By the Beverly Law legal team. Updated November 2026.
Hurt in a Texas rollover?
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What to do after a rollover in Texas
- Get medical care and keep every record. See our Texas brain injury lawyer page and our guide to Texas spinal cord injury claims.
- Preserve the vehicle. Ask your insurer and the tow yard in writing not to sell or crush it. The roof, belts, side curtains, tires and crash data module are the proof in a defect case.
- Photograph the scene: tire marks, the shoulder edge, missing signs or guardrail.
- Get the crash report. See how to get a police report in Austin, San Antonio or Dallas.
- Do not give a recorded statement to another driver’s insurer first. See what not to tell the insurance company.
Why vehicles roll over and who can be responsible
Many rollovers start when something trips the vehicle: another car strikes it in the side or rear, it slides sideways, and a tire catches a curb, soft ground or a pavement edge. Tire failures are another starting point (see tire blowout crashes). Possible defendants include the other driver and that driver’s employer, the vehicle or tire manufacturer, and in limited cases a government unit.
TxDOT’s 2025 summary does not count rollovers separately, but it shows how deadly run-off-the-road and rural crashes are. TxDOT counted 1,201 deaths in single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes in 2025, 31.87% of all traffic deaths, and 1,889 deaths in rural crashes, 50.12% of the total. Of people killed where restraint use applied and was known, 45.94% were not restrained (TxDOT 2025 Crash Facts).
Nationally, 6,596 people died in vehicles that rolled over in 2023, which was 28% of all passenger vehicle occupant deaths. The share was highest in pickups (38%), then SUVs (33%), vans (25%) and cars (20%). Of the 4,751 occupants totally ejected in fatal crashes that year, 3,892 died, or 82% (NHTSA).
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Product liability: roof crush, ejection, stability control and tires
Texas has its own statute for design-defect claims.
- Safer alternative design. You must prove there was a safer alternative design and that the defect was a producing cause of the injury. The alternative must have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of injury without substantially impairing the product’s usefulness, and must have been economically and technologically feasible when the product left the maker’s control (CPRC § 82.005).
- Federal standards presumption. A manufacturer that shows its design complied with mandatory federal safety standards governing the risk at issue gets a rebuttable presumption that it is not liable. You can rebut it by showing the federal standard was inadequate to protect the public from unreasonable risks, or that the manufacturer withheld or misrepresented information relevant to the standard. The presumption does not apply to manufacturing flaws (CPRC § 82.008).
- 15-year statute of repose. A products liability action must be filed within 15 years after the defendant sold the product, unless the maker warranted a longer useful safe life in writing (CPRC § 16.012). For older vehicles, this can end the claim before the two-year limitations period does. See our Texas product liability statute of repose FAQ.
Federal safety standards set the baseline for rollover protection.
- Roof strength (FMVSS 216a). Its stated purpose is to reduce deaths and injuries from the roof crushing into the occupant compartment in rollovers. A vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less must withstand a force of up to 3 times its unloaded weight, applied to one side of the roof and then the other; heavier vehicles up to 10,000 pounds are tested at 1.5 times (49 CFR 571.216a).
- Ejection mitigation (FMVSS 226). It requires systems that reduce complete and partial ejections through side windows in rollovers and side impacts. Each covered vehicle made on or after September 1, 2017 must comply (49 CFR 571.226).
- Electronic stability control (FMVSS 126). Its purpose is to cut crashes in which the driver loses directional control, including rollovers. All covered vehicles made on or after September 1, 2011 must have it (49 CFR 571.126).
Texas law: deadline, fault and seat belt evidence
Two years to sue. A personal injury suit must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues; for a death, the two years run from the date of death (CPRC § 16.003).
The 50% bar. You may not recover damages if your percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent (CPRC § 33.001). Our page on comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington has examples.
Seat belts. Riding unbelted in a seat equipped with a belt is an offense for anyone 15 or older (Transp. Code § 545.413). The old subsection that kept belt use out of civil trials, § 545.413(g), was repealed in 2003. In Nabors Well Services, Ltd. v. Romero, 456 S.W.3d 553 (Tex. 2015), a Suburban was clipped by a turning truck on a West Texas highway, left the road and rolled several times. The Texas Supreme Court held that relevant evidence of use or nonuse of seat belts is admissible to apportion responsibility, provided the plaintiff’s conduct caused or was a cause of the damages. Expect the defense to raise belt use in any Texas rollover, and expect the fight to center on whether a belt would have changed the injury.
Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou.
Road defects and the Texas Tort Claims Act
A governmental unit can be liable for injury caused by a condition or use of real property if a private person would be liable (CPRC § 101.021(2)). For an ordinary premise defect the duty is limited to what a private owner owes a licensee, but that limit does not apply to the duty to warn of special defects such as excavations or obstructions on highways, roads or streets (§ 101.022).
- Signs and signals. Claims over an absent or malfunctioning sign or warning device generally require that the unit failed to correct it within a reasonable time after notice (§ 101.060).
- Discretion. The Act does not apply to claims based on discretionary decisions (§ 101.056), a defense governments can raise against road-design claims.
- Caps. $250,000 per person for the state and for cities; $100,000 per person for other local units (§ 101.023).
- Notice. The unit is entitled to notice within six months describing the injury, the time and place, and the incident. City charters can require less time (§ 101.101).
Insurance after a Texas rollover
The minimum liability coverage is $30,000 for one person, $60,000 for two or more people and $25,000 for property damage (Transp. Code § 601.072). Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection must be included in a Texas auto policy unless an insured named in the policy rejects them in writing (Ins. Code § 1952.101; § 1952.152). Check your declarations page. A product claim against the manufacturer is separate from all of these policies.
Recent rollovers in Texas
On October 14, 2026, two adults died and a third was critically hurt when a vehicle rolled over and caught fire on the Ed Bluestein Boulevard service road in East Austin. In September 2026, San Antonio police said a speeding vehicle struck another car, left Loop 1604 near Culebra Road, went down an embankment and rolled several times, killing the driver and a passenger. In North Dallas, a DART paratransit van rolled onto its side after a two-vehicle crash at Webb Chapel Road and Forest Lane; for transit vehicles, see our Texas bus accident lawyer page. See also our Austin car accident and Texas wrongful death pages.
Texas, California and Washington compared
| State | Deadline to sue | Your share of fault | Design defect claims | Seat belt evidence | Government road claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2 years (CCP § 335.1) | Reduces the award, never bars it (Li v. Yellow Cab) | Once you show the design caused the injury, the maker must prove the benefits outweigh the risks (Barker) | Not negligence per se; negligence may be proven as a fact (Veh. Code § 27315(i)) | Written claim within 6 months (Gov. Code § 911.2) |
| Texas | 2 years (CPRC § 16.003); product suits within 15 years of sale (§ 16.012) | Barred above 50% (CPRC § 33.001) | You must prove a safer alternative design (CPRC § 82.005); presumption for the maker if federal standards were met (§ 82.008) | Relevant evidence is admissible to apportion responsibility (Nabors v. Romero) | Notice within 6 months (CPRC § 101.101) |
| Washington | 3 years (RCW 4.16.080(2)); product claims 3 years from discovery (RCW 7.72.060(3)) | Reduces the award, never bars it (RCW 4.22.005) | Risk weighed against a practical, feasible alternative design, plus ordinary consumer expectations (RCW 7.72.030) | Not admissible as evidence of negligence (RCW 46.61.688(6)) | Written claim, then a 60-day wait (RCW 4.96.020) |
Texas is the only one of the three with a fault bar, a federal-compliance presumption and a fixed 15-year cutoff for product suits.
Related pages
- California rollover accident lawyer
- Washington rollover accident lawyer
- Texas car accident lawyer
- Texas head-on collision lawyer
- Texas product liability statute of repose
Common questions
How long do I have to file a rollover lawsuit in Texas?
Two years from the crash, or from the date of death in a fatal crash (CPRC § 16.003). A product claim against the vehicle or tire maker must also be filed within 15 years after the defendant sold the product (CPRC § 16.012).
Can the defense use the fact that I was not wearing a seat belt?
Yes. In Nabors Well Services v. Romero, 456 S.W.3d 553 (Tex. 2015), a rollover case, the Texas Supreme Court held that relevant evidence of seat belt use or nonuse is admissible to apportion responsibility, if the nonuse caused or contributed to the damages.
What do I have to prove against the manufacturer?
In a design-defect case, that a safer alternative design existed that would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of the injury, was feasible when the vehicle left the maker’s control, and that the defect was a producing cause (CPRC § 82.005).
The vehicle passed federal safety tests. Is my case over?
No. Compliance with a governing federal standard creates a rebuttable presumption for the maker. You can rebut it by showing the standard was inadequate or that the maker withheld or misrepresented information (CPRC § 82.008).
What if I was partly at fault?
You recover if your share is 50% or less, reduced by your percentage. Above 50%, you recover nothing (CPRC § 33.001).
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Sources
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.012
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.005
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.008
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.021
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.022
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.023
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.056
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.060
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101
- Tex. Transp. Code § 545.413
- Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.152
- Nabors Well Services, Ltd. v. Romero, 456 S.W.3d 553 (Tex. 2015)
- TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2025
- 49 CFR 571.216a (FMVSS 216a, roof crush resistance)
- 49 CFR 571.226 (FMVSS 226, ejection mitigation)
- 49 CFR 571.126 (FMVSS 126, electronic stability control)
- NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts: Passenger Vehicles, 2023 Data (DOT HS 813 723, May 2025)
Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.