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Car accident settlement calculator: Texas

This car accident settlement calculator for Texas applies the state’s rules: your damages are cut by your share of fault and barred above 50%, medical bills count at the amount actually paid, and many drivers carry only $30,000 per person. $15,000 in medical bills and $5,000 in lost wages for a moderate injury gives about $50,000–$65,000.

Statute of Limitations by State editorial teamUpdated 5 sources

Settlement estimator

Texas car accident settlement calculator

Enter medical bills as the amounts actually paid or owed, not the hospital’s list price.

Modified comparative fault (51% bar): you recover nothing if you were more than 50% at fault; otherwise damages are reduced by your share.

How serious was the injury?
Fault, insurance limit and lawyer’s fee
Example

Estimated injury claim value (before fees)

$50,000$65,000

Medical bills (past + future)$15,000
Lost wages and other losses$5,000
Pain and suffering × 2–3 (moderate)$30,000 – $45,000
Full value before fault$50,000 – $65,000
Property damage (separate, not multiplied)$7,000

Your share after a 33.3% fee

$33,350$43,355

A range from the multiplier method, not a prediction. Real offers depend on liability evidence, records, insurance limits and venue.

Method: medical expenses × a severity multiplier (pain and suffering) + wages and other losses, reduced by your share of fault under the state’s comparative fault rule, capped at the policy limit if you enter one, then minus fees, costs and liens. A range, not a prediction; general information, not legal advice.

Three Texas rules that change the number

A Texas car accident claim is valued like any other, medical bills times a severity multiplier plus lost wages, but three state rules adjust the result, and the calculator applies all three:

  1. Proportionate responsibility (51% bar). Your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility, and you recover nothing if you were more than 50% responsible.[1]
  2. Paid or incurred. Recovery of medical expenses is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by you or on your behalf, so insurer write-offs do not count.[3] Enter the paid amounts, not the chargemaster price.
  3. 30/60/25 minimum coverage. Texas drivers must carry at least $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage.[2] A serious injury caused by a minimum-limits driver is usually capped at $30,000 unless you have underinsured motorist coverage.

Texas car accident settlement by fault percentage

The 51% bar creates a cliff: at 50% fault you still recover half, at 51% nothing. The table uses the example claim ($15,000 medical, $5,000 wages, moderate injury, no policy cap):

Claim value before fees at different shares of fault (Texas)
Your share of faultClaim value
0%$50,000–$65,000
20%$40,000–$52,000
40%$30,000–$39,000
50%$25,000–$32,500
51%Barred
60%Barred

Because each percentage point matters, Texas insurers investigate fault aggressively: dash-cam video, the crash report and witness statements are the evidence that moves this number.

Policy limits in Texas

When damages exceed the at-fault driver’s limit, the practical ceiling is that limit plus your own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. Every Texas auto policy includes personal injury protection (PIP) unless you rejected it in writing, and insurers must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. PIP pays your medical bills, lost wages and other costs whatever the fault, up to its dollar limit.[2]

Same serious injury ($40,000 medical, $15,000 wages) under different at-fault limits
At-fault driver’s bodily injury limitRecoverable from that policy
$30,000$30,000–$30,000
$50,000$50,000–$50,000
$100,000$100,000–$100,000
$250,000$175,000–$215,000

Deadline: two years in Texas

A Texas personal injury suit must be filed within 2 years of the crash under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a).[4] Negotiating with an adjuster does not pause it. Claims against a city or county vehicle need a written notice much sooner; see the statute of limitations by state table and calculator.

What Texas cases go to court for

Most claims settle. Nationally, the median award to plaintiffs who won a car accident trial was $15,000, and plaintiffs won 64% of those trials.[5] Use the general car accident settlement calculator to compare other states’ fault rules, the settlement calculator for your take-home after fees and liens, and the statute of limitations on debt in Texas if medical bills went to collections. Small property-only claims up to $20,000 can go to justice court: see small claims court Texas.

Frequently asked questions

How is a car accident settlement calculated in Texas?
Medical bills (paid or incurred amounts) × a severity multiplier for pain and suffering, plus lost wages and property damage, reduced by your percentage of responsibility and barred if you were more than 50% responsible, then capped by the at-fault driver’s policy limit.
What is the minimum car insurance in Texas?
$30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage (30/60/25), according to the Texas Department of Insurance.
Can I get a settlement in Texas if I was partly at fault?
Yes, if you were 50% or less responsible. Your damages are reduced by your percentage; above 50% you recover nothing.
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Texas?
Two years from the date of the crash for personal injury and property damage claims (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).

Sources

  1. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001: proportionate responsibility (51% bar) · Texas Legislature (official), checked November 2026
  2. Auto insurance guide: Texas minimum liability coverage (30/60/25) · Texas Department of Insurance, checked November 2026
  3. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.0105: recovery of medical expenses limited to amounts actually paid or incurred · Texas Legislature (official), checked November 2026
  4. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a): personal injury limitation period · Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (official), checked November 2026
  5. Tort Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005 (NCJ 228129), by Thomas H. Cohen · U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2009