits and everyday commuters driving while exhausted both create hazards.

Defective Vehicle Parts: Recalled tires, faulty brakes, airbag failures, and steering defects cause crashes even when drivers operate vehicles properly. Product liability claims hold manufacturers accountable.

We prove fault in these cases. Call Carabin Shaw at 800-862-1260 to discuss what caused your Austin crash.

Whatever the cause of a collision, there are always significant repercussions for victims of auto accidents. Some of these losses are more difficult to recover from than others, and Austin personal injury lawyers and car accident attorneys are often necessary to help victims recover from their damages.

Why You Need our Austin Auto Accident Attorney: Car accidents have become such a commonplace sight in Austin that many might assume these incidents do not require legal intervention. You may even have been in a collision before and not thought it necessary to contact a lawyer. Unfortunately, without an attorney representing their interests, many victims lose out on the opportunity to obtain full restitution and recover damages.

These damages go far beyond the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle. Collisions can also produce costly injuries. In the worst of cases, they can result in death.

Texas law allows injury victims to pursue three categories of damages. The total value of your case depends on injury severity, recovery time, impact on your life, and available insurance coverage.

Economic damages are the calculable financial losses you can prove with bills, receipts, and financial records.

Medical Expenses: This is typically the largest category. It covers emergency room treatment, ambulance transport, hospital stays, surgery, doctor visits, prescription medications, physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical equipment like wheelchairs or crutches, home health care, and all other treatment related to crash injuries. Future medical expenses for ongoing treatment or future surgeries are also included based on the doctor's testimony about anticipated needs.

Lost Wages and Lost Earning Capacity: If injuries prevented you from working, you're entitled to compensation for missed paychecks. Pay stubs and tax returns prove this amount. If injuries prevent you from returning to your previous job or reduce your ability to earn in the future, you can recover lost earning capacity. Vocational experts testify about your reduced earning potential over your remaining work life.

Property Damage: The cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any personal items damaged in the crash-phones, laptops, clothing, child car seats-is recoverable. Keep all repair estimates and replacement receipts.

Rehabilitation and Therapy Costs: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychological counseling, and rehabilitation programs all qualify as economic damages when doctors prescribe them.

Home and Vehicle Modifications: Serious injuries sometimes require home modifications like wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, or accessible bathrooms. Vehicle modifications for hand controls and wheelchair lifts are also compensable.

These losses are real but don't have price tags attached. Texas law recognizes their value.

Pain and Suffering: Physical pain from injuries, discomfort during recovery, and chronic pain that persists long-term all deserve compensation. More severe injuries with more extended recovery periods justify higher awards for pain and suffering.

Emotional Distress: Anxiety, depression, PTSD, fear, sleep problems, and other psychological impacts are compensable. Serious crashes cause emotional trauma that can be as debilitating as physical injuries.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When injuries prevent you from participating in activities you loved-playing with children, hobbies, sports, travel-you've lost something valuable. Juries compensate victims for this loss of life's pleasures.

Mental Anguish: The psychological suffering from severe injuries, disfigurement, or permanent disability qualifies for compensation separate from physical pain.

Disfigurement and Scarring: Visible scars, burn injuries, and permanent physical changes to appearance are compensable, particularly when they affect your face or other visible body parts.

Loss of Consortium: Spouses can claim compensation when injuries prevent normal marital relations and companionship. This is a separate claim from the injured person's claims.

Calculating non-economic damages is more art than science. Lawyers often use multipliers, multiplying total economic damages by a number (typically 1.5 to 5) based on injury severity. A person with $50,000 in medical bills and a multiplier of 3 would claim $150,000 in non-economic damages, for a total demand of $200,000.

Texas rarely awards punitive damages, reserving them for cases with extreme conduct. When at-fault drivers acted with gross negligence or intentional malice-such as extreme drunk driving with multiple prior DUIs, intentional crashes, or fleeing police at high speeds-judges or juries may add punitive damages to punish wrongdoers and deter others.

Punitive damages must be proven by clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard than ordinary negligence. These awards are capped at the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000.

When crashes kill loved ones, surviving spouses, children, and parents can file wrongful death claims seeking compensation for:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Loss of the deceased's financial support and services
• Loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support
• Mental anguish and grief for survivors
• Loss of inheritance

Wrongful death cases value lives lost and the impact on families left behind. No amount of money replaces a loved one, but compensation provides financial stability and holds negligent drivers accountable.

Free case valuation-call 800-862-1260 to discuss your Austin car accident compensation.

Without a reliable, experienced Austin personal injury lawyer or car accident attorney, victims might not recover all of these losses. Some may be left off the initial estimation, and some injuries may go unnoticed and not manifest themselves until weeks after the accident.

If you were in a car accident that was the fault of another driver, the liable party is legally and financially responsible for paying all of these damages. Without a reliable, experienced Austin personal injury lawyer or car accident attorney, victims might not recover all of these losses. Some may be left off the initial estimation, and some injuries may go unnoticed and not manifest themselves until weeks after the accident.

Another reason our lawyers are necessary in Austin car accident cases is that the other party and their representatives are likely not going to play fair and will resist your attempts to claim your rightful compensation.

Texas operates under specific legal rules that affect your ability to recover compensation. Understanding these laws helps you protect your rights.

Texas law gives injury victims 2 years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. This deadline is absolute in most cases. If you try to sue after two years pass, courts will dismiss your case regardless of how strong your evidence is. You lose your right to compensation permanently.

Important exceptions exist. If the injured victim is a minor, the clock doesn't start running until they turn 18. If injuries aren't discovered immediately-such as internal injuries that don't show symptoms for days-the deadline may be extended from the discovery date, though courts rarely apply this exception.

Government entity claims face even shorter deadlines. When suing cities, counties, or the state for road defects or other negligence, you must file a formal notice of your claim within six months. Missing this deadline eliminates your ability to sue government entities even if the two-year statute of limitations for other defendants hasn't expired.

While two years seems like plenty of time, evidence disappears quickly. Witnesses forget details. Surveillance footage gets erased. Vehicles get repaired or scrapped. Insurance companies use delays against you, arguing that you must not be seriously injured if you waited so long to seek legal help. Early attorney involvement preserves evidence and keeps your case on track.

Texas follows a "51% bar rule" for shared fault. If you're partially responsible for causing your crash, your compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault-but only if you're 50% or less at fault. If a jury finds you 51% or more responsible, you recover nothing.

Here's how it works: Imagine your total damages are $100,000. If you're found 25% at fault (maybe you were speeding when the other driver ran a red light), your recovery gets reduced by 25%. You'd receive $75,000 instead of the full amount. But if that same jury decided you were 51% at fault, you'd get nothing despite the other driver's negligence.

Insurance companies exploit this rule aggressively. Adjusters search for any behavior they can use to shift blame onto you. They'll claim you were speeding, distracted, or somehow contributed to the crash, even when facts don't support it. Fighting fault percentage becomes critical.

Police reports matter because officers assign fault based on evidence and statements at crash scenes. If officers incorrectly blamed you, we work to correct those reports. Accident reconstruction experts provide testimony showing the other driver's negligence primarily caused the crash.

Texas requires drivers to carry minimum insurance: $30,000 per person for injuries, $60,000 per accident when multiple people are hurt, and $25,000 for property damage. These minimums are woefully inadequate for serious crashes. A single day in intensive care can exceed $30,000. Victims with permanent injuries need millions for lifetime care.

Unfortunately, 8.3% of Texas drivers-roughly one in twelve-drive without any insurance. When uninsured drivers cause crashes, victims must look to their own uninsured motorist coverage. This is why having robust UM/UIM coverage on your own policy is so important.

Underinsured motorist coverage kicks in when at-fault drivers have insurance but not enough to cover your damages. If your injuries total $200,000 but the other driver only has $30,000 coverage, your underinsured motorist policy fills the gap up to your policy limits.

Texas is an "at-fault" state, meaning injury victims must prove another driver's negligence caused their damages. You can't simply file a claim with your own insurance and move on (except for property damage). You must establish four legal elements:

Duty of Care: All drivers owe others a duty to operate vehicles safely and follow traffic laws. This element is usually straightforward.

Breach of Duty: You must prove the other driver violated their duty through specific negligent actions-speeding, running red lights, texting while driving, drunk driving, or other careless behavior. Evidence like police reports, witness statements, traffic camera footage, and accident reconstruction establishes breach.

Causation: The breach must have directly caused the accident and your injuries. If the other driver was speeding but that didn't actually cause the crash, you can't recover. We show the causal connection between negligence and harm.

Damages: You must have suffered actual losses-medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage. Without measurable damages, there's no case, even if the other driver was clearly at fault.

Proving all four elements requires evidence and legal skill. Insurance companies hire lawyers and investigators to poke holes in your case. You need equally skilled representation.

Get a free legal consultation to understand your rights..

Call Carabin Shaw at 800-862-1260.

Insurance adjusters are not your friends. Their job is to protect their company's profits by minimizing payouts. Understanding their tactics helps you avoid mistakes that hurt your case.

Quick Settlement Offers: Adjusters often contact victims within days, offering fast settlements before you've even seen doctors or know the full extent of your injuries. These offers are always low. They're designed to close files cheaply before victims realize how serious their injuries are. Never accept initial offers without attorney review.

Recorded Statements: Adjusters ask for recorded statements "just to understand what happened." Everything you say gets analyzed for inconsistencies or admissions they can use against you. They ask leading questions designed to make you accept partial fault. Politely decline recorded statements and refer adjusters to your attorney.

Medical Records Fishing Expeditions: Insurance companies request complete medical histories, hoping to find pre-existing conditions they can blame for your injuries. They'll argue that back pain from your crash actually came from a prior injury ten years ago. Provide only records directly related to crash injuries. Your attorney manages these requests.

Delay Tactics: Adjusters drag out investigations, request endless documentation, and delay responses, hoping you'll get desperate and accept lowball offers. They know injured victims face mounting bills and lost income. Patience and attorney representation combat these tactics.

Bad Faith Denial Strategies: Some insurers deny valid claims, hoping victims will give up. They claim you weren't injured, the crash didn't happen as you said, or you somehow caused the accident despite the evidence. Fighting bad-faith denials requires legal action.

Lowball Offers: Even when insurers acknowledge liability, their offers rarely reflect fair value. They underpay medical costs, ignore future treatment needs, minimize pain and suffering, and refuse to account for lost earning capacity. Negotiation and trial preparation are necessary to reach fair numbers.

Pressure to Settle Without Attorneys: Adjusters emphasize how much more money you'll keep if you don't hire lawyers. This is backwards. Studies show that represented victims recover significantly more, even after attorney fees, than unrepresented victims who keep 100% of inadequate settlements.

Insurance companies employ teams of lawyers, investigators, and adjusters to minimize payments. You need equally skilled representation on your side. Attorney involvement immediately changes insurance company behavior because they know you're serious.

Let us handle all insurance communications. Call Carabin Shaw at (800) 862 -1260.

Call the Attorneys at Carabin Shaw. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer or car accident attorney, look no further than your local law offices of Carabin Shaw. With over 34 years of serving clients across Texas in all manner of personal injury cases, our lawyers have a record of excellence and the winning edge, and we are ready to put our knowledge and expertise to work for you.

Vehicle accidents and injury claims can be a nightmare not only to experience but to manage as well. The professionals at Carabin Shaw can handle it for you. In addition to representation at the bargaining table and small claims court, our representatives perform a host of additional helpful services for our clients:

• Investigating accidents and collecting evidence
• Gathering medical testimonies and opinions
• Professional network references
• Thorough opportunity and loss analysis
• Filing and documenting necessary paperwork

Free No-Obligation Consultation: Call the Law Firm of Carabin Shaw today. Our courteous and professional representatives are standing by 24 hours a day and ready to take calls in both English and Spanish. Once you call, we'll set you up with one of our accident injury attorneys in a free consultation that will best inform you of your case's possibilities and the best options ahead of you.

Your health, safety, and justice are too important to risk. Entrust the professionals. To set up your free consultation and appointment with one of our attorneys, contact the Carabin Shaw Law Firm in Austin, TX, today at 800-862-1260, toll-free.