Texarkana Personal Injury Lawyers

Texarkana wrecks happen on I-30 running west toward Dallas, on the US-59 and US-71 freight corridors through Bowie County, and at the intersections along State Line Avenue, where the Texas side ends and the Arkansas side begins. The people hurt in them are taken to CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital on St. Michael Drive, the Level III trauma center for the area, or to Wadley Regional Medical Center on Pine Street. Inside the Texas city limits the Texarkana Texas Police Department writes the report; the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, which shares the same building on North State Line Avenue, works the county roads. A Bowie County injury suit is not filed in Texarkana at all. It goes to the county seat in New Boston, to the 102nd District Court at 710 James Bowie Drive, through the Bowie County District Clerk in the same courthouse. Trey Morris Injury Lawyers pins down which side of State Line Avenue the wreck was on, pulls the report from the right agency, and collects the St. Michael records.

The law that governs the Texas side is Texas law, and it reads the same in Bowie County as anywhere else in the state. A Texarkana personal-injury claim on the Texas side is a two-year filing under CPRC Section 16.003(a), and a claimant found 51% or more at fault under CPRC Section 33.001 recovers nothing. Trey Morris Injury Lawyers sorts that Texas case from an Arkansas crash a few feet across the line before the wrong limitations period is used.

Texas Personal Injury Law: What Texarkana Residents Need to Know

Texarkana is a twin city. The Texas side sits in Bowie County; the Arkansas side sits in Miller County, across State Line Avenue. That line is not just a street name. It is a legal boundary that decides which state’s law governs your claim, where you file, and how long you have to do it.

proportionate responsibility

Texas’s fault-allocation system under CPRC Chapter 33. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your damages are reduced proportionally.

Texas gives injured people two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. That deadline is set by CPRC Section 16.003(a) and runs from the date of injury, not the date you discover the full extent of your injuries. Two years sounds like a long time. It is not, once you account for investigation, evidence collection, and reaching maximum medical improvement.

Texas allocates fault under proportionate responsibility. Under CPRC Section 33.001, a claimant who is 51% or more at fault recovers nothing. At exactly 50%, you can still recover, but your damages are reduced by 50%.

Evidence gathered in the first 48 to 72 hours after a crash matters most for defending fault allocation before an insurer builds its narrative. Trey Morris Injury Lawyers works with accident reconstructionists to preserve that evidence. We send a preservation letter once the facts give us an honest basis for one, and we know that moving as fast as the law permits helps protect the evidence and uncover more of it. For a Texarkana crash, the letter asks whoever holds them to keep the other vehicle and its event data, nearby business and traffic camera video, and the 911 recording, because those records show speed, braking, signal timing and who had the right of way, the facts that decide how fault is divided.

duty of care

A legal obligation to act reasonably under the circumstances. Drivers owe a duty of care to other road users. Property owners owe a duty to lawful visitors. The specific duty depends on the relationship between the parties.

To bring a successful personal injury claim in Texas, you must prove four elements: the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached that duty, the breach caused your injury, and you suffered compensable damages. All four elements must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.

The State Line Wrinkle: Texas or Arkansas?

In most cities the question of which state’s law applies never comes up. In Texarkana it can decide your whole case. State Line Avenue runs north to south through the heart of the city, and businesses, intersections, and crash sites sit on both sides of it. The general rule is that the law of the place where the injury occurred governs the claim.

The practical consequences are significant. Texas gives you two years to file under CPRC Section 16.003. Arkansas applies a different limitations period. Texas uses the 51% proportionate-responsibility bar under Chapter 33. Arkansas applies its own modified comparative fault standard. A crash a few feet on one side of the line is a Texas case; the same crash a few feet over is not.

That is why the first task in a Texarkana injury claim is fixing the precise location of the crash. The crash report, the responding agency, and GPS data establish which state the injury occurred in. An attorney who handles claims in this market confirms the controlling state before calculating any deadline, because applying the wrong state’s filing deadline can forfeit the claim.

The Texas rules below govern claims arising in Bowie County. An injury on the Arkansas side falls under Arkansas law, which carries a different limitations period and a different comparative fault standard.

Where Are Personal Injury Cases Filed in Bowie County?

Personal injury cases against Texas defendants in Texarkana are filed in the Bowie County District Courts. Unlike many Texas counties, Bowie County’s district courts do not sit in its largest city. They sit at the county seat in New Boston, about 25 miles west of Texarkana, at 710 James Bowie Drive. The 102nd and 5th District Courts carry the civil docket, and civil filings run through the Bowie County District Clerk at that same New Boston courthouse.

Federal civil rights or diversity jurisdiction cases involving Texas defendants may be heard by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division.

Where you file affects which judge and which jury pool hears your case. The Bowie County jury pool is drawn from the county, a different community than a metro pool, and a firm’s record of trying cases in Bowie County courts, not just settling them, reflects familiarity with that pool.

Trey Morris Injury Lawyers has appeared in Texas courts throughout our 25-plus years of practice. We know which venues present specific challenges for injury plaintiffs and how to prepare for them.

Damages in a Texas Personal Injury Case

Damages in Texas personal injury cases fall into three categories. Economic damages are measurable: past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. Non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. These are real losses without a receipt.

Exemplary damages

Texas term for punitive damages under CPRC Section 41.008. Requires clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Capped at the greater of two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000, or $200,000.

Exemplary damages are available in cases involving malice, fraud, or gross negligence, subject to statutory caps under CPRC Section 41.008. Texas places no statutory cap on damages in general personal injury cases. The one significant exception is medical malpractice: under the Texas Medical Liability Act (CPRC Chapter 74), non-economic damages against physicians and health care providers are capped, separate from the rules that govern car accidents, truck accidents, and premises liability.

Texas does not allow direct action against an at-fault driver’s insurer. You sue the person or company that caused the injury. The insurer defends and pays any judgment, but is not a named defendant.

Representative Results

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$409 Million Wrongful Death

A tragic case where an impaired driver of a commercial vehicle ran a red light, then collided with our client, causing serious bodily injury to the mother and the loss of life of her daughter.

$49 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

An impaired driver of a stolen vehicle driving the wrong way collided with our client head-on, resulting in brain injury and multiple broken bones.

$32,195,000 Industrial / Workplace

Failure to maintain proper safety protocols led to an explosion at an industrial plant causing a series of catastrophic injuries from broken bones, burns, spinal injury, and mental anguish.

$31.5 Million Industrial / Workplace

Brain and spinal injuries followed an oil-field company failing to maintain equipment and provide a safe work site.

$17.25 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

Client was struck head-on by a disconnected load of an 18-wheeler that crossed the median causing broken bones and amputation.

$13 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

On the interstate, an 18-wheeler failed to yield right of way then made an unsafe lane change causing the accident which resulted in major bone breaks, damaged organs, and ultimately a leg amputation.

$12.1 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

A commercial vehicle failed to stop at a red light subsequently crashing into our client causing serious brain injury and permanent loss of function.

$7 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

When the other vehicle struck our client, the result was a major hemorrhage and a stroke.

$7 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

An 18-wheeler cut across traffic on an illegal left turn and hit our client, who suffered neck and back injuries.

$6.25 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

A fatigued commercial-vehicle driver fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended our client, leaving our client with severe neck and back injuries.

$4.95 Million Wrongful Death

A hydraulic line exploded at a job site, taking the life of our client's loved one.

$4 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

Our client's vehicle was struck by the at-fault vehicle, resulting in neck and back injuries.

$3.3 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

Motor vehicle collision. Details not publicly disclosed.

$3.25 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

Commercial vehicle collision. Details not publicly disclosed.

$3.2 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

While our client was stopped, the at-fault driver rear-ended our client's vehicle and set it on fire, leaving our client seriously hurt.

$3.15 Million Wrongful Death

An 18-wheeler caused a fatal collision that took the life of our client's loved one.

$3 Million Commercial Vehicle Accident

A commercial vehicle struck and killed our client's loved one, who was on foot.

$3 Million Motor Vehicle Accident

Out on the highway, the at-fault driver hit our client.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; each case is decided on its own facts. See our full case results.

Auto Insurance Minimums and UM/UIM in Texas

Texas requires every driver to carry minimum auto liability coverage of 30/60/25 under Tex. Transp. Code Section 601.072. That is $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. These minimums have not kept pace with the actual cost of serious injuries.

UM/UIM

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. Pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient coverage to pay your damages. Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM with every auto policy. You may reject it in writing, but doing so is rarely advisable.

When the at-fault driver carries only minimum coverage, the gap between their policy limit and your actual damages becomes your problem, unless you have UM/UIM. Under Tex. Ins. Code Chapter 1952, Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage with every policy. If you did not reject it in writing, you likely have it. In a state-line crash, identifying every available policy matters even more, because the at-fault driver may be insured under an Arkansas or out-of-state policy.

For practice area detail, see our pages on car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and truck accidents below.

What We Handle

TexarkanaPractice Areas

• Car AccidentsRear-end, intersection, and highway collisions across Louisiana.
• Truck Accidents18-wheeler and commercial-vehicle wrecks governed by federal trucking rules.
• Wrongful DeathClaims brought by families after a fatal accident or act of negligence.

Texarkana Practice Areas and Crash Corridors

Trey Morris Injury Lawyers handles the full range of personal injury cases in Texarkana and Bowie County.

Texarkana sits at a freight crossroads. I-30 runs west toward Dallas and is the primary long-haul corridor through the city, carrying heavy commercial truck traffic. US-59 and US-71 feed regional and interstate freight north and south through Bowie County. State Line Avenue carries dense urban and intersection traffic down the Texas-Arkansas boundary. Each corridor presents a different injury profile, from high-speed interstate truck collisions on I-30 to lower-speed intersection crashes in the urban core.

Commercial truck cases on I-30 and the US-59/US-71 corridors involve evidence that does not exist in passenger car cases: FMCSA hours-of-service logs, electronic logging device data, and post-crash inspection reports. That evidence can be lost if it is not preserved quickly. Surveillance cameras and commercial vehicle dash cams are most prevalent on these major corridors, and acting fast after a crash can preserve video before it overwrites.

Pedestrian, motorcycle, and premises liability claims arise across the Texarkana market as well. In premises cases, Texas liability turns on the visitor’s legal status: an invitee receives the highest protection, a licensee less, and a trespasser almost none. In motorcycle cases, Texas requires helmets only for riders under 21 unless the rider completed a safety course or carries at least $10,000 in first-party medical coverage; helmet non-use does not bar recovery but may affect damages arguments.

Your Texarkana Injury Attorneys

Founder Trey Morris leads every injury case the firm takes.

• 

  Trey Morris

  Owner

CHRISTUS St. Michael and Texarkana Trauma Care

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System on St. Michael Drive is the designated Level III trauma center serving the Texarkana area. Level III designation means St. Michael maintains around-the-clock emergency and surgical capacity to evaluate, stabilize, and treat serious injuries, and to transfer the most complex cases to higher-level centers when needed.

The treating physicians, specialists, and records from the hospital that treated you become critical evidence in serious injury litigation. Your attorney should understand how to request complete record sets, how to coordinate with treating physicians, and when to retain them as expert witnesses.

Medical record acquisition, physician coordination, and expert witness retention are substantial work in a serious injury case. A firm that staffs that work separately from legal strategy delivers more thoroughness on both fronts than one where attorneys handle the medical work themselves.

Reporting a Crash in Texarkana

In a car accident, call the police. A formal crash report is among the first documents your attorney will request. It establishes that the accident occurred, identifies the at-fault driver, records any citations, and captures the responding officer’s assessment. The report also documents where the crash happened, which on the state line can decide whether Texas or Arkansas law applies.

Which agency responds depends on where the crash occurred. Crashes within the Texas city limits fall to the Texarkana Texas Police Department, which shares a headquarters building with the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office on North State Line Avenue. The sheriff’s office works crashes on unincorporated Bowie County roads. Crashes on the Texas interstates and state highways through the county, including I-30, are typically worked by the Texas Department of Public Safety. A crash on the Arkansas side falls to Arkansas agencies, which is one more reason the precise location matters.

Wrongful Death in Texas

Texas wrongful death law is narrower than most people expect. Under CPRC Chapter 71, only three categories of family members may bring a wrongful death claim: the surviving spouse, surviving children (including adopted children), and surviving parents (natural or adoptive only). Siblings, grandchildren, stepparents who did not legally adopt, and divorced spouses cannot file.

This limitation creates gaps. If the deceased had no spouse, children, or living parents, no wrongful death claim exists even if the death was clearly someone else’s fault. If no qualifying family member files within three months, the executor or administrator of the estate must bring the action.

The survival action under Section 71.021 runs parallel to wrongful death. It recovers the decedent’s own losses: pain and suffering between injury and death, pre-death medical expenses, and lost earnings. The two claims are separate. Both can be filed simultaneously. Both carry a two-year statute of limitations from the date of death.

Trey Morris Injury Lawyers has handled wrongful death litigation in Texas courts. These cases require building a complete factual record under tight timelines while coordinating with families during an extremely difficult period.

What clients say

• ★★★★★

  Where should I start!?

  Trey Morris Injury Law Firm was a great fit for me! During this wild time of getting into a car wreck, dealing with insurance, and other third parties, Mrs. Brooke and Mrs. Nerren were extremely helpful! They were there for me through the whole process and never once did I doubt their professionalism. They will fight tooth and nail for you and get you what you deserve. I would recommend them to anyone.

  DDakota R.Ruston Office · Oct. 22, 2026
• ★★★★★

  Trey Morris what a great experience if I ever have to suggest a lawyer's office Morris is my first choice will be suggesting to friends and family

  AAdam W.Shreveport Office · Oct. 16, 2026
• ★★★★★

  Very professional and very easy to work with throughout the whole case!

  Lane and Men helped make the whole process go smonthly with no stress

  VVictoria M.Lake Charles Office · Oct. 8, 2026
• ★★★★★

  Great experience overall.

  Seth and Jessica were always there to help and I could tell they truly had my best interest in mind. I was overwhelmed after my incident and they walked me through every step of the way and provided a lot of relief.

  JJoel B.Covington Office · Sep. 14, 2026
• ★★★★★

  I hired [Trey Morris Injury Lawyers] to represent me with my case.

  Mr. Lane Robinson, Jessica, and Yadira has been with me every step of the way, making sure I received the proper care I needed to get well. They always called emailed and text to make sure I was doing OK. I would recommend the firm to anyone. They have an amazing team. I couldn’t have made a better choice. Thank you all for everything you have done for me and my family.

  KKaterrica C.Minden Office · Aug. 12, 2026
• ★★★★★

  I just want to express how pleased I am with [Trey Morris Injury Lawyers].

  Their caring team made a huge difference in my experience. From the moment I reached out, they were attentive and supportive, guiding me through every step of the process. They truly took the time to listen to my concerns and made me feel valued as a client. I highly recommend their services to anyone in need of a compassionate and dedicated legal team!

  MMaram Z.Ruston Office · Apr. 28, 2025

Testimonials do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Why Choose Trey Morris Injury Lawyers

Trey Morris Injury Lawyers handles personal injury cases in Texarkana, Bowie County, and the surrounding region. The firm has represented injured clients in Texas for over 20 years.

Trey Morris Injury Lawyers represents personal injury clients on a contingency fee basis. There is no attorney fee unless the firm recovers compensation for you. The fee percentage is agreed in writing at the outset, and court costs are advanced by the firm and deducted from the recovery if the case succeeds. The initial consultation is free. See our case results or contact us to discuss your case.