Car accident claims in Texas — negligent entrustment, medical bill affidavits, and the paid-or-incurred rule

A car crash claim is an ordinary negligence claim applied to driving. What makes it its own subject is the machinery Texas built around proving medical damages, and the second defendant a plaintiff often wants to reach: the person or company that handed over the keys.

Two rules decide what these cases are worth. Only medical expenses "actually paid or incurred" are recoverable, so the number the jury hears is smaller than the number on the hospital statement. And the affidavit that proves those charges is due on a clock that starts when the defendant answers, which catches plaintiffs who plan around the trial date instead.

What the claim is

Another driver did not drive with ordinary care, and the crash injured you or damaged your property.

Where the right comes from

Common law negligence, with the standard of care informed by the Transportation Code's traffic rules. The Texas Supreme Court's general negligence statement in Greater Houston Transportation Co. v. Phillips, 801 S.W.2d 523 (Tex. 1990), governs. Owner liability comes from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Mayes, 236 S.W.3d 754 (Tex. 2007).

What a plaintiff has to prove — PJC 5.1

1. The driver owed a duty to operate the vehicle with ordinary care.
2. The driver breached that duty.
3. The breach proximately caused the collision.
4. Damages.

A traffic-law violation can supply the standard through negligence per se — running a red light, following too closely, driving while intoxicated.

Negligent entrustment — reaching the vehicle's owner

1. The owner entrusted the vehicle to the driver.
2. The driver was unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless.
3. The owner knew or should have known that.
4. The driver was negligent on the occasion in question.
5. That negligence proximately caused the crash.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Mayes, 236 S.W.3d 754, 758 (Tex. 2007). The fourth element is the one that has become decisive: after Werner, if the driver is not a proximate cause of the injury, the derivative claim against the owner or employer falls with it.

How long you have to file

Two years from the date of the crash, under CPRC § 16.003(a).

A wrongful death claim arising from a fatal crash runs two years from the death, under CPRC § 16.003(b) — a different date from the collision when someone survives for a time.

What has to happen before you file

Nothing before suit. The deadlines that matter come after.

The medical expense affidavit — CPRC § 18.001. An affidavit from the provider or its records custodian, with an itemized statement, is sufficient evidence that the charges were reasonable and the services necessary. It is a way to prove up medical bills without paying an expert to say so.

The deadlines are strict and tied to the pleadings, not the trial setting:

A counteraffidavit must be made by someone qualified to testify against the claim and must give reasonable notice of the basis for contesting it. A defendant who does not serve one may be barred from disputing that the charges were reasonable and necessary.

The parties can move any of these deadlines by agreement or with leave of court. Section 18.001 does not apply to a suit on a sworn account.

What the claim pays

Medical expenses "actually paid or incurred". CPRC § 41.0105 limits recovery to that figure, and Haygood v. De Escabedo, 356 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. 2011), made the amounts written off by providers inadmissible as well as unrecoverable.

Lost earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and property damage including loss of use.

Exemplary damages where gross negligence is proved by clear and convincing evidence — most often in drunk driving cases — subject to the cap in CPRC § 41.008.

No attorney's fees. There is no fee statute for a car wreck.

Who can be sued

• The driver, always.
• The employer, if the driver was in the course and scope of employment.
• The owner, on negligent entrustment.
• A responsible third party designated by the defendant under Chapter 33, whose percentage of responsibility the jury will assign even if that person is not a party.

Common defenses

• Proportionate responsibility. Anything the plaintiff did that contributed, with recovery barred above 50 percent under CPRC § 33.001.
• Sole proximate cause. A third party or a road condition caused the whole crash.
• Sudden emergency and unavoidable accident.
• Pre-existing condition. The injury predates the collision.
• Challenge to the medical charges through a counteraffidavit.
• Limitations.

What people get wrong

The jury does not see the full hospital bill. It sees what was paid or what remains owed. A $90,000 billed charge settled at $22,000 is a $22,000 damages item.

Suing the employer may add nothing. After Werner, a derivative claim for negligent entrustment or negligent hiring fails if the driver's own conduct was not a proximate cause of the injury.

The § 18.001 affidavit proves admissibility, not the amount. It makes the charges evidence of reasonableness; it does not stop the defense from attacking causation or the necessity of the treatment.

There are no attorney's fees. The fee comes out of the recovery under the contingency agreement.

Where it came from

Before 2003, plaintiffs recovered the amount billed. The Legislature added § 41.0105 that session, limiting recovery to amounts "actually paid or incurred," and Haygood settled in 2011 that the written-off portion is not admissible at all.

Section 18.001 has been in the code since 1985 as an inexpensive way to prove medical charges, but it had no deadlines for most of that time. House Bill 1693, effective September 1, 2019, added the affidavit and counteraffidavit schedules tied to the defendant's answer, along with the qualification requirement for the person signing a counteraffidavit.

Common questions

How long do I have to sue after a car accident in Texas?

Two years from the date of the crash. If someone died, the wrongful death claim runs two years from the death.

Can I recover attorney's fees?

No. Motor vehicle claims carry no fee statute.

Why is the medical bill in evidence lower than what the hospital charged?

Texas limits recovery to amounts "actually paid or incurred". Amounts written off by a provider or adjusted by an insurer are neither recoverable nor admissible.

Can I sue the driver's employer or the car's owner?

Yes, through respondeat superior or negligent entrustment — but only if the driver's own negligence was a proximate cause of your injuries.

What is a § 18.001 affidavit?

A sworn, itemized statement from the provider that the charges were reasonable and the services necessary. Served on time, it proves those points without expert testimony.

What if the other driver was drunk?

Gross negligence can support exemplary damages, subject to the statutory cap and a unanimous jury finding.

Where these rules live

• CPRC § 16.003 — Two-year limitations period
• CPRC § 18.001 — Affidavit concerning cost and necessity of services
• CPRC § 33.001 — Proportionate responsibility
• CPRC § 41.0105 — Evidence relating to amount of economic damages
• CPRC § 41.008 — Limitation on amount of recovery
• CPRC § 71.002 — Wrongful death