Collin County, Texas Personal Injury Law, Court Venue & Statute Reference (McKinney, TX)

Local Trial & Appellate Court Structure in Collin County, Texas

In Collin County (population ~1,220,000), civil personal injury lawsuits are filed in McKinney before either the Texas State District Courts (which exercise general original jurisdiction over all civil actions with an amount in controversy of $500 or more under Tex. Const. art. V, § 8 and Tex. Gov't Code § 24.007) or the Collin County Courts at Law (statutory county courts created under Tex. Gov't Code Chapter 25 that exercise concurrent civil tort jurisdiction—typically up to $250,000 or higher depending on the county's specific Chapter 25 subchapter). Small property-damage or minor injury claims of $20,000 or less (excluding interest) may be brought in the Collin County Justice of the Peace (JP) Courts under Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031.

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Venue Rules Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 15.002

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 15.002(a), Collin County is a proper permissive venue for a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit whenever: (1) all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in Collin County (for example, a collision on US-75 (Central Expy), Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH-121), Dallas North Tollway, US-380, PGBT (SH-190) or an injury on premises near McKinney); (2) an individual defendant resided in Collin County at the time the cause of action accrued; or (3) a corporate defendant (such as a motor carrier or property owner) maintained its principal Texas office in Collin County. Additionally, if the lawsuit asserts a Texas Tort Claims Act claim directly against Collin County itself, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 15.015 mandates that the suit MUST be filed in Collin County.

Hospital & EMS Liens Under Texas Property Code Chapter 55

Because Collin County has a population of approximately 1,220,000—exceeding the 800,000 population cap in Texas Property Code § 55.002(c)—the statutory EMS ambulance lien under § 55.002(c) does NOT apply in Collin County. However, inpatient hospital liens under Tex. Prop. Code § 55.002(a)–(b) are heavily enforced: if a crash victim is admitted to an inpatient hospital bed (such as Medical City Plano) within 72 hours of the incident, the hospital may file a written lien notice with the Collin County Clerk in McKinney prior to settlement payout, attaching to the third-party liability cause of action (but never attaching to Texas PIP or UM/UIM benefits under § 55.003(b)).

High-Risk Crash Corridors & Regional Liability Profile (US-75 (Central Expy), Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH-121), Dallas North Tollway, US-380, PGBT (SH-190))

In Collin County, high-energy personal injury litigation frequently centers on High-volume US-75, DNT, and US-380 commuter and commercial delivery collisions, corporate campus premises liability, and construction cranes along US-75 (Central Expy), Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH-121), Dallas North Tollway, US-380, PGBT (SH-190), with severe trauma routed to Medical City Plano (Level I Trauma) & Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney.