OUR PRACTICE AREAS
Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Bastrop
Most injuries in Bastrop involve vehicles on the highways that cross the county. People contact a Bastrop car accident lawyer about the following most often.
Collisions on SH-71, SH-21, and SH-95
Commercial traffic on the SH-71 corridor
Brought under Chapter 71 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Riders on the rural highways and park routes
Including crossings in and around downtown Bastrop
Retail and lodging properties
A Bastrop car accident lawyer often faces a practical problem that does not arise in the city: rural highway crashes may have no witnesses, no surveillance footage, and no nearby businesses with cameras. That shifts weight onto physical evidence at the scene, which disappears within days of the roadway reopening.
JURISDICTION & VENUE
Where a Bastrop Injury Claim Is Filed
Bastrop is the county seat of Bastrop County. Civil cases arising in the city are generally filed at the Bastrop County Courthouse in Bastrop.
Section 15.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets venue in the county where a substantial part of the events occurred, or in the county where the defendant resides. For most Bastrop injuries, that means Bastrop County – even when the other driver lives in Travis County.
Bastrop County juries are drawn from a very different population than Travis County juries, and that difference can matter as much as the facts of a case.
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Deadlines That Apply to a Bastrop Claim
| Type of Claim | Deadline | Source of Law |
|---|---|---|
| Most injury claims | 2 years from injury | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 |
| Claim against the City of Bastrop or Bastrop County | 6-month written notice | Texas Tort Claims Act §101.101 |
| Claim involving a state park or state agency vehicle | 6-month written notice | Texas Tort Claims Act §101.101 |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from date of death | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 |
Bastrop County contains substantial state-owned land, including state park property. An injury caused by a condition on state property, or by a state employee, may fall under the Texas Tort Claims Act and its six-month written notice requirement rather than the ordinary two-year window.
ESTABLISHING FAULT
Proving Liability Under Texas Law
Texas injury claims generally rest on negligence: a duty of care owed, a breach of that duty, causation, and measurable harm.
Construction-related claims add a layer. When a worker is injured, the workers’ compensation system may cover part of the loss – but a claim against a third party, such as a subcontractor, an equipment manufacturer, or a delivery driver, can exist alongside it and may reach damages that workers’ compensation does not.
In work zones on public roads, liability may extend to the contractor responsible for traffic control if signage, barriers, or lane markings failed to meet the applicable standard.
COMPENSATION CATEGORIES
Damages You May Recover in Texas
Texas recognizes three categories of damages:
Economic Damages
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Property damage
Non-Economic Damages
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Exemplary Damages
- Available only where a defendant acted with fraud, malice, or gross negligence, and capped by Section 41.008 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Most ordinary injury claims involve only economic and non-economic damages. Exemplary damages require clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice, or gross negligence, and are capped by Section 41.008 – they are the exception, not the expectation.
RISK AREAS IN LEANDER
Where Injuries Commonly Happen in Bastrop
On the Road
SH-71 runs through Bastrop at highway speed carrying both commuter and commercial traffic between Austin and Houston. SH-21 and SH-95 cross the county with limited shoulders and long stretches without lighting. Weekend traffic heading toward the state parks adds unfamiliar drivers to those same roads.
On commercial and lodging property
Bastrop’s downtown, hotels and event venues draw visitor traffic, and walkway, stairway and parking conditions become recurring sources of fall injuries.
In residential areas
Dog attacks occur most often on or near the animal owner’s property, and liability may rest on the owner’s knowledge of the animal’s prior behavior.
EVIDENCE & RECORDS
How to Document Your Bastrop Injury Claim
| Type of injury | Document you need | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle collision inside city limits | CR-3 Crash Report | Bastrop Police Department, or TxDOT CRIS online |
| Collision outside city limits | CR-3 Crash Report | Bastrop County Sheriff's Office |
| Collision on a state highway investigated by state troopers | CR-3 Crash Report | Texas Department of Public Safety |
| Fall on commercial or lodging property | Incident report | Property manager - request a copy in writing |
| Injury involving a city, county, or state entity | Written notice of claim | Send to the entity within six months under Texas Tort Claims Act §101.101 |
Request these records early. Photographs of the scene, of your injuries, and of the conditions that caused them are often more persuasive than a later description, and they cannot be recreated.
TEXAS PROPORTIONATE RESPONSIBILITY
How Comparative Fault Affects Your Bastrop Claim
Texas follows modified comparative fault under Section 33.001 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. If you are found partly responsible, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing.
This rule is the reason insurers work so hard to assign blame to injured people. In a rural highway collision, an adjuster may argue you were driving too fast for conditions, particularly where there were no witnesses to contradict them.
Being partly at fault does not end your claim. But it does change its value, and it is worth understanding honestly before you accept any offer.
TIMELINE EXPECTATIONS
How Long a Texas Injury Claim Takes
BASTROP COUNTY SERVICE AREA
Communities We Serve Near Bastrop
There is no standard timeline. Claims that settle without a lawsuit often resolve within several months of the point where medical treatment stabilizes. Claims involving a governmental unit or a transit authority can move differently, and the notice deadline arrives long before the filing deadline.
One factor matters more than most people realize: settling before you reach maximum medical improvement risks undervaluing future care you do not yet know you will need. A faster settlement is not always a better one.
Obtaining medical records, maintenance records, and complete documentation from the investigating agency early often prevents delays once settlement discussions begin.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Frequently Asked Questions
Sooner is generally better. Rural crash scenes are cleared quickly, and with fewer witnesses and less camera coverage than an urban crash, the physical evidence at the scene often carries the case.
Bastrop is the county seat of Bastrop County, so most civil claims arising here are filed at the Bastrop County Courthouse.
Most injury claims in Texas must be filed within two years of the injury under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Claims against a city, county or state entity generally require written notice within six months.
No. A Texas-licensed attorney may represent you in any Texas county. Familiarity with the Bastrop County court matters more than the location of the office.
Dang Law Group operates on a contingency fee basis. Simply put, if we do not win, no fee is charged. The initial consultation is free.
Talk Through What Happened in Bastrop
An injury in Bastrop raises questions specific to Bastrop County – which agency investigated, whether a state entity is involved, and whether a six-month notice deadline applies. Those answers cost nothing to get, and some options narrow with time.
Dang Law Group operates on a contingency fee basis. Simply put, if we do not win, no fee is charged.
Dang Law Group serves Bastrop from two Austin offices on the I-35 corridor.
Reach out today and tell us what happened.
Call Us Now: 512-823-0778Available by Phone 24/7 · Free Consultation
Loc Dang
Founder, Dang Law Group
Our bilingual legal team is dedicated to helping injured Texans secure the compensation they deserve. We work on a contingency fee basis – no fees unless we win.
