Can I Switch Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Texas?

Your right to change motorcycle lawyers in Texas

The Texas Supreme Court has held that a client may fire a lawyer “for any reason or no reason at all” (Hoover Slovacek v. Walton). If your case is in court, the switch is made through a substitution filed under Rule of Civil Procedure 10.

Riders often tell us their claim was treated like a routine fender bender. A motorcycle crash usually means worse injuries, longer treatment and a harder fight over fault. Our Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou, handle these cases for Beverly Law. The general steps are on our Texas switching guide.

The Texas helmet law and why it comes up

Texas Transportation Code § 661.003 requires motorcycle riders and passengers to wear a helmet. There is an exception for a rider who is at least 21 and has either completed an approved motorcycle safety course or has health insurance that covers crash injuries.

Insurers still raise the helmet in injury claims, mostly when there is a head injury. Their argument is that some of the harm would not have happened with a helmet. A new lawyer should know early whether you were covered by the exception, whether you were wearing a helmet and what your doctors say about how the head injury happened. We compare helmet rules across our three states on our motorcycle helmet law page.

Rider blame and the 51% rule

Texas bars recovery when the injured person is more than 50 percent at fault (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001). Under that line, the award is cut by your share (§ 33.012). Motorcycle riders face this argument more than most drivers. Adjusters suggest speeding, lane splitting or a rider who “came out of nowhere.”

When we take over, we look at what the file already holds to answer that: photos of the bike’s resting position, scrape marks on the road, damage to the other vehicle and any witness who saw the turn or lane change. If you gave a recorded statement, we read it before anything else.

Motorcycle evidence that does not wait

• The motorcycle. Once the property claim pays, the bike may be sold at salvage. Its damage pattern can show speed and angle of impact.
• Riding gear. A scuffed helmet, jacket or boots can show how you landed. Keep them and do not clean or repair them.
• Helmet camera footage. Download it to two places if you have it.
• Nearby video. Business and traffic cameras often record over themselves within weeks.
• The crash report. The investigating officer must file it with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code § 550.062). Errors in it are easier to challenge while the officer still remembers the scene.

What else your new lawyer should review

We check the at-fault driver’s liability limits, which in Texas can be as low as $30,000 per person (§ 601.072). Motorcycle injuries often exceed that, so we look for your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and any other policy that might apply. We also confirm where you are in treatment, which providers hold liens and whether future care, such as surgery, has been documented. For how riders’ claims are valued, see what a motorcycle accident claim is worth.

Deadlines

Most Texas motorcycle injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash (§ 16.003). If a government vehicle or road hazard such as an unmarked hole caused the crash, notice to the government is due within six months (§ 101.101), and a city charter may require it sooner.

Questions to ask your current lawyer first

Before you switch, it is fair to give your lawyer a chance to answer a few direct questions. Has the other driver’s insurer given its policy limits in writing? Has anyone checked your own UM/UIM coverage? Was the bike inspected or photographed before it went to salvage? Has a demand been sent, and if not, what is it waiting on? A good lawyer can answer these in one short email. If the reply is vague, or there is no reply, that tells you something. Our main switching guide walks through the next steps.

Cost of switching your motorcycle case

You will not pay a higher fee because you came to us from another firm. Whatever the first lawyer is owed for its work comes out of our share. Costs that firm advanced are normally repaid from the recovery, like any case cost, and if there is no recovery you owe neither fee nor costs.

Under Texas law, the reason for the change affects the first lawyer’s claim. A lawyer fired without good cause may seek the contract fee (Mandell & Wright v. Thomas), limited by the ban on unconscionable fees. With good cause, Rocha v. Ahmad allows only the reasonable value of the work done. We look at your reasons with you first.

If your motorcycle case settled and you signed the release, the claim is generally closed and we cannot take it on.

Sources

1. Hoover Slovacek LLP v. Walton, 206 S.W.3d 557 (Tex. 2006) (courtlistener.com)
2. Mandell & Wright v. Thomas, 441 S.W.2d 841 (Tex. 1969) (courtlistener.com)
3. Rocha v. Ahmad, 676 S.W.2d 149 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1984) (courtlistener.com)
4. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 10 (txcourts.gov)
5. Tex. Transp. Code § 661.003 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
6. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
7. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.012 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
8. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.062 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
9. Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
10. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
11. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
12. Texas Professional Ethics Committee Opinion 570 (law.uh.edu)