New Braunfels Personal Injury Lawyers
Our founder, Joseph R. Echavarria, is a former Bexar County prosecutor who has handled injury claims since 2007 and recovered tens of millions of dollars for injured Texans and their families in the Hill Country.
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A personal injury claim is a case you bring when someone else’s negligence injures you, and it works because the law shifts the cost of that injury, the bills, the missed work and the pain, onto the party who caused it.
If a crash or a careless business left you hurt in or around New Braunfels or the Hill Countty, you may be able to pursue medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and lost earning capacity. It is a claim that may be filed in Comal or Guadalupe County, because the city sits in both.
Our firm serves all of New Braunfels and Comal County and every stretch of I-35, SH-46 and Loop 337 in between. Our aggressive New Braunfels personal injury attorneys are ready to take your case to trial. A trial-tested team beside you, no matter the size of your claim.
Clients rate us 5.0 stars across 343 Google reviews. When you call, you speak with a personal injury attorney, not a call center, in English or Spanish.
New Braunfels families can call (210) 272-0101 or use our secure online contact form for a free case review. You Pay Nothing Unless You Win.
What if a tourist, out-of-state driver, or rental car caused your crash?
You can still bring your claim in Texas. A nonresident who causes a crash here can be served with your lawsuit through the chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, whom Texas law makes the driver’s agent for that purpose (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 17.062), and the driver’s insurer still has to answer for the harm.
Schlitterbahn, Gruene, Wurstfest, and tubing season bring drivers who do not know River Road, Loop 337, or the I-35 frontage roads. Most auto policies adjust to meet the minimum limits of the state where a crash happens, so an out-of-state driver’s policy generally provides at least Texas-level coverage.
Rental cars add a wrinkle. A federal law called the Graves Amendment (49 U.S.C. § 30106) shields rental companies from liability just for owning the car, so the claim usually runs against the renter’s own auto policy and any coverage bought at the rental counter. The rental company still answers for its own negligence, such as renting out a car with bad brakes.
What if I was visiting New Braunfels when I got hurt?
You can pursue the claim here after you go home. The case is usually filed in the county where the crash happened, and we handle most of the work by phone, video, and secure message while you treat with your own doctors.
How does insurance work if I was hurt in an Uber or Lyft?
Coverage depends on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of the crash. From the moment the driver accepts a ride request until the ride ends, state law requires at least $1 million in liability coverage (Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.053), lower limits apply while the driver is logged on and waiting, and only the driver’s personal policy applies when the app is off.
Can a bar or festival vendor be responsible for a drunk-driving crash?
Yes. A business that sells or serves alcohol shares liability when it was apparent the customer was obviously intoxicated to the point of being a clear danger, and that intoxication caused your crash (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02(b)). Wurstfest, the dance halls in Gruene, and river weekends all put alcohol service close to busy roads.
The key evidence is what the server saw: tab records, surveillance video, and witnesses who watched the customer stumble, slur, or argue. Businesses often defend with a “safe harbor” rule. An employer is not responsible for an employee’s overservice if it required state-approved seller training, the employee attended, and the employer did not directly or indirectly encourage the violation (§ 106.14). So we look for pressure to sell, such as drink specials and sales quotas, and for gaps in training records.
Private hosts face a narrower rule. An adult 21 or older who knowingly gives alcohol to a minor under 18, or allows it on property the adult owns or leases, can be liable for the harm the minor’s intoxication causes (§ 2.02(c)). Parents, guardians, and spouses are excluded.
Can more than one party be responsible for my injuries?
Yes. One crash can involve a drunk driver, the bar that overserved him, and his employer if he was on the clock, and each defendant’s insurance adds to the money available to you.
Will your New Braunfels case be filed in Comal or Guadalupe County?
It depends mainly on where the crash happened. New Braunfels sits in both Comal and Guadalupe counties, and Texas venue law points first to the county where all or a substantial part of the events occurred (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 15.002). A case can also be filed where an individual defendant lived when the crash happened, or where a company defendant keeps its principal office in Texas.
Comal County cases are heard in the district courts on North Seguin Avenue in New Braunfels, and Guadalupe County cases go to the Justice Center in Seguin. Two crashes a few miles apart can land in different courthouses, with different local procedures and jury pools, so we confirm the county line on day one and handle cases in both.
What happens when you hire JRE Injury Law?
When you hire us, a trial-ready legal team takes over the insurance calls, the paperwork, and the investigation so you can focus on healing. We are based in nearby San Antonio, and our San Antonio personal injury lawyers represent New Braunfels injury clients from the first call through settlement or trial.
We come to you. If you cannot travel, we meet you at home or in your hospital room and handle sign-up, records, and treatment scheduling there. Mr. Echavarria personally returns calls, including evenings, in English or Spanish, and a named case manager handles the day-to-day. Investigators and experts reconstruct crashes and document your medical needs, and we negotiate medical liens so bills do not swallow your recovery.
Ethan L. Shaw, Of Counsel to JRE Injury Law is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he won about $70 million in Tate v. Discover Property & Casualty, tried with co-counsel Tom Rhodes in the 225th District Court in Bexar County, against an insurer that wrongfully denied an injured worker’s benefits. His firm has also obtained a $400,000 judgment in a personal injury case and a $375,000 verdict that survived appeal, and Jorge Mares, Of Counsel to JRE Injury Law, settled a T-bone case for $2.25 million with co-counsel David Fuentes.
Talk to an Attorney Today. Call (210) 272-0101 for a free case review in New Braunfels, available 24/7.
Where in New Braunfels do serious injuries happen?
Most serious injury cases we see in New Braunfels start on a short list of corridors, interchanges, and busy districts:
- I-35 through town, especially the interchanges at Walnut Avenue, SH-46, and FM 306 near Creekside
- Loop 337, including the growth around Veramendi and the junctions with SH-46 and River Road
- SH-46 heading west into the Hill Country and FM 725 on the south side
- FM 306 and Hunter Road around the Gruene historic district
- Downtown around Main Plaza, Seguin Avenue, and Landa Street near Landa Park
- River Road and the Comal and Guadalupe river access points during tubing season
- School zones near NBISD and Comal ISD campuses
What damages can you recover after a New Braunfels crash?
You can recover every economic and non-economic loss the crash caused, plus exemplary damages when clear and convincing evidence shows gross negligence, malice, or fraud. Economic losses come with a receipt; non-economic losses do not, but Texas law values both:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Physical pain and mental anguish
- Physical impairment and disfigurement
- Loss of consortium for a spouse
- Life-care and home-modification costs
- Property damage to your vehicle
- Exemplary damages for gross negligence, malice, or fraud (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003)
Mental anguish includes post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and fear of driving when a counselor or physician documents them. Families who lose someone may also bring wrongful death (§ 71.002) and survival (§ 71.021) claims.
Your total drops by any percentage of fault assigned to you (§ 33.012). No honest attorney can quote an average, because value turns on injury severity, length of treatment, fault, and coverage. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its facts.
Call (210) 272-0101 for a free case review with a New Braunfels injury attorney on our team.
Who pays when an 18-wheeler causes a chain-reaction crash on I-35?
Every driver and company pays its own share of the fault, and any defendant found more than 50 percent responsible can be made to pay your entire recoverable award (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.013). That rule protects you when a trucking company shares the blame with a driver who carries only minimum coverage.
I-35 through New Braunfels carries heavy freight between San Antonio and Austin, and stop-and-go traffic near the Walnut Avenue, SH-46, and FM 306 interchanges gives a loaded rig little room to stop. When the truck at the back cannot brake in time, it can push car after car together, and each insurer then blames the others. Aggregate haulers from the CEMEX Balcones Quarry add more heavy trucks to the mix.
We untangle the sequence with the truck’s engine control module data, dash-cam video, and an accident reconstruction that shows which impact caused which injury. We explain these claims further on our pages for 18-wheeler and commercial truck crashes and truck crashes along the I-35 corridor.
What causes most serious crashes on Comal County roads?
Speed is the most common cause: “failed to control speed” is the contributing factor officers cite most often in TxDOT crash data, and it drives many I-35 pileups and rear-end collisions. TxDOT’s 2025 crash facts report that someone was injured on the state’s roads every 2 minutes and 9 seconds.
Other causes we see locally:
- Distracted driving in stop-and-go I-35 traffic
- Drunk driving after river tubing, Wurstfest, or a night out in Gruene
- Visitors unfamiliar with roads near Schlitterbahn and River Road
- Aggregate haulers leaving the CEMEX Balcones Quarry
- Unsafe lane changes around I-35 on-ramps and frontage roads
- Failure to yield along Loop 337 and Walnut Avenue
- Truckers who break federal hours-of-service rules (49 CFR Part 395)
Do pedestrians have the right-of-way downtown and near the river parks?
In most crosswalks, yes. Drivers must yield to a pedestrian crossing on a Walk signal (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.002) and, where no signal is working, to a pedestrian in the crosswalk on or approaching their half of the road (§ 552.003). A pedestrian who crosses outside a marked or intersection crosswalk must yield to vehicles instead (§ 552.005), though a driver who was speeding or distracted can still share the blame.
Which New Braunfels crash cases do we handle most often?
We handle injury claims from every kind of vehicle crash, and commercial vehicle cases come first. The scenarios we take most often:
- 18-wheeler and commercial truck crashes, including jackknifes, underride collisions, and wrecks with gravel haulers
- Car accident claims from rear-end, T-bone, head-on, and sideswipe collisions
- Motorcycle crash injuries on Hill Country routes and I-35
- Delivery van, fleet, and company vehicle collisions
- Uber and Lyft accidents, whether you were a passenger or in another vehicle
- Pedestrian and bicycle collisions downtown and near the river parks
- Bus and river-shuttle crashes during tubing season
- Wrongful death claims for families who lost a loved one
Who is responsible when a tubing shuttle or tour bus crashes?
The shuttle or bus company usually is, because a company that carries passengers for hire can owe them a high degree of care under Texas law. A waiver signed at the outfitter does not automatically cover a road crash: Texas requires a release of a company’s own negligence to state that clearly and conspicuously (Dresser Industries, Inc. v. Page Petroleum, Inc., 853 S.W.2d 505 (Tex. 1993)), so we read the exact wording.
Talk to an Attorney in New Braunfels Today
Call now, while the evidence is fresh and the two-year deadline is still working in your favor. A New Braunfels personal injury lawyer on our team will give you a free case review, 24/7, and you Pay Nothing Unless You Win.
JRE Injury Law · (210) 272-0101 · Toll-free (844) 702-0350 · Serving New Braunfels and Comal County
