Can you sue Waymo after a crash?

Sorting out which one it is starts with the evidence, and in a Waymo crash most of it sits with Waymo. Our article on who pays when a robotaxi crashes in Texas covers every Texas operator.

Where does Waymo operate in Texas?

Waymo runs paid service in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Those are four of the 14 U.S. metros where Waymo offered paid public rides as of September 2026, according to TechCrunch (September 1, 2026). In Austin, riders book Waymo through the Uber app, as they have since March 2025.

The other ten metros on TechCrunch's list are Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Denver, San Diego, and Tampa. Waymo has announced Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Detroit.

When Texas began enforcing its authorization requirement on May 28, 2026, Waymo had 577 vehicles on the Texas DMV registry, the most of the four companies listed, according to CNBC (via The Next Web, May 31, 2026). Company-wide, Waymo runs more than 4,000 vehicles and gives more than 500,000 paid rides a week, according to September 2026 reporting.

How many Waymo crashes have been reported in Austin?

Waymo has reported 135 Austin crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) since June 2025, in data through August 17, 2026, according to the San Antonio Express-News (via GovTech, September 16, 2026). That is more than Avride's 27 or Tesla's 23 in the same Austin data.

Before reading that as "Waymo crashes the most," consider what it counts. A company with more cars driving more miles files more reports, and a report is not a finding of fault. Our article on robotaxi crashes in Austin puts the three companies' Austin numbers side by side, and our robotaxi crash data page explains how the federal reporting works.

Is Waymo safer than a human driver?

On the numbers available, Waymo's cars are involved in fewer crashes per mile than human drivers. That conclusion rests mostly on Waymo's own analysis, with one independent study pointing the same direction.

Through June 2026, Waymo had driven 271.3 million rider-only miles. Compared with human-driver benchmarks over the same miles, Waymo reports these differences (waymo.com/safety/impact, fetched October 10, 2026):

Type of crash	Waymo's reported difference vs. human drivers
Crashes causing any injury	82% fewer
Crashes causing serious injury or worse	95% fewer
Crashes with airbag deployment	82% fewer
Crashes injuring a pedestrian	93% fewer

Those are Waymo's figures about Waymo. Separately, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found in July 2026 that Waymo had 68% fewer police-reportable crashes per mile across San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin (the Austin rate alone, from a small sample, was 4% higher than human drivers), as reported in secondary coverage of the study.

Fairly read, those numbers favor Waymo. They still say nothing about your crash: a company with a good overall rate can be responsible for a particular collision, and its car can be present at a crash it did nothing to cause.

What happened with Waymo and stopped school buses?

Waymo vehicles passed stopped school buses, which led to a federal investigation and a software recall. NHTSA opened an investigation in October 2025, and Waymo recalled the software on 3,067 vehicles in December 2025, according to NHTSA recall records. Texas officials reported 19 illegal school-bus passings in Texas that school year. Austin ISD reported five in November 2025 and another on December 1, according to CBT News (December 8, 2025).

Recording Law, a secondary source, reported two further inquiries (September 29, 2026). NHTSA opened another probe (PE26001) in January 2026 after a Waymo struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, California. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also opened investigations in January 2026, one in Austin involving a school bus and one in Santa Monica.

An investigation or recall is not a finding about any individual crash, but if your crash involved similar behavior, a lawyer will ask for those records.

What happened in the Dallas pedestrian death involving a Waymo?

In August 2026 in Dallas, an SUV struck a pedestrian, who was thrown into an unoccupied Waymo, according to the San Antonio Express-News (via GovTech, September 16, 2026). NBC DFW (August 8, 2026) reported that the SUV struck him from behind and that he was then hit by the Waymo in the northbound lanes. He died at the hospital. Police announced no arrests or charges, and the investigation was ongoing. It is the only Texas fatality in NHTSA's robotaxi crash database since June 2025.

A robotaxi at the scene does not by itself make the robotaxi company responsible, and it does not clear the company either. When a human driver causes a crash, the claim runs against that driver and that driver's insurance. The robotaxi still matters, because its cameras may have recorded the whole thing, which makes Waymo a source of evidence even when it is not a defendant.

Who can be responsible in a Waymo crash?

Waymo, another driver, or both, depending on what happened.

Party	When they come into the case	Texas law
Waymo	When its automated driving system caused or contributed to the crash	The system is the operator while engaged (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.454(a)); traffic citations go to the owner or the authorization holder (§ 545.454(b))
Another driver	When that driver's conduct caused or contributed to the crash	Fault is split among the parties under the proportionate responsibility statute (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33)
Uber (Austin rides)	The ride was booked through Uber, so Uber holds trip records and may be part of the insurance analysis	A driverless vehicle is treated as a transportation network company driver for insurance purposes (Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.003); $1 million aggregate coverage during a prearranged ride (§ 1954.053)
You	If you were partly at fault	Damages drop by your percentage; no recovery if you are more than 50% responsible (ch. 33)

Which policy pays for a given ride comes out of the insurance documents behind the service. More in who is liable when a self-driving car crashes in Texas.

How do I get Waymo's video and sensor data?

Ask in writing, quickly, and expect to need a preservation demand and possibly court discovery. No federal law gives a crash victim a right to an autonomous vehicle company's camera, lidar, or log data.

Texas does require a commercial driverless vehicle to carry a manufacturer-installed recording device (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.455(b)(2)). The preservation demand goes to Waymo, and to Uber if you booked through Uber in Austin. The event data recorder has its own rule: the Driver Privacy Act of 2015 makes EDR data the vehicle owner's property, which others can retrieve only with consent, a court order, or under narrow exceptions.

Public NHTSA crash reports are a cross-check, but they are partly redacted and they are not the video. Our guide to getting robotaxi crash video and sensor data lists exactly what to ask for.

What should I do after a Waymo crash?

Take care of your health first, then the evidence:

1. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, and get medical care even if you feel fine.
2. Photograph the Waymo's vehicle number and markings, the other vehicles, the scene, and your injuries.
3. If you were a rider, screenshot the trip in the app you booked with.
4. Get names and phone numbers from witnesses and any other driver.
5. Report the crash through the app and to TxDMV, which opened a public complaint process on June 2, 2026.
6. Send preservation demands before the data can be lost.

Texas generally gives you two years from the injury to file suit, and two years from the date of death for wrongful death (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).

Sources

• NHTSA recall report 25E-084, December 10, 2025: Waymo school-bus software recall
• San Antonio Express-News via GovTech, September 16, 2026: Austin crash counts and the Dallas fatality
• Waymo Safety Impact, fetched October 10, 2026: Waymo safety figures
• NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01, Third Amended, effective June 16, 2025: crash reporting rules
• TechCrunch, September 1, 2026: Waymo metros
• CNBC via The Next Web, May 31, 2026: Texas registry counts
• IIHS study, July 2026, as reported: independent safety comparison
• CBT News, December 8, 2025: school-bus passings in Texas
• Recording Law, September 29, 2026: PE26001 and the NTSB investigations
• NBC DFW, August 8, 2026: Dallas fatality
• Chicago Tribune via GovTech, February 25, 2026 and WTTW, April 7, 2026: Waymo in Chicago
• Federal statute: Driver Privacy Act of 2015
• Texas statutes: Tex. Transp. Code §§ 545.454, 545.455, 545.456; Tex. Ins. Code §§ 1954.003, 1954.052, 1954.053; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 and ch. 33

Working with GB Law

Gianna Scatchell Basile is licensed to practice law in Illinois. GB Law does not represent clients in Texas or Florida. If you were hurt in a crash outside Illinois, we can help you find a lawyer licensed where it happened. If we refer your matter to another firm or work on it with one, we will tell you who that lawyer is and how any fee is divided before you sign anything, and you must agree to it in writing.

Questions people ask

Is there a driver I can name in a claim against Waymo?

There is no human driver to name when the car is driving itself. Texas law makes the automated driving system the operator of the vehicle while it is engaged under § 545.454(a), and traffic citations go to the owner or the authorization holder under § 545.454(b). A claim about how the car drove is directed at the company.

Do I have to deal with Uber if my Waymo ride was in Austin?

Possibly, because Austin Waymo rides are booked through the Uber app. Uber holds the trip records, so it should get a preservation demand. Texas also treats a driverless vehicle as a transportation network company driver for insurance purposes under Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.003, which brings in $1 million in aggregate coverage during a prearranged ride under § 1954.053.

How long do I have to sue Waymo in Texas?

Generally two years. Texas allows two years from the injury for personal injury claims and two years from the date of death for wrongful death claims under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. The car's data can be lost much sooner than that, so the preservation demand should go out right away.

What if I was partly to blame for the crash?

You can still recover in Texas as long as you are not more than 50% responsible. Under the proportionate responsibility statute, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33, your damages are reduced by your share of the fault. If a jury puts you above 50%, you recover nothing.

Are Waymo's safety numbers independent?

Mostly not. The figures on Waymo's safety page, such as 82% fewer injury-causing crashes through June 2026, are Waymo's own analyses comparing its cars with human-driver benchmarks. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety separately found 68% fewer police-reportable crashes per mile across San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin (the Austin rate alone, from a small sample, was 4% higher than human drivers) in July 2026, as reported in secondary coverage of that study.

Does Waymo operate in Chicago?

Not for riders yet. Waymo began mapping Chicago in February 2026 and was testing with safety drivers by April 2026, with no launch date, according to the Chicago Tribune (via GovTech, February 25, 2026) and WTTW (April 7, 2026). Illinois has no law authorizing driverless deployment as of October 2026, and HB 4663 stalled in the House Rules Committee on March 27, 2026.