Fatal Highway Crash Claim Lawyer in Austin, TX State Roads, Work Zones and Crash Records

The scale of the problem, in county numbers

TxDOT's 2024 crash table for Travis County records 139 fatal crashes and 155 traffic fatalities, alongside 511 crashes producing suspected serious injuries, 610 suspected serious injuries and 15,872 reported crashes in total. The city's own 2025 review reports 99 traffic deaths and 301 serious injuries within Austin, a 28 percent drop in serious injuries against 2024 and a slight increase in deaths, with 2022 still the high mark at 117 deaths and 540 serious injuries. The same review estimates that roughly 65 to 75 percent of Austin traffic fatalities occur on roads the state owns.

An active reconstruction corridor changes the evidence

The I-35 corridor through central Austin is a construction site rather than a settled roadway. TxDOT's Capital Express Central project is removing the upper decks, lowering the mainlanes through downtown, rebuilding the Lady Bird Lake bridge and adding two non-tolled managed lanes in each direction, with the project described from US 290 East to SH 71 and Ben White Boulevard. A death in a shifting work zone raises questions a routine crash does not: which contractor controlled that traffic-control plan on that date, what the lane configuration looked like that week, and whether the barrier, signage and taper matched the approved layout. Those records live with agencies and contractors, not with the family.

The crash report, and who may obtain it

Section 550.062 of the Transportation Code requires an investigating officer to report a crash that results in injury, death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more, and to file the report electronically not later than the tenth day after the crash. Section 550.065 makes that report privileged but releases it on written request to persons directly concerned, a category the statute defines to include any person who may sue because of a death resulting from the collision. The fee is $6, or $8 with certification, and a redacted version is available to any requester.

Suing a governmental road authority is a different exercise

Where a public entity is implicated, immunity rules apply before negligence does. Section 101.021 waives immunity principally for property damage, injury or death arising from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or equipment, and for a condition or use of tangible personal or real property. Section 101.056 keeps discretionary decisions outside the chapter entirely, which is the line between a design choice and a maintenance failure. Section 101.106 makes the first filing an irrevocable election between the employee and the governmental unit.

Notice periods that can expire before the file is built

The Tort Claims Act default in section 101.101 is six months, and subsection (b) expressly ratifies a shorter charter provision. Austin has one: the city's claim instructions require a written claim letter within 45 days of the incident, stating date, time, location, what occurred, the damages and supporting documents. Subsection (c) preserves a claim where the unit had actual notice of the death. Ceilings apply as well, and section 101.023 sets them at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for the state and for a municipality, and $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for other units of local government.

Fault is apportioned in whole numbers

Section 33.003 has the trier of fact assign a percentage of responsibility, in whole numbers, to each claimant, defendant, settling person and designated responsible third party. Section 33.001 bars recovery where the claimant's own percentage is greater than 50 percent, and section 33.013 limits each defendant to its own percentage unless that percentage exceeds 50 percent or the conduct falls into the narrow felony category the statute lists.

First-week preservation, in concrete terms

Note the investigating agency and the crash report number, and note the medical examiner case number where that office is involved. Keep the vehicle unrepaired and unsold while its condition remains a question. Photograph the site while temporary traffic control is still in place, because a work zone changes weekly. Save every insurer letter with its date. This page is general background about Texas and Austin crash procedure rather than legal advice about a specific collision; the attorney who advertises here is the person to ask about a particular file.