Passenger Hurt in a Laredo Car Crash? How Texas Personal Injury Claims Work

Over 1,500 injury-causing auto crashes happen each year in Laredo, Texas. As a passenger in one of these collisions, you didn’t cause the crash, but you’re still the one stuck with a confusing claims process—an insult to injury, as they say. However, you also have legal advantages compared to drivers because you’re unlikely to be at fault in any way, so your attorney just needs to clear a path toward full legal recovery.

To feel fully empowered, it’s useful to understand who might be held responsible, key legal deadlines, and the basic claims process. After reading our overview below, contact the Laredo car accident lawyers at Carabin Shaw to fill in the gaps and get advice tailored to your situation. Our trusted Texas law firm provides free, no-obligation case reviews to injury victims. You also pay nothing upfront; you pay nothing until we recover compensation for you.

A few parties might be held accountable for the consequences suffered by a passenger injured in a car accident. The driver of your vehicle or another vehicle is the most obvious, but these parties may also share fault, complicating matters.

In 2025, accidents involving large trucks also caused over 10,000 injuries across Texas. As an inland port city, Laredo sees a huge proportion of these accidents. At Carabin Shaw, we work to identify every responsible party and hold them accountable, including trucking companies that may have hired negligent or reckless drivers. (Our law firm’s client reviews show it!)

Although U.S. courts govern all crashes that happen in Texas under local law, getting compensation can be complex if the vehicle's insurance policy was issued in Mexico and lacks a U.S. claims-admitting network. A Laredo passenger injury lawyer is familiar with coordinating through these cross-border systems.

You generally have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit. However, there are a few legal exceptions that extend this deadline, and your attorney can determine if these apply:

• Delayed discovery because the full scope of harm wasn’t immediately clear
• Involvement of minors or those with legal disability
• Fraudulent concealment
• Wrongful death, which starts the clock from the date of death, not the date of the initial event

Car wreck attorneys in Laredo TX can also help you file notice quickly to meet the shorter 180-day window required if a government entity is involved. Although this scenario is less common overall, it’s more likely to occur in a border county like Webb.

For passengers, auto injury risk is especially high for the head, lungs, sternum, and upper extremities, all of which can have immediate and ongoing life-changing impacts. Here are the steps to take as you seek compensation for these consequences:

1. Ensure you receive adequate medical attention.
2. Report the accident and secure evidence as soon as possible.
3. Discover the applicable insurance policies of all parties.
4. Work with a lawyer to file legal claims, especially if you’re facing insurance denials or low settlements.
5. Negotiate, if possible.
6. Litigate, or take the claim to court, if necessary.

At any point in this process, call our 24/7 toll-free number, 1-800-862-1260, to set up a free case review with a team fluent in Spanish and English. The sooner, the better.

Car crash cases, especially involving multiple policies, get complicated fast. Our team at Carabin Shaw removes some of the big obstacles like:

• Aggressive insurance practices against unrepresented claimants
• High financial barriers to legal counsel (you pay nothing unless we win your case)
• Lacking local knowledge of Laredo infrastructure and court systems

You can trust us to navigate your case with care. Call or contact us online anytime.

For more information:

• Texas Department of Transportation
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• ScienceDirect