5 Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Personal Injury Claim in Texas

Personal Injury  ·  July 2025  ·  6 min read

Insurance companies are very good at finding reasons to pay you less — or nothing at all. After handling personal injury cases throughout San Antonio and South Texas, these are the mistakes we see most often, and the ones that hurt claims the most.

Mistake 1: Posting on Social Media

This is the single most common way injury victims undermine their own cases. You post a photo from a friend's birthday party three weeks after your accident. You're smiling. You look fine. The insurance company's attorney shows that photo to a jury to argue your injuries aren't as serious as you claim.

After an injury, assume that everything you post publicly — and much of what you post privately — can be obtained by the opposing party in discovery. The safest approach is to go dark on social media for the duration of your case. At minimum, check your privacy settings and do not post anything related to your activities, your health, or your accident.

Mistake 2: Delaying Medical Treatment

If there is a gap between your accident and when you first sought medical attention, insurance companies will argue that you weren't actually injured in the accident — or that you would have sought treatment sooner if you were really hurt. Every week you wait without treatment is a week the insurer will point to as evidence that your injuries are exaggerated or unrelated.

See a doctor as soon as possible after any accident. If your primary care physician can't see you quickly, go to urgent care. Create a contemporaneous record that connects your injuries to the crash while the timeline is clear.

Mistake 3: Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company

An insurance adjuster calls you within a day or two of the accident. They're friendly. They say they just want to understand what happened. They ask if they can record the conversation. You agree.

What you said — imprecisely, off the cuff, before you understood the full extent of your injuries — is now locked in as your version of events. Any inconsistency between that statement and your later testimony is ammunition for the defense. Anything you said that minimizes your pain or activities ("I'm getting around okay") will be played back to a jury.

You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. Politely decline and call an attorney first.

Mistake 4: Accepting the First Settlement Offer

The first offer is almost never the fair offer. Insurance companies are businesses. Their financial incentive is to close claims quickly and cheaply. Early offers often come before the full extent of your injuries is known — before all your medical treatment is complete, before the long-term impact on your earning capacity is clear, before you've had time to fully understand what your case is worth.

Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you almost certainly cannot go back for more — even if your injuries turn out to be more serious than initially understood, and even if future medical treatment becomes necessary. Have an attorney review any offer before you sign anything.

Mistake 5: Waiting Too Long to Contact an Attorney

Texas's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of injury. But waiting — even well within the two-year window — has real costs. Evidence degrades. Witnesses move or forget details. Surveillance footage is overwritten. Electronic data is deleted. The other side has had more time to build their case.

More importantly, the sooner you have an attorney, the sooner someone who knows this process is protecting you from the first three mistakes on this list. The consultation is free. There's no downside to making the call.