Drivers are legally required to slow down or change lanes for a stopped tow truck in Texas, and plenty of them don’t. If that’s how you got hurt, the law is already on your side before your case even starts. George Salinas Injury Lawyers handles Austin tow truck accident cases in English or Spanish, with no fee unless we win.
Available 24/7. Call (512) 851-1004 today to talk to an Austin tow truck accident lawyer about your case.
Resources On This Page
- Do You Need a Lawyer After a Tow Truck Accident?
- Were You Hit by a Passing Car While the Tow Truck Was Helping You?
- Did the Tow Truck Itself Hit You?
- Why the Type of Tow Matters for Your Claim
- Compensation You Can Recover After a Tow Truck Accident
- The Cost of Hiring an Austin Tow Truck Accident Lawyer
- How Long Do You Have to File a Claim in Texas?
- What to Do After a Tow Truck Accident in Austin
- Why Austin Trusts George Salinas Injury Lawyers With These Cases
- Ask George Salinas Injury Lawyers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Schedule Your Free Consultation
Do You Need a Lawyer After a Tow Truck Accident?
Yes. Tow truck accidents tend to involve more moving parts than an ordinary crash, often a stranded driver, a passing car, the tow operator, and sometimes the towing company’s own insurance tier. Sorting out who’s responsible, and how much insurance actually applies, is exactly the kind of work that determines what you recover.
Were You Hit by a Passing Car While the Tow Truck Was Helping You?
This is one of the most common tow truck accident scenarios, and Texas law addresses it directly. The Move Over law requires drivers approaching a stopped tow truck to either change into the next lane over or slow down significantly.
A driver who fails to do that and causes a crash can face criminal penalties on top of civil liability, and a citation for violating this law can become real evidence in your injury claim.
Did the Tow Truck Itself Hit You?
That happens too, often while a vehicle is being hooked up or while the truck is backing into position. These cases usually come down to whether the operator followed standard safety procedure, including using proper signals, spotters, or warning equipment before moving.
Not sure exactly what happened or who’s responsible? Call (512) 851-1004 and we’ll help you sort it out, free of charge.
Why the Type of Tow Matters for Your Claim
Texas requires every tow truck to carry a permit, and the minimum insurance required depends on which kind. A truck permitted for ordinary consent tows, the kind you’d call yourself, needs at least $300,000 in liability coverage. A truck permitted for nonconsent tows from private property needs that same $300,000 plus $50,000 in cargo insurance. A truck permitted for incident management towing, the kind dispatched by police to clear an accident scene, needs $500,000 in liability coverage plus $50,000 in cargo insurance.
Knowing which permit applied to the truck that hit you tells you how much insurance is actually required to be there.
Compensation You Can Recover After a Tow Truck Accident
A successful claim can cover both your immediate costs and the harder to measure parts of your recovery. This typically includes:
- Medical bills, including emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation
- Future medical costs for a permanent or long-term injury
- Lost wages and any long-term loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering and emotional distress
The Cost of Hiring an Austin Tow Truck Accident Lawyer
Nothing upfront. We handle these cases on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Your initial consultation is free, with no obligation to hire us afterward.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim in Texas?
Texas generally gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Acting quickly still helps preserve dashcam footage, dispatch records, and the citation if one was issued, since that evidence can disappear faster than the deadline itself suggests.
What to Do After a Tow Truck Accident in Austin
What you do in the first hours and days can affect both your health and your claim. Here’s what matters most:
- Get medical care right away, even if you feel mostly fine.
- Call the police so a crash report gets filed, and ask whether a Move Over law citation was issued.
- Photograph the scene, including the tow truck’s markings, any visible permit number, and the position of all vehicles involved.
- Get the names and contact information of any witnesses.
- Avoid giving a recorded statement to any insurer before talking to a lawyer.
Why Austin Trusts George Salinas Injury Lawyers With These Cases
Tow truck drivers operate under specific safety duties. When they breach those duties in Austin, we hold them fully accountable.
- The Insider’s Advantage: Many of our attorneys have “seen under the hood” of insurance defense. We know how carriers minimize tow truck claims, and we act first to prevent those tactics from succeeding.
- Proven Results: Backed by over 110 years of combined legal experience and over $100 million recovered, we are prepared to fund the expert investigation your case requires.
- Trial-Ready Authority: As an ABOTA member, George Salinas holds our firm to the highest standard of trial preparation.
- Local Insight & 24/7 Service: We know the Austin roads where tow truck accidents frequently occur.
We are available 24/7 to handle your case directly, in English or Spanish, with no call centers involved.
Meet Our Top-Rated Austin Tow Truck Accident Attorneys
Ask George Salinas Injury Lawyers
Q: What if the driver who hit me says they didn’t see the tow truck in time?
A: That’s not a defense under the Move Over law. Drivers are required to slow down or change lanes regardless of whether they claim they didn’t notice in time, and “I didn’t see it” is exactly the kind of inattention the law was written to address.
Q: What if I was the one being towed when the accident happened?
A: You can still have a claim, whether against the driver who hit the scene, the tow operator, or both, depending on what actually caused the crash. Being the stranded motorist doesn’t reduce your right to recover for someone else’s negligence.
Q: Does a Move Over law violation help my case even though it’s technically a criminal charge?
A: Yes. A citation or conviction doesn’t automatically win your civil case, but it’s strong supporting evidence that the other driver broke a specific legal duty, which can carry real weight with an insurance adjuster or a jury.
Q: What if the tow truck dropped the vehicle it was towing and that caused the crash?
A: That points toward an equipment or securement problem, which can shift focus to whether the truck was properly equipped and whether the operator followed standard procedure for securing the load.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I was a passenger in the car being towed?
You may have a separate claim of your own, depending on what caused the crash and who was at fault. Being a passenger doesn’t limit your right to recover.
Will the towing company try to settle quickly?
Sometimes, especially if the case looks straightforward on paper. It’s worth talking to a lawyer before accepting anything, since an early offer rarely reflects the full extent of your injuries.
What if I was found partially at fault for the crash?
You can still recover compensation as long as you’re found 50% or less at fault, though your payout is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. For example, $180,000 in damages with 20% fault assigned to you would reduce your recovery to $144,000.
Will my case go to trial?
Most claims settle before trial, but we prepare every case as though it’s headed to a jury. That preparation is often exactly what convinces the other side to offer a fair settlement instead of risking a verdict.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
If a tow truck accident left you hurt in Austin, the law already gives you more to work with than you might realize. Call George Salinas Injury Lawyers at (512) 851-1004 for a free consultation in English or Spanish. There’s no fee unless we win.