After a traumatic brain injury caused by someone else’s driving, Texas law lets you seek compensation for medical costs, lost income, and the pain, impairment and changes to daily life the injury causes. Your claim is built on proof of fault and medical records, and a two-year filing deadline generally applies, with limited exceptions.
The short version
- Chapter 41 sorts the damages. Economic damages cover actual money losses; noneconomic damages cover pain, mental anguish, impairment and loss of enjoyment of life (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001).
- Severity drives the claim. The CDC separates mild, moderate and severe TBI, and says moderate or severe injuries may bring long-term or life-long effects.
- Symptoms can be late. Texas Health and Human Services warns that signs may not appear until days, weeks or months after the injury.
- Fault is shared out. A claimant found more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing (§ 33.001), and a lower share reduces the award.
- The clock is generally two years (§ 16.003), though § 16.001 sets aside time for a person under a legal disability, including one of unsound mind. Ask counsel how it applies to your facts.
What compensation can you get for a traumatic brain injury in Texas?
Texas divides a successful injury claim into economic damages, which repay money actually lost, and noneconomic damages, which cover non-financial harm such as pain, mental anguish, impairment and loss of enjoyment of life. A third category, exemplary damages, is a penalty reserved for fraud, malice or gross negligence.
The definitions come from chapter 41 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. It defines economic damages as compensation for “actual economic or pecuniary loss” and lists the noneconomic ones, among them pain and suffering, emotional anguish, disfigurement, impairment, inconvenience, loss of consortium and loss of enjoyment of life (§ 41.001(4) and (12), read October 16, 2026). A brain injury can reach every category at once, because it can affect work, relationships and daily routines.
The medical side of those economic damages has local names in Houston. TIRR Memorial Hermann, in the Texas Medical Center, lists brain injury rehabilitation among its inpatient programs and describes a Challenge Program that works on community integration skills for returning to school, work or volunteer activities after a brain injury (page read October 16, 2026).
| Category | What the statute says it covers | Rule that limits it |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Actual economic or pecuniary loss (§ 41.001(4)), such as medical bills and lost earnings. | Recovery of medical expenses is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or for the claimant (§ 41.0105); lost earnings are proved net of income tax (§ 18.091(a)). |
| Noneconomic | Pain, mental anguish, impairment, loss of companionship and society, loss of enjoyment of life and other nonpecuniary losses (§ 41.001(12)). | The trier of fact finds economic damages separately from the other compensatory damages (§ 41.008(a)). |
| Exemplary | Damages “awarded as a penalty or by way of punishment” (§ 41.001(5)). | A higher standard of proof, fraud, malice or gross negligence, plus a unanimous jury (§ 41.003); a formula cap in § 41.008(b) with exceptions listed in § 41.008(c). |
Crash damages in general are covered in our walk-through of the damage categories; this article stays with brain injury.
How much do you get from a car accident if you had a head injury?
No source we read gives a Texas figure for a brain injury, and any promised number should be doubted. The result turns on who is at fault, what the medical records prove, and how far the injury reaches into work and daily life. The statutes limit how some losses are proved; they set no value.
The CDC’s own description explains why a single number is misleading: a mild TBI or concussion may bring “short-term symptoms” that clear in “a couple of weeks or months,” while a person with a moderate or severe TBI “may have long-term or life-long effects” and may need ongoing rehabilitation (CDC, TBI facts, page dated August 3, 2025). Two people with the same diagnosis label can have very different claims.
The measuring rules appear in our piece on valuing a Houston crash claim, which also declines to give averages. If a lump sum is offered, compare it with a structured settlement first, and for timing see the length of a typical Texas injury case.
How common are traumatic brain injuries in the United States and Texas?
The CDC reports approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020 and 68,663 TBI-related deaths in 2023. Those counts leave out the many brain injuries treated only in an emergency department or doctor’s office, or never treated, so the true number of injuries is larger.
The figures come from the CDC’s TBI data page, updated April 27, 2026, which converts them to more than 586 hospitalizations and 190 deaths per day. The CDC’s fact page says people most commonly get a TBI from a fall, a firearm-related injury, a motor vehicle crash or an assault.
For Texas, the state’s Health and Human Services Commission lists motor vehicle crashes, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles included, among the common causes of traumatic brain injury and calls brain injury “one of the most common, yet least talked about, public health issues in Texas.” It adds that the number of people diagnosed with a brain injury each year is “more than those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, prostate cancer, lung cancer and ALS combined.” We did not find a Houston-only count in the sources we opened, so we do not give one.
How can a brain injury show up days after a crash?
Symptoms can be subtle or late. Texas Health and Human Services says signs may not appear until days, weeks or months after the injury, and that people can “look normal” or “feel fine.” This is general information from the agency, not medical advice; anyone hit or jolted should be seen by a medical provider.
The HHS page lists warning signs that call for 9-1-1 or the emergency room, including confusion, loss of consciousness, severe headache, vomiting, seizure and trouble walking, and a second list of changes to watch for afterward, such as concentration and memory problems, sleep disturbances, sensitivity to light and noise, and changes in personality. The CDC adds that mild injuries are called “mild” because they are usually not life-threatening, yet “the effects of a mild TBI or concussion can be serious” (CDC, About mild TBI and concussion).
Records matter here. The steps in our after-a-collision checklist start that paper trail, and claims that include alternative treatment show how insurers read it.
How do you prove a brain injury that does not show on a scan?
Through the medical record and testing. The CDC says providers use tests of learning, memory, concentration and problem solving, that a CT scan is not needed to spot a mild TBI or concussion, and that you may still have one even if the injury does not show up on those tests.
So a normal scan does not by itself settle the question, and a treating provider’s findings, the timing of symptoms and any testing become the evidence. Expert testimony can carry it; see the role of expert witnesses. Where an earlier condition is in dispute, proving aggravation after a crash applies.
Think before releasing records: see giving an adjuster your medical records and why talk to a lawyer first.
Who can be held responsible for a brain injury from a crash?
The driver who caused the crash is the usual defendant, but others can be named when the facts support it, such as a company that employs or dispatches the driver, an owner, or a manufacturer. Each theory needs its own proof, and a lawsuit’s allegations are only claims until a court decides.
The Houston Chronicle reported on August 27, 2026 that Christopher Engle, 48, sued DoorDash and driver Daniel Eastman after what the lawsuit describes as a July 25 Baytown crash. The suit alleges that Eastman ran a red light while intoxicated and that Engle suffered a traumatic brain injury, and alleges that DoorDash was negligent in hiring, training and supervising the driver. The lawsuit seeks up to $1 million, the Chronicle reported, and DoorDash did not respond to requests for comment (Houston Chronicle, August 27, 2026). Those are allegations in a filed suit, not findings, and we have no information beyond the article.
Delivery and ride-hailing crashes raise questions like those in Uber and Lyft crashes in Houston and collisions with Amazon drivers. Other sources of fault are on the pages for ride-sharing collisions, 18-wheeler crashes and defective vehicle parts. If the driver cannot be found, see hit-and-run claims and uninsured motorist coverage.
How does shared fault reduce a brain injury claim?
The jury assigns each person a percentage of responsibility. Above 50 percent, a claimant recovers nothing under § 33.001; at 50 percent or below, § 33.012(a) reduces the award by the claimant’s own percentage. The same chapter governs a brain injury as any other injury claim.
Both sections are in chapter 33 (text read October 16, 2026). Fault percentages are walked through in our explanation of the 51 percent bar, for several vehicles in multi-car crash liability, and insurers’ use of them in adjuster tactics in Houston claims.
After a brain injury, how long do you have to sue, and can the deadline pause?
Generally two years after the claim accrues. Section 16.001 adds that when the person entitled to sue is under a legal disability, which includes being “of unsound mind,” the time of the disability is not counted. Whether that exception fits a particular injury is a question for counsel.
The two-year rule is in § 16.003(a). Section 16.001(a) lists the legal disabilities (under 18, or of unsound mind), subsection (b) leaves out the disability period when it exists as the claim accrues, and subsection (d) says that a disability arising after the period has started does not suspend it (chapter 16, read October 16, 2026).
The sections we read do not define “unsound mind” for a brain injury, and the condition may not exist when the crash happens. A family should not count on the pause; contact a lawyer promptly through the contact page.
What can family members recover when a loved one has a brain injury?
A husband or wife, and a child, of a seriously injured person can bring their own loss of consortium claim; a parent cannot claim loss of consortium for a child’s nonfatal injury (Roberts v. Williamson, Texas Supreme Court, 2003). The claim depends on the injured person’s case and rises or falls with it.
A Texas Supreme Court case involved a brain injury: in Reagan v. Vaughn, 804 S.W.2d 463 (Tex. 1990), a father struck on the head with a baseball bat outside a Pasadena, Texas, saloon was left with a severe brain injury, and the Supreme Court held that children may recover for loss of consortium when a third party causes serious, permanent and disabling injuries to their parent. The rules and who is left out are in our article on loss of consortium. If a brain injury ends in death, a wrongful death action follows; see wrongful death suits and fatal crash claims.
Before you write to a lawyer, see questions to put to an injury lawyer and the cost of hiring one. The Houston car accident page and the personal injury overview give the wider picture.
Frequently asked questions
What symptoms of a brain injury are grounds for a lawsuit?
No particular symptom is “grounds” by itself. A claim rests on proof that someone else’s fault caused the crash, and that the crash in turn caused your injury, shown through medical records. Texas Health and Human Services lists warning signs that call for 9-1-1 or the emergency room, including confusion, severe headache and dizziness, and a second list of changes, including sleep disturbances, that it says to see a doctor about.
What is the average settlement for a car accident with a head injury?
We found no reliable published Texas average, so we do not give one. Settlements follow the facts: the CDC separates mild, moderate and severe TBI, and Texas damages depend on proven medical costs, lost income and the effect on daily life, reduced by whatever share of fault is assigned to you.
How do I choose a car accident lawyer after a head injury?
Ask about experience with serious injury cases, how fees work, who will handle your file, and how the firm works with your doctors. At Maida Law Firm the first consultation is free and attorney’s fees are paid only from a recovery.
Why might a brain injury claim be denied or reduced?
The statutes point to two: a finding that you were over 50 percent responsible (§ 33.001), and a suit filed after the two-year limit (§ 16.003) when no exception applies. A third, a dispute over whether the crash caused the injury, is a matter of proof. A smaller share of fault reduces the award instead of ending the claim.
Does a concussion count as a traumatic brain injury?
Yes. The CDC says a TBI can be mild, moderate or severe, and that a mild TBI is also called a concussion. Most TBIs that occur each year are mild, but the CDC says their effects can still be serious and that a person should be seen by a healthcare provider.
Can I get compensation if my child has a brain injury from a crash?
A child’s injury claim can be pursued. Section 16.001 makes the time a person is younger than 18 at accrual not count toward the limitations period. Who files for a minor and how a settlement is handled are separate questions, and a lawyer should explain them for your family.
Do the other driver’s insurance limits cap what I can recover?
A policy’s limit is set by the insurance contract, not by chapter 41, whose formula cap in § 41.008(b) applies to exemplary damages. Because a policy limit is what that insurer has agreed to pay, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist policy may come into play after a serious injury; coverage questions should go to counsel.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.