Law Office of Ryan Rouz
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Texas Car Wreck Lawyer

Hurt in a wreck? You don't pay me unless you win.

Car wrecks, 18-wheelers, motorcycles. I represent injured Texans across the state — no fee up front, no fee at all if we don't recover for you.

  • $0 up front, and $0 ever unless we recover for you.
  • Direct attorney contact — you talk to me, not a case manager.
  • Same-day callback. Hospital and home visits if you can't travel.
  • Available 24/7. Wrecks don't keep business hours; neither do I.
Get my free consultation (469) 437-5674
Ryan Rouz, Texas car wreck lawyer — Law Office of Ryan Rouz

Attorney Ryan Rouz

Why this is personal

I've been on the wrong side of a wreck.

When I was sixteen, I was in a wreck violent enough that the passenger next to me was thrown out of the car. I broke my collarbone. I spent six months in pain. And then I made the worst decision of my life — I settled my case on my own for $9,000, because the attorneys I called wanted thirty-five percent and I didn't trust them.

A few years later I did the math on what I should have made. The honest answer was north of $100,000. I had given up roughly nine out of every ten dollars I was owed because no one was in my corner.

That settlement is the reason I'm an attorney. It's the reason I take injury cases on contingency — your fee comes out of the recovery, not your bank account. And it's the reason an insurance company will not put one of my clients in the spot I was in when I was sixteen.

Read more about my background ›

Cases I handle

Car wrecks, truck wrecks, and motorcycle accidents — all across Texas.

Injury work on this side of the practice is focused on wrecks — the cases where someone else's bad driving puts you in the hospital, in pain, or out of work. If your case fits outside this scope, I'll tell you and refer you to someone who handles it.

Texas had one reportable crash every 56 seconds in 2024, and the state hasn't had a deathless day on the roads in years (TxDOT crash statistics). Most of them are someone else's fault.

Car wrecks

Rear-end collisions, intersection wrecks, side-swipes, head-on crashes. Whether the other driver ran a light, was on their phone, or just wasn't paying attention — if their negligence put you in the hospital, you have a case.

18-wheelers & commercial trucks

Big-rig wrecks are different cases — bigger trucks, bigger injuries, and a corporate defendant with its own lawyers, adjusters, and rapid-response team on the scene within hours. These cases require fast investigation and they're worth the work.

Motorcycle accidents

Riders get blamed by default and treated worse by insurance adjusters from day one. I push back on the bias — the question is who caused the wreck, not what you were riding when it happened.

Uninsured & hit-and-run drivers

If the at-fault driver took off, was driving without insurance, or didn't have enough coverage, your case isn't over — it pivots to your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. We make your insurer pay what you've been paying them for.

Hurt in a wreck and not sure what to do? Call or text (469) 437-5674

Types of wrecks

Common types of car wrecks in Texas — and why the type matters.

How a wreck happened shapes how fault is proven and how hard the insurance company fights. These are the collision types I see most often.

Rear-end collisions

The most common wreck on Texas roads. The driver who hits you from behind is almost always at fault for following too closely or not paying attention — but adjusters still argue you "stopped short." A police report and scene photos settle it.

Intersection and T-bone wrecks

Run lights, missed stop signs, and failure-to-yield left turns. Fault usually comes down to who had the right of way, and that's where independent witnesses and traffic-camera footage decide the case.

Head-on collisions

The most dangerous wrecks — wrong-way driving, illegal passing, or a driver crossing the center line. Injuries are severe, and these cases are worth a careful look at whether drunk or distracted driving was involved.

Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers

If the at-fault driver fled or carried no insurance, the claim shifts to your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. Your case is not over — see the Texas car wreck laws section below.

Drunk and distracted driving wrecks

A driver who was intoxicated or texting was negligent as a matter of law, and gross negligence can open the door to punitive damages on top of your other losses.

Rideshare wrecks — Uber and Lyft

Rideshare crashes add a commercial insurance policy and a question of whether the driver was logged into the app. Whether you were a passenger, another driver, or a pedestrian, there is usually more coverage available than in an ordinary wreck.

What it's worth

What's a Texas car wreck case worth?

Every case is different — but Texas law lets you recover for two broad categories of damages, plus, in rare cases, a third. When I evaluate your case, this is what I'm adding up:

Economic damages — your out-of-pocket losses

The hard, receipts-and-paystubs numbers: medical bills (past and future), lost wages during recovery, reduced earning capacity if you can't go back to the job you had, damage to your car, and the cost of any equipment, therapy, or follow-up care your injuries require.

Non-economic damages — what the injury cost you, beyond money

Pain and suffering. Mental anguish. Loss of enjoyment of life. Scarring or disfigurement. The strain on your marriage or your ability to care for your kids (Texas law calls this "loss of consortium"). These don't come with a receipt, which is exactly why insurance adjusters try hard to ignore them.

Punitive damages — only in cases of gross negligence

Rare, but real. If the other driver was drunk, racing, or did something so reckless a jury would call it gross negligence, Texas allows punitive damages on top of everything else. These exist to punish bad conduct, not to compensate you — but they end up in your pocket either way.

I won't put a number on your case until I've seen your medical records and understand the full picture. Anyone who quotes you a value in the first phone call is guessing — and probably trying to sell you something.

Common injuries

Injuries I see most often after a crash.

You don't have to be on a stretcher for a wreck to wreck your life. Some of the worst injuries I see are the ones people walked away from at the scene and only started feeling 48 hours later.

Whiplash and soft tissue injuries

Neck, shoulder, and back strains from the violent forward-and-back motion in a rear-end collision. Pain often starts the next morning, not at the scene. Adjusters love to dismiss these as "minor" — your doctor's records say otherwise.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions

Even a "mild" concussion can affect your memory, concentration, mood, and sleep for months. If you blacked out, felt foggy, or have had headaches since the wreck, get checked. TBI cases are often worth far more than people realize because the long-term cost of cognitive impairment is real.

Spinal cord and back injuries

Herniated discs, compression fractures, nerve damage. These often require imaging (MRI, not just X-ray) to document, and they can take months to declare themselves. Some require surgery; some don't but never fully heal.

Broken bones and fractures

Wrists, ribs, collarbones, legs. The bone heals — your case has to account for surgery costs, hardware, physical therapy, and any lasting loss of function.

Internal injuries

Less common but the most dangerous: organ damage and internal bleeding from blunt force trauma. If you've had abdominal pain or unusual bruising since the wreck, that's an ER visit, not an "I'll wait and see".

Burns, lacerations, and scarring

Airbag burns, broken glass, seatbelt abrasions. Visible scarring is its own category of non-economic damages in Texas.

Dealing with one of these injuries after a wreck? Call or text (469) 437-5674

After the wreck

What to do (and not do) after a Texas car wreck.

  1. Get yourself and your passengers to safety. If the cars are drivable, off the road. If not, hazards on, stay belted, wait.
  2. Call 911. Even on a minor wreck — you want a police report. Texas insurance adjusters will use the absence of one against you later.
  3. See a doctor today, not next week. Adrenaline hides pain for 24–48 hours. Gaps between the wreck date and the first medical record are the single most common reason insurance companies lowball Texas car accident claims.
  4. Photograph everything before the cars are moved. All four corners of both vehicles, license plates, the road, any visible injuries, skid marks, the other driver's insurance card and license.
  5. Get witness names and numbers. Anyone who saw it. They'll be gone in two minutes if you don't.
  6. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance. They will call within 48 hours. Be polite, take the adjuster's name and claim number, say you'll be back in touch with your attorney. That's it.
  7. Call a Texas car wreck lawyer before you sign anything. Initial consultations are free. The first offer is never the last offer.
The law

Texas car wreck laws every driver should know.

Texas is an at-fault state.

The driver who caused the wreck pays. Practically, that means their auto insurance pays — and that insurance company's whole business model depends on paying you as little as possible.

The 51% bar rule (modified comparative fault).

Texas reduces your recovery by your share of fault, and bars you completely if you were more than 50% at fault — the rule is set out in Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001 (proportionate responsibility). So if the jury says the wreck was 30% your fault and 70% the other driver's, you collect 70% of the damages. If they say 51% your fault, you collect zero. Adjusters know this and routinely try to push your fault percentage up.

You have two years to file suit — usually.

Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003 gives you two years from the date of the wreck to file a personal injury lawsuit. Shorter for claims against the state or a city. There are very few exceptions, and missing the deadline ends your case permanently.

Texas minimum insurance is 30/60/25.

Coverage Texas legal minimum What it pays for
Bodily injury, per person $30,000 The most one injured person can collect from the at-fault driver's policy
Bodily injury, per accident $60,000 The most everyone injured in the wreck can collect, combined, from that policy
Property damage $25,000 Damage to your vehicle and other property

Those are only the legal minimums — the amounts are set by Texas Transportation Code § 601.072 — and they are nowhere near enough for a serious injury, which is why uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy matters so much.

UM/UIM coverage is your safety net.

If you carry UM/UIM and the at-fault driver was uninsured, underinsured, or fled the scene, your own insurance is supposed to step in. They often resist. Same fight, different defendant.

Fees

What does a Texas car wreck lawyer cost?

You don't pay me unless you win.

No retainer. No hourly billing. No invoice in the mail. My fee comes out of the recovery only — if there is no recovery, there is no fee, and you don't owe me a dime for trying. We agree on the percentage in writing before I take your case, so you know exactly what you're signing up for.

How I work

Why work with me directly.

Free consultation

Tell me what happened — I'll tell you whether you have a case. Costs you nothing.

You talk to me

Not a case manager, not an intake bot. The attorney answers your questions.

Same-day callback

Submit the form and you'll hear from me the same day — usually within a couple of hours.

Available 24/7

Call or text any time, any day. Hospital and home visits if you can't travel after the wreck.

How a case works

How a Texas car wreck case works — six steps.

01

Free consultation

You call or send the form. I read it personally, get back to you the same day, and tell you honestly whether the case is worth pursuing.

02

We investigate

Crash report, scene photos, witness statements, vehicle data, surveillance footage if it exists. Evidence disappears quickly after a wreck — we move fast.

03

You focus on treatment

You see your doctors and get the care you need. I deal with the insurance company, the police, the body shop, and anyone else who calls.

04

Demand & negotiation

Once your treatment is documented, I send the at-fault insurance company a written demand with medical records, bills, lost wages, and the law that supports your case.

05

Settle — or sue

Most cases settle. If the insurance company won't pay what your case is worth, we file suit. Either way, you decide whether to accept or keep fighting.

06

You get paid

When the case resolves, you get a written settlement statement showing exactly where every dollar went — medical bills, fees, costs, and the net amount in your pocket. No surprises.

Where I work

Texas car wreck cases — statewide.

I represent injured Texans across the state, from initial call to settlement or verdict. Most communication runs by phone, text, email, and video — and if you can't travel because of your injuries, I'll come to you. Cases regularly come from:

  • Dallas–Fort Worth — I-30, I-35E, I-635, US-75 Central, the Dallas North Tollway, and the LBJ Freeway.
  • Houston — I-45, I-10, I-69 / US-59, the Sam Houston Tollway, and the Katy Freeway.
  • Austin — I-35, MoPac (Loop 1), US-183, and SH-130.
  • San Antonio — I-10, I-35, Loop 410, Loop 1604.
  • Plus everywhere in between — Waco, Killeen, Tyler, Lubbock, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley.
FAQ

Texas car wreck FAQ — common questions, straight answers.

The questions I get most often from people who were just in a wreck. If yours isn't here, ask me directly — there's no such thing as a stupid question right after a crash.

It means my fee comes out of the recovery, not out of your pocket. You pay $0 up front. If we don't win, you owe $0. If we do win, my fee is a percentage of the settlement or judgment — we agree on that percentage in writing before I take your case, so there are no surprises later.

No. The other driver's adjuster is not your friend. Their job is to pay you as little as possible — ideally before you know what your case is worth and before you've finished treatment. Once I'm on your case, every call from them comes to me. You can hang up on them, send them my number, and stop worrying about saying the wrong thing.

It depends on your injuries and on the insurance company. Straightforward cases can resolve in 3–6 months once treatment is complete. Cases involving surgery, long-term care, or commercial defendants typically take 12–24 months. I'll give you a realistic timeline once I've seen the facts. I will not push you to settle before your injuries are fully understood — that's how people get short-changed.

Texas follows a 51% bar rule — if you're 50% or less at fault, you can still recover, but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you're 51% or more at fault, you generally can't recover from the other driver. The actual percentages are negotiated, and adjusters love to inflate your share. Don't write your case off because the other driver's insurance told you it was your fault.

Your case isn't over. If you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy — and most Texas drivers do unless they specifically rejected it in writing — that's the coverage that pays. The fight just shifts from the at-fault driver's insurance to your own. Your insurance company is supposed to be on your side here; in practice, they often aren't, which is exactly why having an attorney matters.

We handle everything remotely — phone, text, email, video — whatever you prefer. You should not be adding "drive across town to a law office" to your list of problems after the crash that started all this.

Texas generally gives you two years from the date of the wreck to file suit (shorter for certain claims and government defendants). But waiting two years is a bad idea — evidence disappears, witnesses move, vehicle data gets erased, and surveillance footage is overwritten in days or weeks. Call as soon as you can.

This page is written and maintained by Ryan Rouz, a Texas-licensed attorney in practice since 2014.

Still have a question I didn't answer? Call or text (469) 437-5674

Accepted legal-plan attorney

Ryan Rouz takes clients through prepaid legal and legal-insurance plans, including MetLife Legal Plans, ARAG, and Rocket Lawyer. If you have legal-plan coverage through your employer, your consultation and some services may be covered.

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