If you were hurt in a crash in The Woodlands, you want an attorney who answers the phone, explains the claim plainly and knows how the other side’s insurer works. Our attorneys handle Woodlands and Montgomery County car accident claims from our Houston office.
This page is from LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC, the firm behind Car Wreck Lawyers Houston. We do not have an office in The Woodlands. Our nearest office is in Houston, at 5300 Memorial Dr Ste 810, by Memorial Park west of downtown, and clients from The Woodlands meet with us by phone or at that office. The attorney responsible for this site is Jonathan Harris, Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Crashes in Montgomery County
The Woodlands sits in Montgomery County, north of Houston along I-45. TxDOT’s county table for 2024 counts 12,352 crashes in Montgomery County, including 59 fatal crashes in which 61 people died, and 300 crashes with a suspected serious injury in which 353 people were seriously hurt.
Many Woodlands residents drive into Harris County every day for work. A crash on the commute may happen in either county, and the crash report, the investigating agency and the court that would hear a lawsuit can all depend on where the crash took place. We sort that out at the start of the claim.
What to do after a crash in The Woodlands
- Stop and check on everyone. Texas requires a driver in a crash that injures or kills someone to stop, check whether anyone needs help and stay to give information (Transportation Code section 550.021).
- Exchange information. Name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer, and a driver’s license if asked (section 550.023).
- Report it. A crash with injury, death or a car that cannot be driven must be reported at once to the local police or, outside a city, the sheriff (section 550.026).
- Get medical care. Some injuries show up hours or days later. Tell every doctor about every symptom.
- Photograph and write down. The cars, the road, your injuries, and what you remember while it is fresh.
- Be careful with insurers. Report the crash to your own insurer, but talk to us before you give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement.
Getting the crash report
An officer who investigates a crash with injury, death or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more files a written report, the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code section 550.062). The people involved in the crash, their authorized representatives, vehicle owners and the insurers involved can get a full copy (section 550.065(c)(4)), bought through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System for a small fee. When you hire us, we request it.
The report is evidence, not the final word. Officers often arrive after the cars have moved, and what they write depends on what they saw and heard. If the report gets something wrong, we look for photos, witnesses and video that tell the fuller story.
Insurance after a Woodlands crash
Texas drivers must carry at least $30,000 of liability coverage for injury to one person, $60,000 for two or more people and $25,000 for property damage (Transportation Code section 601.072). Those are legal minimums, not a measure of what any claim is worth, and a serious injury can go well past them.
Your own policy can help too. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection come with every Texas auto policy unless a named insured rejected them in writing (Insurance Code sections 1952.101 and 1952.152). PIP is paid without regard to who caused the crash and must be paid within 30 days of satisfactory proof of the claim (sections 1952.155 and 1952.156). The law does not require more than $2,500 per person of PIP (section 1952.153), so check your declarations page for your own limits.
Fault and the 50 percent line
Texas uses proportionate responsibility. You can recover if your share of responsibility is 50 percent or less, and your recovery is reduced by your share (Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 33.001 and 33.012). If two other drivers share the blame, a defendant found more than 50 percent responsible can be held jointly and severally liable (section 33.013).
Insurers know these rules well. A common move is to suggest that you were going a little fast, looking at your phone or slow to brake, each of which shifts a few percent onto you. Texas makes it an offense to read, write or send a message on a portable device while the vehicle is moving (Transportation Code section 545.4251), and insurers ask about phone use in nearly every claim. We answer with evidence.
Who handles your claim
Five of the seven attorneys at our firm came from the insurance side. Jonathan Harris spent more than a decade as a senior trial attorney for a major automobile insurance company before joining the firm in 2017, and he leads its litigation. Ian Nelsen worked as an adjuster and an insurance defense attorney. Howard Hill spent over 20 years with two of the nation’s largest auto and commercial insurance carriers. Your Woodlands claim is handled by the same Houston team that handles claims from the city itself.
We keep you informed as the claim moves: when the report arrives, when records come in, when a demand goes out and when an insurer answers. You will know who is working your file and how to reach them, and you are welcome at our Houston office whenever you want to meet in person.
Serious injuries and Houston trauma care
If you were taken to a Houston hospital for trauma care, it may have been in the Texas Medical Center: Texas DSHS lists Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital and Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center as Level I trauma facilities. Wherever you were treated, we gather every record and bill, from the ambulance to follow-up care, so the file shows the whole course of your recovery.
Claims involving trucks, buses and work vehicles
North of Houston, I-45 carries heavy truck traffic alongside commuters, and crashes with commercial vehicles raise their own issues: the company that employs the driver, the company’s own insurance, and federal safety rules for commercial drivers. Texas commercial vehicle rules follow the federal motor carrier safety rules (Transportation Code section 644.051), which limit driving hours and require carriers to inspect and maintain their vehicles.
If a truck, a delivery van or a company car was involved in your crash, tell us the company name and anything you saw on the vehicle. Carriers keep driving records and other documents only for a limited time, so we send preservation letters early.
A crash with a county or city vehicle follows the government claim rules: written notice within six months, or less under a city charter, and limits set by law on what a government unit can be made to pay (Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 101.101 and 101.023).
Deadlines
A personal injury lawsuit in Texas generally must be filed within two years of the crash (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003). If a government vehicle was involved, such as a county truck or a city car, written notice is generally required within six months, and a city charter may set a shorter time (section 101.101). Those deadlines are a reason to call early, not to panic: most claims are resolved without a lawsuit.
No Fees or Costs Unless We Win
The firm advances case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered for you. The consultation is free.
Hurt in a crash in The Woodlands? Talk to a car accident attorney at our Houston office today.
For the step-by-step detail of a claim, read our page on hiring a car accident attorney in Houston. If the other driver left the scene, read our page for a hit and run lawyer in Houston.
Questions people ask
Do you have an office in The Woodlands?
No. Our attorneys handle Woodlands claims from our Houston office at 5300 Memorial Dr. We can talk by phone, and you are welcome to meet us at the Houston office.
Does it matter whether my crash happened in Montgomery County or Harris County?
It can affect which agency wrote the report and where a lawsuit would be filed. We look at it at the start of every claim.
What if the other driver’s insurance is not enough?
Your own underinsured motorist coverage may help, if your policy has it. Texas policies include it unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Insurance Code section 1952.101).
What does it cost to talk to you?
Nothing. The consultation is free, and No Fees or Costs Unless We Win: the firm advances case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered for you.