Car accidents occur all over Dallas, Texas. But some roads see more collisions than others. Through a combination of factors, Dallas's traffic hotspots pose especially high crash risks for drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Here's a rundown of where car accidents most occur in Dallas, drawn from recent data and analysis compiled by the City's Vision Zero crash reduction initiative. We also cover the role an experienced Dallas car accident lawyer can play in seeking compensation for crash victims.
Dallas Crash Facts
Vision Zero Dallas is a city government project to eliminate traffic-related deaths and halve severe injuries in crashes by 2030. It's an ambitious initiative. According to data published by the project, on average more than 36,000 car accidents occur on Dallas roads yearly. More than a hundred drivers and passengers die in those crashes and more than 600 sustain severe injuries. Thousands suffer lesser injuries or property damage.
In short, by any measure, Dallas car accidents inflict a relentless toll of loss, damage, and expense.
Injured victims of Dallas car accidents and the families of those killed in them frequently face years even lifetimes of pain and disruption. Injuries routinely prevent crash victims from maintaining relationships, pursuing careers, and living independently.
Victims also suffer financially, incurring significant expenses for medical care while missing work and losing income. The costs of treatment for injuries can even push victims and their families into bankruptcy.
Where the Most Dallas Car Accidents Happen
Car accidents occur all over Dallas, from the busiest downtown areas to the quietest outskirts. Wherever you drive in Dallas, you're never far from the site of a crash within the past few years. No road in Dallas is safe from the risks of a potentially deadly car accident.
But the Vision Zero Dallas project has also identified a network of road segments within city limits with historically high concentrations of fatal and severe-injury car accidents. Dubbed the High Injury Network (HIN), these stretches constitute just 7 percent of the road distance in Dallas but account for 62 percent of all fatal and severe injury crashes.
Vision Zero Dallas focuses its most intensive efforts to reduce deaths and severe injuries on the HIN. And it offers a reasonably accurate answer to the question of where car accidents most occur in Dallas.
Vision Zero Dallas also compiles data on the most dangerous roads for vehicular injuries (injuries to drivers and passengers, but not pedestrians and bicyclists).
The highest numbers of severe crashes in this Vehicular HIN occur on these 15 road segments:
- Loop 12 between Jim Miller Road and U.S. 175
- Buckner Boulevard from Lake June Road to Loop 12
- Northwest Highway/Loop 12 from Walton Walker Boulevard to Harry Hines Boulevard
- Buckner Boulevard from U.S. 30 to Forney Road
- Loop 12 from South Central Expressway to Pemberton Hill Road
- Storey Lane from the Irving city limit to Northwest Highway/Loop 12
- Buckner Boulevard from Lake June Road to Bruton Road
- Buckner Boulevard from Scyene Road to Forney Road
- Ledbetter Drive from U.S. 35E to University Hills Boulevard
- Northwest Highway/Loop 12 from Harry Hines Boulevard to Timberline Drive
- Buckner Boulevard from Bruton Road to Scyene Road
- Ledbetter Drive from South Lancaster Road to Loop 12
- Second Avenue from Elsie Faye Heggins Street to U.S. 175
- Corinth Street Road from Eighth Street to Stella Avenue
- Jim Miller Road from Scyene Road to Forney Road
Vision Zero has also mapped hotspots in downtown Dallas, particularly along Elm, Main, and Commerce Streets. And on major thoroughfares like Hampton Road and Grand Avenue. In addition, according to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) data, car accidents regularly occur on the interstate highways that crisscross Dallas, I-20, I-30, I-35E, and I-635.
These are by no means the only locations of car accidents in Dallas. As noted above, a crash can happen on any street— or even non-street areas like parking lots — throughout the city. 17 percent of Dallas car accidents take place on local (or neighborhood) roads.
But more than three-quarters of car accidents in Dallas occur on roads that see high traffic volumes and where speeding (the most common cause of Dallas car accidents) is likely to occur. As the Vision Zero Dallas HIN reflects, those roads consist of highways, principal arterial roads, collectors, and minor arterial roads.
Dallas Car Accident Victims Have Rights
No matter where a car accident occurs in Dallas, its victims have substantial legal rights to compensation for their losses. Texas law holds anyone who causes an accident through careless, reckless, or intentional actions liable for the harm they inflict.
By hiring a skilled Dallas car accident lawyer, injured Dallas crash victims of Dallas and the loved ones of those who die in accidents can seek monetary damages from at-fault parties and payments from insurance companies.
Legal Liability for a Dallas Car Accident
Any individual, business, or entity that causes a car accident in Dallas through wrongful decisions, actions, or failures to act can face liability to crash victims. There's no single party who is always liable for a Dallas car crash. Liability depends on the specific facts and circumstances of each accident. Sometimes, multiple parties can have liability for the same accident.
To illustrate, in any given Dallas car accident, liability could lie with:
- A driver who triggered a crash by engaging in unsafe practices like speeding, distracted driving, or operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
- The employer of a driver who crashed a work vehicle;
- A bar, restaurant, or another seller of alcohol who provided alcohol to an obviously intoxicated or underage drunk driver who subsequently caused harm in a Dallas car accident;
- The manufacturer of a defective vehicle or vehicle part that played a contributing role in triggering a crash;
- A municipal agency or contractor at fault for creating unreasonably hazardous road conditions that led to a car accident.
One of the most important jobs a Dallas car accident has is to determine who has liability for a crash and how to secure payment from them for the victim's damages. Often, at-fault parties will carry liability insurance coverage to pay for the harm they cause. Attorneys for Dallas car accident victims know how to analyze insurance policies to determine how much they will cover and the steps necessary to get them to pay.
Potential Compensation for Dallas Car Accident Injuries
Dallas crash victims and the grieving loved ones of deceased victims have the legal right to receive compensation for the losses they've suffered. As above, the particular facts and circumstances of a Dallas car accident determine the types and amounts of monetary damages a victim might claim.
But as a general proposition, a skilled lawyer acting on behalf of an injured crash victim can often secure payment for their:
- Medical expenses in treating crash-related injuries, including hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation, and medication
- Costs of repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle or other personal property
- Other accident-related expenses, like the cost of modifying living quarters to accommodate a disability
- Lost pay and benefits from missing work while healing from accident-related injuries
- Loss of future earnings and opportunities due to a temporary or permanent disability
- Physical pain and discomfort from the injury or medical care
- Emotional suffering due to the trauma of the car accident or injuries
- Loss of independence or life enjoyment
- Scarring, disfigurement, or loss of bodily function
Sometimes, a lawyer can also convince a Texas court to award exemplary (or punitive) damages as punishment for the at-fault party's extreme or intentional misconduct. An experienced lawyer can assess the circumstances of a Dallas car crash to determine if it warrants an exemplary damages claim.
Potential Compensation for a Fatal Dallas Car Accident
If a Dallas car accident results in the tragic death of a driver or passenger, the deceased victim's surviving loved ones such as a spouse, parent, or child, may pursue legal action for compensation under Texas's wrongful death statute. A representative of the deceased victim may also pursue damages on behalf of the victim's estate through a companion lawsuit known as a survival action.
The compensation potentially available through these combined lawsuits may include payment for:
- Loss of the victim's financial support, such as from employment income, an inheritance, or household services
- Loss of the victim's advice and guidance
- Loss of the victim's companionship or consortium
- A surviving loved one's emotional anguish
- The victim's pain and suffering before death
- Car accident-related expenses the victim incurred before death
- Funeral and burial expenses
As above, a skilled lawyer may also seek exemplary damages when the facts reflect that the death resulted from the at-fault party's wilful act or omission or gross negligence. The money a lawyer secures for the loved ones and the estate of a deceased Dallas car accident victim cannot make up for the loss of life, but it can provide crucial financial support to assist a spouse and family in recovering from tragedy and planning for the future.
The Role of a Dallas Car Accident Lawyer
A Dallas car accident lawyer's job is to secure the maximum compensation possible for crash victims and loved ones of deceased victims. The lawyer does this by taking legal action against at-fault parties and others who may have a legal obligation to pay for the victims' losses. By handing every aspect of obtaining compensation, a lawyer gives victims the time and space they need to heal and rebuild from their trauma.
The steps a lawyer might take on behalf of a Dallas car accident victim vary depending on the needs and priorities of the situation.
But skilled lawyers have the know-how and resources to:
- Investigate a Dallas car accident to determine how it happened and who should face liability to the victim(s);
- Assess the victim's losses to establish the amount of compensation to which Texas law entitles them;
- Gather evidence to support a claim for compensation;
- Hire and work with medical, forensic, financial, and other subject-matter experts to support the victim's case;
- Answer the victim's questions and explain their options in clear, easy-to-understand language;
- Handle all interactions with insurance companies on the victim's behalf to ensure insurers and the adjusters who work for them act promptly and fairly;
- Prepare and file the paperwork necessary to initiate an insurance claim or lawsuit seeking compensation for the victim;
- Negotiate favorable settlements of the victim's claims whenever possible;
- Advise the victim about whether to accept or reject a settlement offer (the decision is always the victim's to make);
- Go to trial in Dallas County courts to present the victim's case to a judge and jury;
- Follow up to make sure victims receive every dollar of compensation due to them under a settlement, court judgment, or jury verdict.
You can afford to hire a Dallas car accident lawyer to provide these and similar services. Most attorneys for Dallas crash victims represent their clients on a contingent fee basis, so they do not charge upfront retainers or bill by the hour for their time. Instead, they keep a percentage of any money they secure as their fee. They only get paid, in other words, if they deliver results for their client. By working this way, Dallas car accident lawyers ensure that anyone who needs their services can access them, regardless of financial circumstances.
Contact an Experienced Dallas Car Accident Lawyer Today
Every corner of Dallas sees car accidents regularly. As described above, crashes occur on some roads more than others. But no Dallas street, arterial, collector, and highway is completely safe from the risk of a potentially life-disrupting collision.
The injured victims of Dallas car accidents and loved ones of those who die in crashes have valuable legal rights to receive compensation. But they can't expect payment to arrive automatically. To receive the maximum payment available from at-fault parties and insurance companies, they should hire an experienced Dallas car accident attorney to handle their claim.
If you or someone you love recently suffered harm in a Dallas car accident, contact an experienced personal injury attorney in Texas today for a free case consultation.