Austin Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Common Causes of Motorcycle Crashes in Texas

Many multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes start with a driver who never saw the rider. Distracted motorists looking at phones instead of the road are a leading threat, especially because a motorcycle’s small profile already makes it harder to spot. Left-turn collisions, where a driver turns across the path of an oncoming motorcycle, are among the most dangerous crash scenarios, and drivers impaired by alcohol have slowed reaction times that make it hard to register an approaching rider. Other common causes include the following:

• Unsafe lane changes: drivers who fail to check blind spots before merging into a lane a rider already occupies
• Tailgating: motorists who follow too closely to stop when a rider brakes or swerves around a hazard
• Failure to yield: drivers who pull out of driveways, parking lots, or side streets directly into a rider’s path
• Road hazards and defective vehicles: potholes, loose gravel, and mechanical failures such as faulty brakes or tire blowouts that a car might survive but a motorcycle often cannot

Each of these scenarios calls for a careful investigation to identify every liable party and the evidence needed to prove negligence.

Motorcycle Crashes on Austin Roads

Austin’s busiest corridors combine heavy, fast-moving traffic with constant merging, which leaves little room for error around motorcycles. I-35 brings congestion, ongoing construction, and stop-and-go traffic through downtown, while MoPac and US 183 have fast traffic and tight merges at entrance and exit ramps. Ben White Boulevard has busy interchanges, and the curves, hills, and limited sight lines of Loop 360 and FM 2222 draw recreational riders on weekends.

City data shows the risk remains serious. The City of Austin’s March 2026 Mobility Report found that Austin recorded 99 traffic deaths and 301 serious injuries in 2025, with deaths among motorcyclists rising compared with 2024. The same report notes that roughly 65% to 75% of Austin’s traffic fatalities happen on state-owned roads such as highways and frontage roads.

Overcoming Bias Against Motorcycle Riders

Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys often lean on a cultural bias that assumes riders are reckless risk-takers who caused their own injuries. They point to speed, lane position, and the decision to ride at all as reasons to reduce or deny compensation. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule, which means your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault and barred entirely if you are found more than 50% responsible.

Our attorneys answer those arguments with accident reconstruction analysis, witness testimony, traffic camera footage, and qualified professional opinions that place blame where it belongs. Insurers may also raise lane position or lane splitting to shift fault onto the rider, which is one reason motorcycle claims differ from car accident claims in important ways.

Who Can Be Held Liable for an Austin Motorcycle Crash

The driver who caused the crash is usually the first party we examine, but often not the only one. If the driver was on the job, an employer may share responsibility. A bar or restaurant that kept serving a visibly intoxicated driver may face dram shop liability under Texas law, and a manufacturer may be responsible when a defective part causes or worsens a crash.

Government entities can also play a role when poor road maintenance contributes to a crash, although those claims often carry much shorter notice deadlines. Identifying every responsible party matters because each one may carry its own insurance coverage.

Motorcycle Insurance and Uninsured Driver Claims in Texas

Texas requires drivers and motorcyclists to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Those limits can run out quickly when a rider suffers a serious injury.

When the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may help close the gap. We review every available policy, including yours, to find all sources of compensation. Riders can also check their own Texas motorcycle insurance requirements and coverage to see whether this protection is part of their policy.

Compensation Available to Motorcycle Crash Victims

Motorcycle accident compensation in Texas depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical costs and lost income, the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage, and whether you share any fault. You can seek medical bills, lost wages and earning capacity, physical pain and mental anguish, disfigurement, and damage to your motorcycle and riding gear, plus exemplary damages in cases of gross negligence.

A serious crash can produce medical expenses reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars when emergency surgery, intensive care, and long-term rehabilitation are involved. When a crash is fatal, surviving family members may file a wrongful death claim to recover funeral expenses, lost financial support, loss of companionship, and the mental anguish of losing a family member.

Statute of Limitations for Austin Motorcycle Accident Claims

Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, injured riders generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. When a crash is fatal, surviving family members generally have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.

Missing this deadline typically ends your right to recover compensation in court, no matter how strong the evidence is. Claims involving a city, county, or state vehicle or road often require formal notice much sooner. Our guide to the personal injury statute of limitations explains the exceptions in more detail.

Why Riders Choose Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP

Insurance companies treat a case differently when they know the attorneys handling it are prepared to try it. We are true personal injury trial lawyers, and that leverage means many cases resolve without a trial, but we have the ability and experience to go to court when a fair offer never comes. You will not see us on a TV commercial or billboard, because clients hire us by reputation and word of mouth.

Board certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization is one of the highest credentials a Texas trial lawyer can earn. Robert Alden is Board Certified in both Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law, and Kevin Henrichson is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Our firm is listed in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, and the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Contact Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP About Your Motorcycle Crash

After a motorcycle crash, evidence fades, witnesses become harder to reach, and insurers move quickly to lock riders into low settlements before the full extent of their injuries is known. As Austin’s oldest personal injury law firm, founded in 1959, we act early to preserve evidence, consult the right professionals, and build a case that can stand up to the other side’s tactics.

If you were hurt in a motorcycle crash in Austin or anywhere in Central Texas, we handle every case on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no fees unless we win, and our team is available 24 hours a day, every day. Do not hesitate to schedule an initial consultation with our team.