I get some version of this question almost every week: someone was hurt because of another person’s carelessness, and they want to know if they actually have the right to do something about it. Usually they’re calling from a hospital bed, or a body shop, or their kitchen table surrounded by medical bills they can’t pay. The short answer is yes, in most cases. But the details matter a lot more than people expect, and the timing matters even more.
Arlington sees its share of these situations. Between the traffic on I-20 and I-30, the crowds heading to AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, and the retail corridors along Cooper Street and Arlington Highlands, there’s no shortage of car wrecks, slip-and-falls, and workplace injuries that happen because someone else dropped the ball. If that someone was you on the receiving end, Texas law gives you a path forward. Dashner Law Firm | Arlington Injury & Accident Attorney handles these cases day in and day out, and this post walks through what actually matters when you’re deciding whether to pursue a claim.
Can I Sue for an Injury That Wasn’t My Fault in Arlington?
Yes. If another person, company, or entity caused your injury through negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing, Texas law allows you to file a personal injury lawsuit against them. This applies to car accidents, truck wrecks, motorcycle crashes, slip-and-falls on someone’s property, dog bites, defective products, and injuries caused by a negligent property owner or business. Texas follows a “fault-based” system for most injury claims, meaning the person or company responsible for causing the harm is financially responsible for the damages that result — medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and in some cases property damage.
Texas also uses a rule called modified comparative negligence, found in Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. Under this rule, you can still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault, as long as your share of the blame doesn’t hit 51% or more. If you were 20% at fault and the other driver was 80% at fault, your final settlement gets reduced by that 20%, but you still collect the rest. This is a detail a lot of people misunderstand — they assume any fault on their part kills the claim entirely. It doesn’t, unless you crossed that 51% threshold. You can read the actual statute language through Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute or search Texas-specific statutes through Justia’s Legal Information database.
What’s the Deadline to File a Personal Injury Claim in Arlington, Texas?
Texas gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit, under the statute of limitations found in Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Miss that deadline and the court will almost certainly throw out your case, no matter how strong the evidence is. I’ve seen people wait too long because they were focused on recovering physically, or because they assumed the insurance company would “take care of it.” Insurance companies are not on your side, and they know the clock is ticking in their favor.
There are exceptions that can pause or extend this deadline — cases involving minors, certain government defendants, or situations where the injury wasn’t discovered right away. But you shouldn’t count on an exception applying to you. My advice, based on handling these cases across Tarrant County, is to talk to someone within weeks of the incident, not months. Evidence disappears fast. Security footage gets overwritten in as little as 14 to 30 days at a lot of Arlington businesses. Skid marks fade. Witnesses move or forget details. The earlier you lock in the facts, the stronger your case.
How Does Insurance Negotiation Actually Work After a Texas Accident?
This is the part most people don’t understand until they’re in it. After an accident, you’ll likely get a call from the at-fault party’s insurance adjuster within a day or two — sometimes within hours. They’re friendly. They ask how you’re doing. Then they ask for a recorded statement, and often, they’ll offer you a quick settlement before you’ve even seen a doctor for a full evaluation.
Here’s the problem: that first offer is almost always lower than what your claim is actually worth, and once you accept it and sign a release, you cannot go back for more money later — even if it turns out your injury requires surgery six months down the road. I’ve watched clients come to us after accepting a $3,000 check for what became a $40,000 medical bill because a soft tissue injury turned into something requiring an epidural or surgery. Texas law doesn’t offer a do-over once that release is signed.
A big part of what an attorney does in these first few weeks is simply stop that early conversation from happening without protection. We deal with the adjusters. We wait until your treatment is far enough along that we understand the real scope of your damages before even discussing numbers. The American Bar Association publishes consumer guidance on this exact issue, and it lines up with what we see constantly in practice: early settlement offers rarely reflect true damages.
What if the At-Fault Driver Had No Insurance or Was Underinsured?
This comes up more in Arlington than people realize. Texas doesn’t require drivers to carry more than 30/60/25 in liability coverage — that’s $30,000 per person injured, $60,000 total per accident, and $25,000 in property damage. That number hasn’t moved in years and it doesn’t stretch far if you’ve been in a serious wreck involving a hospital stay or long-term physical therapy. On top of that, Texas has one of the higher rates of uninsured drivers in the country, with estimates from the Texas Department of Insurance putting it around 1 in 5 vehicles on the road without any coverage at all.
If you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy — which Texas insurers are required to offer, though you can decline it in writing — that coverage can step in to cover the gap. Filing a UM/UIM claim against your own insurer isn’t the same as suing them; it’s a contractual claim under your policy, and Texas courts have upheld policyholders’ rights to pursue these claims when insurers act in bad faith or lowball the payout. This is a scenario where having someone review your policy language before you file matters. Not all UM/UIM claims are handled the same way, and insurers sometimes try to apply exclusions that don’t actually hold up. FindLaw’s legal resources has solid consumer-facing explanations of how UM/UIM claims interact with Texas’s at-fault system if you want to read further.
Do I Need to Go to Court, or Do Most Arlington Injury Cases Settle?
Most personal injury cases in Arlington and across Tarrant County resolve through settlement negotiations before ever reaching a courtroom. That said, “settling” doesn’t mean rolling over on the first offer — it means reaching a negotiated agreement once liability and damages are clearly established, often after months of medical treatment, documentation, and back-and-forth with the insurer or their legal team.
Some cases do need to go further. If the insurance company denies liability outright, disputes the extent of your injuries, or refuses to offer anything close to fair value, filing a lawsuit puts pressure on the process and opens up discovery — depositions, medical record subpoenas, expert testimony. In my experience, cases that end up in litigation tend to be the ones involving serious injuries, disputed fault, or insurers who are simply playing hardball because they think the claimant won’t push back. Filing suit doesn’t guarantee a trial; a lot of cases still settle once a lawsuit is on file and the other side realizes you’re serious. But you need an attorney willing to actually try the case if it comes to that, not one who folds under pressure.
What Should Someone in Arlington Do Right Now if They Were Just Injured?
Get medical treatment documented immediately, even if the injury seems minor. Soft tissue injuries and concussions often don’t show their full severity for days. Photograph everything — the scene, your injuries, vehicle damage, any hazard that caused a fall. Get the names of witnesses before they walk away. Avoid giving a recorded statement to any insurance adjuster, including your own, until you’ve talked to someone who can tell you what you’re actually protected to say.
Then reach out to a firm that handles these cases regularly in this specific area. Our Arlington office understands the local court system, the adjusters who work Tarrant County claims, and how Texas comparative negligence rules play out with local juries. You can also browse general information on personal injury claims through our topic page or check background on attorney qualifications through the American Bar Association if you want to verify credentials before hiring anyone.
For firms handling similar injury work in other parts of Texas, you can also look at Dashner Law Firm in Irving, TX or Dashner Law Firm in McAllen, TX, since injury law varies a bit by county court practices even within the same state.
Talk to Someone Before You Talk to the Insurance Company
If you were hurt because of someone else’s negligence, don’t wait and don’t guess at what your claim is worth based on what an adjuster tells you over the phone. Texas law is on your side when someone else caused your injury, but that protection only works if you act inside the deadlines and avoid the common traps that reduce or destroy a claim’s value.
Call Dashner Law Firm | Arlington Injury & Accident Attorney at (817) 203-8018 for a free consultation, or stop by our Arlington office at 4275 Little Rd # 205, Arlington, TX 76016. We serve clients throughout Arlington and across Texas, and we’ll give you a straight answer about whether you have a case and what it might realistically be worth — no pressure, no obligation.