Longview wrecks happen on I-20, on US-80 through the commercial stretches, on Loop 281 between the neighborhoods and the employment centers, and on Eastman Road at shift change near the Eastman Chemical plant. The people in them are taken to CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center on East Marshall Avenue or Longview Regional Medical Center on North Fourth Street, both Level III trauma centers. The Longview Police Department writes the crash report inside the city, and the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office writes it on the county roads. A suit is filed with the Gregg County District Clerk on East Methvin Street and assigned to one of the Gregg County District Courts, the 124th, 188th, or 307th. In the first week Trey Morris Injury Lawyers requests that report, sends preservation letters for the other driver’s vehicle data, and asks the businesses along I-20 and US-80 for their camera footage.
Texas law governs the claim, and it does not change from Gregg County to the next. A Longview car crash is a two-year filing under CPRC Section 16.003, and under the 51% bar in CPRC Section 33.001 the claimant recovers nothing if the claimant’s share crosses that line. Trey Morris Injury Lawyers builds that personal injury file from the crash report before an adjuster uses speeding or phone use to push fault above 50%.
How Car Accidents Happen on Longview Roads
I-20 is the dominant crash corridor in Longview. The interstate carries a constant mix of passenger vehicles and commercial freight, and the volume creates conditions where recognition errors and decision errors compound each other. According to NHTSA, driver error accounts for 94% of all crashes. Recognition errors (distraction, inadequate surveillance) make up 41% of that total. Decision errors (speeding, misjudging gaps) account for another 33%.
US-80 and Loop 281 see their own patterns. US-80 runs through dense commercial stretches where rear-end collisions at signalized intersections are common. Loop 281 carries traffic between residential areas and employment centers, with speed differentials creating merge and lane-change crashes. Eastman Road, near the Eastman Chemical facility, sees significant congestion during shift changes.
The commercial truck traffic on I-20 creates a specific problem. When a passenger vehicle and a semi-truck collide, the injury dynamics are fundamentally different from a two-car crash. If a commercial driver was involved in your accident, the legal issues are different too. See our page on Longview truck accident lawyers for that specific context.
A car accident case near I-20 turns on the freight patterns in that corridor, the TxDOT crash data, and the common defendant profiles.
Texas Fault Rules and What They Mean for Your Case
Proportionate responsibility
Texas’s fault-allocation system under CPRC Chapter 33. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If your share of responsibility exceeds 50%, you recover nothing.
Proportionate responsibility governs every car accident claim in Texas.
To establish liability at all, four elements must be proven: duty (the other driver had an obligation to operate safely), breach (they failed that obligation), causation (the breach caused the collision), and damages (you suffered actual harm). Insurers attack each element. Most often they attack causation and fault percentage.
The 51% bar under CPRC Section 33.001 is the critical threshold. Speeding, following too closely, cell phone use, and failure to wear a seatbelt are all used to argue your contribution.
Texas also permits defendants to designate responsible third parties under CPRC Section 33.004. If the defendant identifies another party as partly responsible, you have 60 days to add that party to the lawsuit. Missing that window can limit your recovery.
Texas Auto Insurance Minimums and Coverage Gaps
Texas requires every driver to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage under Tex. Transp. Code 601.072. Those are the 30/60/25 minimums. Many drivers carry only what the law requires.
UM/UIM
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. A provision in your own auto insurance policy that pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance (UM) or not enough insurance to cover your damages (UIM). Texas insurers must offer it with every auto policy, but policyholders can reject it in writing.
A single hospitalization for a serious injury can exceed the per-person limit within days. When the at-fault driver’s coverage is exhausted, your own UM/UIM coverage becomes the primary source of recovery.
Under Tex. Ins. Code Chapter 1952, insurers must offer UM/UIM with every auto policy. If you did not reject it in writing, you likely have it. Review your declarations page now, before you need to use it.
Stowers doctrine
An insurer’s duty to accept a reasonable settlement demand within the policy limits when the three Stowers conditions are met: the claim is within the policy’s scope, the demand is within the limits, and an ordinarily prudent insurer would accept it. Breach of this duty exposes the insurer to liability for the entire excess judgment.
The Stowers doctrine is the other important pressure point. If the insurer refuses a reasonable settlement demand within policy limits and a verdict later exceeds those limits, the insurer bears responsibility for the excess. The at-fault driver’s personal exposure is absorbed by the insurer’s breach. See the Longview injury lawyers hub for an overview of how we approach coverage issues across all case types.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Longview Car Accident?
The driver who caused your crash is the primary defendant. They are not always the only one.
respondeat superior
Latin for “let the master answer.” An employer is liable for negligent acts committed by an employee while acting within the scope of employment. The key question is whether the driver was doing their job, or on a personal detour, at the time of the crash.
If the driver was working at the time of the collision, their employer may be jointly liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. This matters because employers typically carry substantially higher insurance limits than individual drivers.
negligent entrustment
A legal theory holding a vehicle owner liable for knowingly allowing an unqualified, incompetent, or reckless person to drive their vehicle. Applies when the owner knew or should have known about the driver’s unfitness at the time they gave permission.
Vehicle owners face liability under negligent entrustment when they let someone else drive their car. If the at-fault driver was using a borrowed vehicle, both the driver and the owner may be defendants.
Government entity liability applies when a defective road condition contributed to the crash. Missing signage, poor drainage on Loop 281, a broken signal at an I-20 interchange, or inadequate lane markings on a TxDOT-maintained road can support a separate claim. These claims have different notice requirements and shorter windows than standard personal injury suits. If a road condition played a role in your crash, that issue needs to be evaluated early.
Dram shop claims arise when a bar or restaurant served an obviously intoxicated person who then caused a crash. Under Tex. Alc. Bev. Code Section 2.02, that establishment can be held liable. Dram shop claims require specific evidence about the server’s observations and the patron’s condition at the time of service.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; each case is decided on its own facts. See our full case results.
Evidence That Determines What Your Case Is Worth
The crash report is the starting document for any claim. If Longview Police Department responded, you request the report from LPD. If the crash occurred in an unincorporated area of Gregg County, the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office handled it. The report contains contributing factor codes, fault assessments, and the officer’s narrative. None of those are final. Insurers challenge them. Your attorney can challenge them too, with physical evidence and expert analysis.
Dashcam footage is often decisive. Your own vehicle, the other driver’s vehicle, and businesses along I-20 and US-80 may all have relevant footage. Preservation demands must go out quickly. Businesses typically overwrite footage within 30 to 72 hours. Once it is gone, it cannot be recovered.
Cell phone records establish whether the other driver was texting or calling at the time of impact. Obtaining those records requires a subpoena or a preservation demand served promptly. Medical records from Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center or East Texas Medical Center (ETMC) establish the nature and extent of your injuries. The documentation from your initial evaluation sets the foundation for every subsequent claim calculation.
ECM
Engine Control Module. The vehicle’s onboard computer that records pre-impact speed, braking application, throttle position, and seatbelt status. Sometimes called the “black box.” On passenger vehicles, data can be overwritten after a set number of ignition cycles without a preservation demand.
ECM data from the at-fault vehicle records speed, braking, and throttle in the moments before impact. Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts collected at the scene round out the evidentiary picture. Photos of vehicle damage, skid mark patterns, road conditions, signal timing, and sight lines all matter.
Your Longview Injury Attorneys
Founder Trey Morris leads every injury case the firm takes.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident in Longview?
Texas law requires you to stay at the scene of an accident involving injury or significant property damage. Leaving when someone is injured is a criminal offense under Tex. Transp. Code 550.021. Call 911 when there are injuries, deaths, or damage that makes a vehicle undriveable.
While you are at the scene, document what you can. Collect the other driver’s name, license number, insurance carrier, and policy number. Photograph the vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, and any visible road conditions. Collect names and contact information from witnesses before they leave. Their recollections are most reliable immediately after the crash.
Seek medical evaluation the same day, even if you do not feel seriously hurt. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and internal injuries often do not produce acute symptoms at the scene. A delayed medical visit gives insurers a gap to argue that your injuries were not caused by the crash.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company without speaking to an attorney first. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that establish contributing fault or minimize injury severity. You are not required to provide one.
The Texas statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the date of the accident under CPRC Section 16.003. Missing that deadline eliminates your right to sue, regardless of how strong your case is. There are narrow exceptions for minors and certain discovery rule situations, but the two-year clock is the default rule.
Medical Expenses and the Texas Collateral Source Rule
Texas modified the traditional collateral source rule. Under CPRC Section 41.0105, recovery of medical expenses is limited to amounts actually paid or incurred. The Texas Supreme Court addressed this in Haygood v. De Escabedo, 356 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. 2012). If your health insurer negotiated a reduced rate, you generally cannot recover the full billed amount. You recover the amount actually accepted as payment.
This makes your billing records, Explanation of Benefits documents, and payment receipts critical. They establish the recoverable medical expense figure. Collect and preserve them from every provider, including emergency services, imaging centers, and specialists.
Future medical expenses require expert testimony. A treating physician or life care planner must project ongoing treatment needs and their cost. Cases involving surgery, rehabilitation, chronic pain management, or permanent impairment require this analysis to capture the full economic picture.
MMI
Maximum Medical Improvement. The point at which your treating physician determines your condition has stabilized and further treatment is unlikely to produce significant change. Case value is typically assessed at MMI because the full extent of the injury and its long-term costs are not known until that point.
MMI is the standard benchmark for evaluating a case. Settling before MMI means settling without knowing the full picture. Insurance companies often push early settlements for exactly that reason.
For cases involving fatalities, the claims structure changes significantly. See our page on Longview wrongful death lawyers for that specific context.
What clients say
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Reviews reflect individual client experiences. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Working With a Longview Car Accident Attorney
contingency fee
A fee arrangement where the attorney receives a percentage of the recovery and collects nothing if there is no recovery. The client pays no attorney fees upfront and owes nothing if the case does not result in a recovery.
Trey Morris Injury Lawyers handles car accident cases in Longview and throughout East Texas. We work on a contingency fee basis. No fee unless there is a recovery. The initial consultation is at no charge.
Our case investigation follows a specific protocol. Preservation demands go out within 24 to 48 hours of retention to secure dashcam footage, ECM data, and any business surveillance video. Medical record requests are sent simultaneously. When liability is disputed, we work with accident reconstruction experts who can establish speed, impact dynamics, and fault percentages using physical evidence rather than relying on the crash report alone.
Trey Morris Injury Lawyers attorneys carry AV Preeminent ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review rating in the legal profession. Our attorneys are listed in Super Lawyers. The firm has practiced in East Texas for over 20 years. That is a verifiable record. View our case results to see the outcomes we have achieved.
Trey Morris Injury Lawyers handles file management and client updates directly, and contests every lowball offer an insurer puts on the table. Learn more about Trey Morris Injury Lawyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Texas?
What if the other driver had no insurance?
What is the 51% rule in Texas car accident cases?
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
What does a Longview car accident lawyer cost?
Which hospital should I go to after a car accident in Longview?
What if I did not feel hurt right after the accident?
Should I talk to the other driver's insurance company after an accident?
How long does a car accident claim take to resolve in Texas?
Last updated September 25, 2026