Reviewed by Ryan Orsatti, Texas personal injury attorney. / Revisado por Ryan Orsatti, abogado de lesiones personales en Texas.
Quick Answer
- After a Texas crash with injury, the law requires you to stop, check on everyone involved, exchange information, and render reasonable aid; leaving the scene of an injury crash is a crime under Texas Transportation Code Section 550.021.
- The evidence that decides most claims is collected in the first hour (photos, witnesses, the other driver’s insurance) and the first week (medical records, the CR-3 crash report, preservation of video).
- You generally have two years from the crash to file suit under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, but video, vehicle data, and witnesses disappear within days or weeks.
- Esta guia esta en ingles y en espanol. La version en espanol comienza en la segunda mitad de la pagina.
Key Takeaways
- Your phone is your best evidence tool: photographs of vehicle positions, damage, the roadway, skid marks, debris, traffic controls, and every driver’s license, insurance card, and plate.
- Call 911 for any injury crash. The officer’s CR-3 report becomes the claim’s foundation, and Section 550.026 requires immediate police notice for crashes with injury, death, or a vehicle that cannot be driven away.
- See a doctor the same day and report every symptom. Gaps in care are the insurer’s favorite argument, and adrenaline hides real injuries at the scene.
- Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and do not accept a quick settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries.
- Report the crash to your own insurer promptly; your policy requires cooperation with your own company, and your UM/UIM and PIP coverage may matter more than the other driver’s policy.
- Print this checklist and keep it in your glove box. Imprima esta lista y guardela en la guantera.
At the Scene: The First Hour
- Stop and stay. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.021 requires the driver of a vehicle in an injury crash to stop immediately at or near the scene and remain until the duties in Section 550.023 are met. Leaving an injury crash is a felony-level offense.
- Check on everyone and call 911. Section 550.023 requires giving your name, address, registration, and insurance information, showing your license on request, and providing reasonable assistance, including transport for medical treatment when needed. Section 550.026 requires immediate notice to police for crashes involving injury, death, or a vehicle that cannot be safely driven.
- Photograph before vehicles move, if it is safe: wide shots showing all vehicles and the roadway, closer shots of each vehicle’s damage, the license plates, skid marks, debris, traffic signs and signals, and anything that contributed (a blocked sign, standing water, a missing barricade).
- Exchange and photograph information: the other driver’s license, insurance card, and plate; note the exact company and policy number rather than trusting a verbal promise.
- Get witness names and cell numbers immediately. Witnesses leave within minutes and are nearly impossible to find later.
- Note the commercial details if a truck or work vehicle is involved: company name on the door, USDOT number, trailer number, and the driver’s employer. These identify the real defendant and its insurer.
- Say little, admit nothing, speculate never. Give the officer facts. “I am hurt and I need to be checked” is a complete sentence; “I’m fine” is not accurate an hour after a crash.
- Ask how to get the crash report. The officer’s CR-3 report is purchased later through TxDOT’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS) once processed.
The First Week
- Get medical care the same day (ER, urgent care, or your doctor) and report every body part that hurts, including your head, even if symptoms seem minor.
- Follow through on referrals. Missed appointments become “the plaintiff was not really hurt” in the insurer’s file.
- Notify your own insurer of the crash promptly, as your policy requires, and ask what PIP, MedPay, and UM/UIM coverage you carry.
- Decline recorded statements to the other driver’s insurer and decline quick-settlement offers made before your diagnosis is complete.
- Send or request video preservation fast: nearby businesses, doorbell cameras, and buses overwrite footage on short cycles measured in days.
- Start a claim file: photos, the report number, bills, receipts, work absences, and a daily note of symptoms and limitations.
- Order the CR-3 crash report from TxDOT’s CRIS system when it is ready, and read it for errors while correction is still practical.
- Know the deadline. Most Texas injury suits must be filed within two years under Section 16.003; crashes involving government vehicles or road defects trigger much shorter written-notice deadlines.
Evidence That Disappears Fastest
| Evidence | Typical loss window | How to protect it |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance and doorbell video | Days to a few weeks | Written preservation request to the owner immediately |
| Witness availability | Minutes at the scene; memories fade in weeks | Names and cell numbers before anyone leaves |
| Vehicle damage and event data | Until repair or total-loss disposal | Photograph everything; preservation letter before the vehicle is released |
| Roadway conditions (skid marks, debris) | Hours | Scene photographs before vehicles move |
| Commercial carrier records | Retention cycles vary; some logs cycle in months | Spoliation letter to the carrier early |
Attorney Insight. In matters we handle, the single most common evidence failure is not the dramatic one; it is the quiet week between the crash and the first doctor visit. Adjusters price that gap as if pain that waits is pain that is invented. The second most common failure is trusting that “the video exists” without asking anyone to keep it. Both are free to fix on day one and expensive to litigate around on day three hundred.
Lista de Evidencia Despues de un Choque en Texas (Espanol)
En el lugar del choque: la primera hora
- Pare y quedese. La ley de Texas (Codigo de Transporte, Seccion 550.021) exige que el conductor pare de inmediato en un choque con lesiones y permanezca en el lugar. Irse de un choque con lesiones es un delito grave.
- Revise a todos y llame al 911. La Seccion 550.023 exige dar su nombre, direccion, registro y seguro, mostrar su licencia si se la piden, y prestar ayuda razonable. La Seccion 550.026 exige avisar de inmediato a la policia cuando hay lesiones, muerte, o un vehiculo que no puede manejarse.
- Tome fotos antes de mover los vehiculos, si es seguro: fotos amplias de todos los vehiculos y el camino, fotos cercanas de los danos, las placas, las marcas de frenado, los escombros y las senales de trafico.
- Intercambie y fotografie informacion: la licencia del otro conductor, su tarjeta de seguro y su placa. Anote la compania exacta y el numero de poliza.
- Consiga nombres y celulares de los testigos de inmediato. Los testigos se van en minutos y despues es casi imposible encontrarlos.
- Si hay un camion o vehiculo de trabajo: anote el nombre de la empresa en la puerta, el numero USDOT, el numero del remolque y el empleador del conductor.
- Hable poco y no adivine. Dele al oficial los hechos. “Estoy lastimado y necesito que me revisen” es una frase completa; “estoy bien” no es exacto una hora despues de un choque.
- Pregunte como obtener el reporte del choque. El reporte oficial (CR-3) se compra despues a traves del sistema CRIS de TxDOT.
La primera semana
- Vaya al medico el mismo dia y reporte cada parte del cuerpo que le duela, incluyendo la cabeza, aunque el sintoma parezca menor.
- Cumpla con las citas y referencias medicas. Las citas perdidas se convierten en el argumento favorito de la aseguradora.
- Avise a su propia aseguradora pronto, como exige su poliza, y pregunte que coberturas PIP, MedPay y UM/UIM tiene usted.
- No de declaraciones grabadas a la aseguradora del otro conductor y no acepte ofertas rapidas antes de conocer todo el alcance de sus lesiones.
- Pida pronto que se conserve el video: negocios cercanos, camaras de timbre y autobuses borran sus grabaciones en dias.
- Arme un expediente: fotos, numero del reporte, facturas, recibos, dias de trabajo perdidos y una nota diaria de sintomas.
- Ordene el reporte CR-3 en el sistema CRIS de TxDOT cuando este listo y revise si tiene errores.
- Conozca su plazo. La mayoria de las demandas por lesiones en Texas deben presentarse dentro de dos anos (Seccion 16.003). Los casos contra el gobierno tienen plazos de aviso mucho mas cortos.
How Ryan Orsatti Law Uses This Checklist / Como Usa Esta Lista Ryan Orsatti Law
Ryan Orsatti Law is a San Antonio plaintiff-side personal injury firm handling car accident, truck accident, motorcycle, and pedestrian injury claims across Texas. On a new case, the firm’s first week tracks this same list: preservation letters out, the CR-3 ordered, coverage identified on both sides, and the medical record started correctly. Attorney Ryan Orsatti was born and raised in San Antonio and speaks Spanish; clients can work with him directly in English or Spanish. La version en espanol de la guia de accidentes de auto de la firma esta en abogado de accidentes de auto en San Antonio.
If you were injured in a crash in Texas, you can talk through your options with Ryan Orsatti Law in a free consultation. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish. The firm works on a contingency fee. You pay nothing unless the firm recovers money for you, and that covers case expenses as well as the fee: if there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee and no case expenses. Ask for the fee agreement and read the fee and expense section before you sign anything.
Frequently Asked Questions / Preguntas Frecuentes
Do I have to call the police for a minor crash?
If anyone is hurt, someone died, or a vehicle cannot be safely driven away, Texas law requires immediate notice to police under Section 550.026. When in doubt, call. An officer’s report protects both drivers from the story changing later, which happens more often than people expect.
Tengo que llamar a la policia por un choque menor?
Si alguien esta lastimado, alguien murio, o un vehiculo no puede manejarse con seguridad, la ley de Texas exige avisar de inmediato a la policia (Seccion 550.026). Si tiene duda, llame. El reporte del oficial protege a los dos conductores si la historia cambia despues.
What if the other driver asks me not to report it?
Report it anyway when the law requires it, and exchange full information regardless. Unreported crashes become word-against-word disputes, uninsured drivers often promise cash and vanish, and your own policy likely requires prompt notice. Protect yourself first.
Que pasa si no tengo papeles o no tengo seguro?
Usted todavia tiene derecho a reclamar por sus lesiones si el otro conductor tuvo la culpa. Su estatus migratorio no le quita ese derecho. Hable con un abogado antes de hablar con cualquier aseguradora; la consulta es gratuita y confidencial.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
Generally two years from the crash under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, with important exceptions in both directions: minors get more time, while claims involving governmental units require written notice within months. The practical deadline is the evidence, which disappears in days and weeks.
Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company?
You have no obligation to give them a recorded statement, and doing so early usually hurts. Provide basic claim information, decline recorded questions, and get advice before discussing fault or injuries. Your obligation to cooperate runs to your own insurer, not theirs.
Source Notes
- Texas Transportation Code Sec. 550.021 (collision involving personal injury or death; duty to stop), Sec. 550.023 (duty to give information and render aid), and Sec. 550.026 (immediate report of collision): statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Sec. 16.003 (two-year limitations period): statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- TxDOT Crash Records Information System (CRIS), official source for purchasing the CR-3 crash report: cris.dot.state.tx.us
Contact / Contacto
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Rd, San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone / Telefono: 210-525-1200
ryanorsattilaw.com
Responsible attorney: Ryan Orsatti. Principal office: San Antonio, Texas. / Abogado responsable: Ryan Orsatti. Oficina principal: San Antonio, Texas.
This blog is for informational purposes only, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future results.
Este blog es solo para fines informativos y no es asesoria legal. Leerlo no crea una relacion abogado-cliente. Los resultados pasados no garantizan resultados futuros.
Hurt in an accident in San Antonio? Learn how a San Antonio car accident lawyer can help with your claim. Call 210-525-1200 or request a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
Related San Antonio legal resources
Primary legal and public-data sources
- TxDOT: Texas crash reports, data, and statistics
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33: proportionate responsibility
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Road, San Antonio, TX 78249
Source links verified August 7, 2026.