Austin Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Hit by a driver who didn't see you on Loop 360, FM-2222, the Lake Travis perimeter routes, or a downtown surface street? Patterson Law Group knows Texas motorcycle law cold — §661.003 helmet rule + §661.003(f) evidentiary bar, §545.060 lane-splitting prohibition, UM/UIM stacking. We serve Austin from our San Antonio office.
Free Case Consultation
No Obligation — No Cost Unless We Win
Super Lawyers®
2026
Settlement
TX · 2024
Top Attorneys
2026
How we serve Austin clients
Patterson Law Group does not maintain a brick-and-mortar office in Austin. We serve our Austin-area clients from our physical offices in Fort Worth, Arlington, and San Antonio (about 80 miles south on I-35). The initial case review is by phone or Zoom — at no cost — and our attorneys travel to Austin for depositions, mediations, court hearings, and trial. Signed retainers, medical authorizations, and settlement signings can all be handled remotely when that is what you prefer. We know Texas motorcycle law cold — Tex. Transp. Code §661.003 (helmet rule plus the §661.003(f) evidentiary bar), §545.060 (lane usage and no-lane-splitting), §545.062 (following too closely), and Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511 (UM/UIM offer rules that fund rider claims when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured). When your case calls for an in-person attorney at the Travis County courthouse or across the mediation table, we are there.
Greater Austin cities we serve
We represent motorcycle-accident clients across the entire Central Texas / Austin metro — Travis, Williamson, Hays, Comal, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties.
Additional cities served: West Lake Hills, Buda, Kyle, New Braunfels, Georgetown, Hutto, Manor, Dripping Springs, and Wimberley. Counties covered: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Comal, Bastrop, and Caldwell.
What to do after an Austin motorcycle crash
- Get medical care immediately. Austin has Dell Seton Medical Center at UT Austin (Level I trauma, the only Level I in Central Texas), St. David's Medical Center, St. David's South Austin Medical Center, St. David's Round Rock, Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, Ascension Seton Williamson, and Baylor Scott & White Round Rock. Motorcycle crashes routinely produce concussions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal fractures, internal bleeding, multi-system trauma, and road-rash infections that take time to fully present. Even riders who walk away from the scene should be evaluated within 24 hours.
- Report the crash. Austin PD handles crashes inside the City of Austin; smaller cities like Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Leander, Georgetown, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, and New Braunfels have their own departments. Travis County Sheriff and the Constable Precincts handle unincorporated Travis County. DPS handles state highways, interstates, and the tollways including SH-130 and SH-45. Get the case number from the responding officer — that is the key the official CR-3 will be filed under within 10 days under Tex. Transp. Code §550.062.
- Photograph everything. The bike, the at-fault vehicle, the scene, sight lines from the driver's position, lane markings, skid marks, debris pattern, traffic controls, road conditions, your gear (especially the helmet — its condition is evidence), and visible injuries.
- Get witness contact info. Motorcycle cases turn on who-was-where evidence. Independent witnesses are gold — they did not have a financial stake in the outcome. Get a name and phone number before the witness leaves the scene.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurance company. Their adjusters typically call within 24–48 hours. They are trained to get you to say things that limit your recovery. Refer them to us.
- Call a lawyer before you sign anything. Early settlement offers from the carrier are almost always low. Once you sign a release, you cannot reopen the claim. We send preservation-of-evidence letters within hours so dashcam, traffic-cam, business surveillance, and the at-fault vehicle's ECM data are locked down before they can be spoliated.
Texas motorcycle law — what Austin riders should know
Two-year statute of limitations (§16.003)
Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003 gives you two years from the date of the crash. Claims against the City of Austin, Travis County, CapMetro, UT Austin, or the State of Texas may have Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as six months under §101.101.
Modified comparative fault (§33.001)
Under §33.001, Texas follows a 51% bar rule: you can recover damages as long as you are 50% or less at fault. The defense will push fault hard against motorcycle riders — we counter with reconstruction evidence, ECM data, and the responding officer's CR-3 contributing-factor codes.
Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)
§41.0105 limits medical-bill recovery to amounts actually paid or incurred — particularly important for clients with substantial Dell Seton trauma stays.
Helmet rule and §661.003(f)
Texas Transportation Code §661.003 requires helmets generally but exempts riders 21+ who carry at least $10,000 in medical-insurance coverage or who completed a DPS-approved motorcycle operator training course. §661.003(f) bars helmet status as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence in a Texas civil case.
Lane splitting and lane usage (§545.060)
Texas Transportation Code §545.060 requires a vehicle to be driven within a single marked lane. Texas does not authorize lane splitting or lane filtering. §545.060(c) does permit two motorcycles to ride two abreast in a single lane.
Following too closely (§545.062)
§545.062 prohibits following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent. Rear-end crashes into stopped or slowing motorcycles are a routine fact pattern in Austin's I-35 and MoPac corridors.
UM/UIM coverage for riders (§1952.0511)
UM and UIM coverage on your own auto or motorcycle policy fills the gap when the at-fault driver has no insurance or low limits. Under Tex. Ins. Code §1952.0511, insurers must offer UM/UIM unless rejected in writing. A resident relative's policy may also apply.
Commercial vehicle / FMCSR overlay
If a commercial truck was involved, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR Parts 350–399) apply on top of Texas law. Minimum federal liability under 49 CFR §387.9 is $750,000 for general freight, $1M+ for hazmat. Heavy truck traffic on I-35 through Austin produces a steady stream of these cases.
Exemplary damages (§41.003)
§41.003 permits exemplary damages on clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence — DWI, racing, knowing distraction, and street racing all support gross-negligence pleadings. §41.008 caps exemplary damages with statutory exceptions including felony DWI.
Wrongful Death Act (Chapter 71)
Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 71 governs wrongful death and survival actions. Surviving spouse, children, and parents recover for loss of love, companionship, financial support, and mental anguish. The survival statute (§71.021) preserves the rider's pre-death pain-and-suffering claim for the estate.
Austin's most crash-prone motorcycle corridors
- Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway). Hill-country curves on the west side. The Pennybacker Bridge stretch is one of the most popular and most crashed motorcycle routes in Austin. Recreational weekend riders, sport-bike groups, and commuters all share the same blind curves.
- RR-2222 (Bull Creek / Northland). Curved hill-country commuter route from north Austin into Lake Travis. Sharp elevation changes and limited sight distance.
- RR-620 around Lake Travis. Lake-perimeter recreational route between FM-2222 and Lakeway. Drivers misjudging passing distance and curve speed produce severe motorcycle crashes.
- Bee Cave Road / FM-2244. West Austin commuter route through the hills connecting West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, and Bee Cave.
- FM-1626. South Austin commuter route through Manchaca and Buda. Mixed rural-suburban traffic, recurring crash pattern at the I-35 interchange.
- I-35 through downtown Austin. Mixed commercial-truck and commuter traffic with the elevated upper deck and lower-deck split. Lane-change crashes routine. The I-35 / US-290 / SH-71 interchange in south Austin (Ben White Boulevard) concentrates crashes.
- MoPac Expressway (Loop 1). Express-lane merging confusion produces high-speed motorcycle crashes. The express-lane to general-purpose-lane transition near Lady Bird Lake and at the Cesar Chavez exit is particularly hazardous.
- US-183 / Research Boulevard. Heavy commuter traffic between Cedar Park, Leander, and north Austin. Frontage-road merging crashes.
- SH-130 toll bypass. 85 mph speed limit — the fastest posted speed in the United States. Severe high-speed motorcycle crashes when crashes do occur.
- SH-71 / Ben White Boulevard. Connects downtown to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Heavy commercial vehicle and airport-traveler traffic.
- US-290 west. Dripping Springs and Fredericksburg corridor. Popular weekend ride destination through the Hill Country wine country.
- US-281 north. Burnet, Marble Falls, and Highland Lakes corridor. Weekend leisure riding.
Where greater-Austin motorcycle cases are heard
Travis County
Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, 1000 Guadalupe Street, Austin. The 53rd, 98th, 126th, 200th, 201st, 250th, 261st, 299th, 345th, 353rd, 419th, and 459th District Courts handle the civil docket.
Williamson & Hays
Williamson County cases (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Leander, Georgetown) go to the Williamson County Justice Center, 405 Martin Luther King Jr Street, Georgetown — the 26th, 277th, 368th, 395th, and 425th District Courts. Hays County cases (Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Wimberley) go to the Hays County Government Center, 712 S Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos — the 22nd, 207th, 274th, 428th, and 453rd District Courts.
Federal court (W.D. Tex.)
Cases with diversity of citizenship or substantial federal-law issues can be filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, at 501 W 5th Street.
Comal County cases (New Braunfels, Canyon Lake) go to the Comal County Courthouse at 150 N Seguin Avenue, New Braunfels. Bastrop County cases go to the Bastrop County Courthouse at 803 Pine Street, Bastrop. Caldwell County cases go to the Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart.
Other Austin injury cases we handle
Common questions from Austin motorcycle clients
What is the deadline to file an Austin motorcycle accident lawsuit?
Is not wearing a helmet a defense to my Austin motorcycle injury claim?
Is lane splitting legal in Texas?
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance or low limits?
What if I was partially at fault for the Austin motorcycle crash?
Where will my Austin motorcycle case be filed?
What hospitals handle the most severe motorcycle injuries in Austin?
Does Patterson Law Group have an office in Austin?
How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group for an Austin motorcycle case?
Hit on your bike in Austin? Talk to a Texas trial lawyer today.
Free phone or Zoom consultation · No fee unless we win · Available 24/7 · Se habla español
Legally reviewed by Travis Patterson, Managing Partner of Patterson Law Group.