Austin Personal Injury Lawyer for Motor Vehicle Accidents

If a car, truck, motorcycle, Uber or Lyft, pedestrian, bus, or boating accident left you hurt, we can help. At SMB Law, PC you talk directly to your attorney — never a case manager. Free consultation. No fee unless we win.

You Were Hurt. The Insurance Company Is Already Working. So Are We.

Most people who call our office after a wreck start the same way: “I’ve never done this before.” That’s normal. You’re dealing with pain, a totaled vehicle, missed work, and an adjuster who sounds friendly but works for the other side. Our job is to take that fight off your plate so you can focus on getting better.

SMB Law, PC was founded by attorney Shane Boasberg, who has practiced law in Texas for more than 20 years. We take a limited number of personal injury cases at a time so every client gets our full attention. When you hire our firm, you get direct access to your attorney and straight answers — including an honest opinion about whether you even need a lawyer. Some people don’t, and we’ll tell you that for free.

We focus on motor vehicle accidents. Whether you need an Austin car accident lawyer after a rear-end crash on I-35 or someone to untangle a multi-vehicle pileup on MoPac, our approach is the same: investigate fast, document everything, and make the insurance company treat your claim like the serious matter it is.

Key Takeaways

Texas is a fault state: the driver who caused your crash — and that driver's insurance company — is responsible for your damages.
You can still recover if you were partly at fault, as long as you were not more than 50% responsible.
You generally have two years to file an injury lawsuit in Texas, but the evidence that wins cases disappears in weeks.
We handle motor vehicle accident cases on contingency: no fee unless we win.

Motor Vehicle Accident Cases We Handle

If it happened on a road — or a lake — and someone else’s carelessness caused it, we’ve likely handled a case like yours. These are the crashes we see most in Austin and Central Texas.

Car Accidents

Rear-end collisions, T-bones at intersections, distracted-driving wrecks on I-35, MoPac, and 183. Even a “minor” crash can leave you with whiplash, back injuries, or a concussion that doesn’t show up until days later. We build car accident claims around your medical evidence — not the insurance company’s timeline.

Truck & 18-Wheeler Accidents

Commercial truck and 18-wheeler accident cases are a different animal. There may be several liable parties — the driver, the carrier, a broker, a maintenance shop — and federal trucking regulations determine what evidence exists: driver logs, black-box data, inspection records. That evidence gets overwritten fast, so we send preservation letters immediately.

Motorcycle Accidents

Riders get blamed unfairly. Adjusters and juries bring a bias to motorcycle accident claims, and we push back with hard evidence: scene photos, vehicle data, and accident reconstruction when the case calls for it. We don’t let “he must have been speeding” stand in for the facts.

Uber, Lyft & Rideshare Accidents

Rideshare cases turn on one question: what was the app doing at the moment of the crash? Whether the driver was offline, waiting on a ride request, or carrying a passenger determines whose insurance applies and how much coverage is available — up to $1 million while a trip is active. We sort out the coverage tiers so you aren’t bounced between insurers, whether you were a passenger, the rideshare driver, or in another vehicle.

Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents

When a vehicle hits a person, the injuries are rarely minor. Drivers who fail to yield in crosswalks or run lights downtown cause some of the worst injuries we see. Insurance companies love to blame the person on foot or on the bike — we don’t let that go unanswered.

Bus Accidents

Bus cases — city buses, charter buses, airport shuttles — often involve a governmental entity, and that changes everything: much shorter notice deadlines, damage caps, and special procedures. If a public bus was involved in your crash, call us quickly. You may have months, not years, to preserve your claim.

Boating Accidents

Lake Travis and Lake Austin get crowded, and every summer alcohol, inexperience, and overloaded boats cause serious injuries. Boating accident claims follow their own reporting and liability rules, but the heart of the case is familiar: someone operated carelessly, and you got hurt.

Explore Our Accident & Injury Practice Areas

Want details on your specific type of crash? Each of these pages goes deeper:

Why Injured Texans Hire Us Instead of a Billboard Firm

You’ve seen the billboards. What they don’t tell you is that at a high-volume firm, your “lawyer” may be a case manager you never meet, and your case is one of hundreds. We run our practice the opposite way. Founding attorney Shane Boasberg is a member of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and he has practiced for more than two decades — including years at the Texas Attorney General’s office, where he learned how the other side builds a case. He founded SMB Law, PC to choose cases carefully and do them right.

Here’s what that means for you: we return calls. We prepare every case as if it’s going to trial, because insurers keep track of which firms actually try cases — and they pay accordingly. And we will never pressure you into a fast, cheap settlement just to close a file.

Case Results

Insurance companies pay attention to results. So should you. A few recent recoveries for our motor vehicle accident clients:

$1,000,000 — Truck accident collision · multiple injuries · full policy limits recovered · 2026
$100,000 — Rear-end collision · herniated disc · full policy limits recovered · 2026
$100,000 — Uber collision · back injury · full policy limits recovered · 2026

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different, and recoveries depend on the facts, the injuries, and the insurance coverage available.

Who Pays After a Texas Crash? Fault and Comparative Negligence

Texas is an at-fault state: the person who caused the wreck is responsible for the harm it caused. But fault is rarely all-or-nothing. Texas uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar — you can recover as long as you were not more than 50% responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If your damages are $100,000 and a jury puts 20% of the blame on you, you recover $80,000.

This is exactly why adjusters work so hard to shift fault onto you — every percentage point saves them money. It’s also why you should never accept blame on a recorded call before the facts are in.

What Your Injury Claim May Be Worth

No honest lawyer can quote you a number on the first phone call. What we can do is make sure every category of loss is counted:

Economic damages — medical bills (past and future), lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. Non-economic damages — physical pain, mental anguish, impairment, and disfigurement. Exemplary damages — in cases of gross negligence, like a drunk driver, Texas law allows additional damages meant to punish.

One promise we make every client: we don’t settle until we understand the full extent of your injuries. A settlement signed too early is money left on the table — permanently.

Not sure what a fair number even looks like? Get a quick ballpark from our free car accident settlement calculator before you ever talk numbers with an adjuster. And to see where Austin wrecks actually happen, explore our crash-data map of the 25 most dangerous intersections in Austin.

What to Do After a Motor Vehicle Accident in Austin

Get medical care now, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks injuries, and gaps in treatment are the first thing insurers use against you.
Report the crash. Call 911 from the scene; make sure a crash report gets made. Boating accidents have their own reporting requirements.
Photograph everything — vehicles, the scene, your injuries, the other driver’s license and insurance card.
Get witness names and phone numbers before they drive away.
Do not give the other side’s insurer a recorded statement. Politely decline and refer them to your lawyer.
Call us before you sign or accept anything. The consultation is free, and it may save you from an offer you’d regret.

Deadlines: The Texas Statute of Limitations

In most Texas injury cases you have two years from the date of the crash to file suit (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). There are two traps inside that rule. First, claims involving a governmental unit — a city bus, a government vehicle — require formal written notice much sooner, sometimes within a few months or even weeks. Second, the practical deadline is earlier than the legal one: camera footage gets erased, vehicles get repaired, and witnesses forget. Two years sounds like plenty of time. Building a strong case in the last month of it is not.

How Our Contingency Fee Works

You pay nothing up front and nothing out of pocket. Our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you — and if we recover nothing, you owe us no fee. We put the agreement in writing before we lift a finger, and we’ll walk you through exactly how case expenses are handled. The consultation is free, and so is our honest opinion about whether your case is worth pursuing.

Talk to Us About Your Crash — Free Consultation

Call (512) 561-5003 or visit our office at 1204 San Antonio Street, Suite 201, in downtown Austin — a short walk from the Travis County courthouse complex (get directions). Bring your crash report, photos, and insurance information if you have them. If you don’t, come anyway. Deadlines don’t wait, and neither do we. The map under “Areas We Serve” below shows exactly where to find us.

Call Us Today. It's Just That Easy

Call Now

(512) 561-5003

Search Our Site

Our Lawyers

Practice Area

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer in Austin?

Nothing up front. We handle motor vehicle accident cases on a contingency fee: our fee is a percentage of what we recover, and if we recover nothing, you owe no fee. The percentage and how expenses work are spelled out in writing before we start, and the consultation itself is free.

What if the crash was partly my fault?

You can still recover in Texas as long as you were not more than 50% responsible. Your compensation is reduced by your share of fault — so if you were 20% at fault on a $100,000 claim, you’d recover $80,000. Because every percentage point matters, don’t admit fault to an adjuster before the evidence is in.

How long do I have to file an injury claim in Texas?

Generally two years from the date of the accident under the Texas statute of limitations. But if a governmental entity is involved — like a city bus — formal notice deadlines can be a matter of months or even weeks. And practically, key evidence disappears fast, so the sooner you call, the stronger your case.

Will my case have to go to trial?

Most cases settle without a trial. But we prepare every case as if it’s going to one, because insurance companies pay more to firms they know will actually try a case. Whether to accept a settlement is always your decision — our job is to make sure it’s an informed one.

The other driver's insurance company keeps calling. What should I tell them?

As little as possible. You have no obligation to give the other side’s insurer a recorded statement, and those calls are designed to lock you into answers that shrink your claim. Politely decline, take down their information, and let us handle the communication from there.

AREAS WE SERVE IN AUSTIN, TX

MAPPED LOCATIONS

Liberty Hill, Leander, Cedar Park, Brushy Creek, Jollyville, Wells Branch, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Great Hills, Northwest Hills, Westlake Hills, Barton Creek, Bee Cave, Lost Creek, Oak Hill, Dripping Springs, South Austin, Manchaca, Buda, Kyle, Mountain City, Sunset Valley, Del Valle, Daffan, Manor, North Austin, Windsor Park, East Riverside-Oltorf, Webberville, East Austin, Mueller, Windsor Park, Great Hills, and Round Rock.

Local Auto Repair Shops

Precision Auto Body- 7910 Burleson Rd Building 1, Austin, TX78744
Dent Works of Austin - 9705 Burnet Road, Suite 314, Austin, TX 78758
The Ding Company - 901 S MoPac Exp Bldg 1 , Ste 300 Austin, TX 78746
Auto Tek - 4313 Gillis St, Austin, TX 78745
Austin Body Works - 1310 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Disclaimer:

The information provided on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For full details, please review our Disclaimer Policy.

Blogs for Car Accidents

Top 10 Most Dangerous Intersections in Austin: Safety Tips and Insights
What to do in the minutes and days after a crash in Austin
How fault and compensation are determined under Texas law
Our blog covers car accident claims, insurance negotiations, and what to expect from the legal process in Texas.
When to involve a car accident lawyer after a collision
Visit the SMB Law blog for more accident and injury guides