Find an ATV accident lawyer in Fort Worth: where riders get hurt and who may owe you
The state's list of public ATV riding areas in North Texas has none inside Fort Worth. The closest are Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport and Trophy Club Park at Grapevine Lake. Where you crashed decides who may owe you. The usual Texas deadline to sue over an ATV crash is 2 years.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (25)
Where can you ride an ATV near Fort Worth?
Not inside the city, based on the state's list. Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) lists Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, Wise County, for ATVs, motorcycles and side-by-sides. It also lists Trophy Club Park at Grapevine Lake, in Denton County, for ATVs and motorcycles only.
The Trinity Trails are closed to this kind of vehicle. The Tarrant Regional Water District says motorized vehicles are prohibited there. A rider hurt on a trail may have been breaking a rule, and that can come up when blame is split.
Roads are different. Texas will not register an off-highway vehicle for a public highway. If an ATV crashed on a public street, ask how it got there and who owned it.
What rules protect riders at public ATV parks in Texas?
| Rule | What Texas says |
|---|---|
| Decal | Riders at a public-land OHV venue need a Texas OHV decal. |
| Safety certificate | A rider needs one, or must be in a course or under a certificate holder's watch. |
| Age | A rider under 14 must have a parent, guardian or authorized adult nearby. |
| Gear | A helmet that meets U.S. Department of Transportation standards, plus eye protection. |
| Passengers | Allowed only if the maker designed the vehicle to carry one. |
Breaking a rule does not end your claim, but it can shrink it. A person more than 50 percent at fault cannot recover money in Texas. A missing helmet is the kind of fact the other side will point to.
Who may owe you if you were hurt on land near Fort Worth?
Start with who owned or ran the land. If an owner let you ride for fun, Texas law often limits that owner's duty to what is owed a trespasser. A trespasser is owed less: the owner only has to avoid hurting you on purpose, recklessly or through gross negligence.
That makes other people matter more. Think about the driver of a second vehicle, the person who lent you the ATV, or the maker. If the machine had a design flaw, the maker may share blame, and the questions below cover the product rules.
If a town, county or state agency ran the park, a claim notice is due in 6 months. For a county or town park, the Texas cap on what the government pays is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Even for a hurt child, the 6-month notice clock keeps running.
What should you do after an ATV crash outside Fort Worth?
- Call 911 and give the exact park, road or ranch gate where you are.
- For serious injuries, ask to go to a Level I trauma center. In Fort Worth, that means John Peter Smith Hospital or Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
- For a child, Cook Children's calls itself a Level II pediatric trauma center.
- Keep the helmet, your clothes and the ATV as they are. Do not repair or sell it.
- Write down the landowner or park, the make and model, and who else was there.
- Know that a hospital lien can attach if you were admitted within 72 hours of the crash.
How long do you have to sue after an ATV accident in Fort Worth?
Generally 2 years from the crash. If the rider was a child, the lawsuit clock can be paused until age 18. Claims against the City of Fort Worth have a shorter fuse: written notice within 180 days under the city charter.
Medical bills count only at the amount actually paid or owed. Keep every bill and every insurance statement.
Questions
Do I need a decal to ride at Northwest OHV Park?
Yes. TPWD lists it as a public-land venue, and Texas requires a decal at those venues.
Can a child ride an ATV in Texas?
On public OHV land, a child under 14 needs a parent, guardian or authorized adult supervising. I did not find a separate age rule for private land.
Can I ride my ATV on a Fort Worth street?
Texas will not register an ATV for a public highway. I did not find a Fort Worth city rule on ATVs, so ask the city before you ride.
What if the ATV itself failed?
A defect claim names the maker and follows Texas product rules: a safer design must have existed, and the 15-year limit counts from the sale.
ATV or side-by-side accident in Fort Worth? See if you are owed money.
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See if I’m owed moneySources (25)
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, Ride Texas, checked 2026-11-09. “Northwest OHV Park (ATVs, Motorcycles, ROVs and Full Sized OHVs) Bridgeport/Wise County”
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, Ride Texas, checked 2026-11-09. “Trophy Club Park at Grapevine Lake (ATVs & Motorcycles only) Trophy Club/Denton County”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, OHV decals, checked 2026-11-09. “OHV decals are required by law for all individuals operating an OHV in Texas at an OHV legal venue which is located on the public lands of Texas”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551A.072, checked 2026-11-09. “a safety helmet that complies with United States Department of Transportation standards; (2) eye protection”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551A.032, checked 2026-11-09. “A person younger than 14 years of age who is operating an off-highway vehicle on public off-highway vehicle land must be accompanied by and be under the direct supervision of: (1) the person's parent or guardian; or (2) an adult who is authorized by the person's parent or guardian”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 502.140, checked 2026-11-09. “may not register an off-highway vehicle, with or without design alterations, for operation on a public highway”
- Tarrant Regional Water District, Recreation FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “Motorized vehicles are prohibited.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, checked 2026-11-08. “a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551A.031, checked 2026-11-09. “A person may not operate an off-highway vehicle on public off-highway vehicle land or a beach unless the person: (1) holds a safety certificate issued under this chapter or under the authority of another state; (2) is taking a safety training course under the direct supervision of a certified off-highway vehicle safety instructor; or (3) is under the direct supervision of an adult who holds a safety certificate”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551A.074, checked 2026-11-09. “unless the vehicle is designed by the manufacturer to transport a passenger”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 75.002(c), checked 2026-11-08. “If an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property other than agricultural land gives permission to another to enter the premises for recreation, the owner, lessee, or occupant, by giving the permission, does not: (1) assure that the premises are safe for that purpose; (2) owe to the person to whom permission is granted a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises;”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 75.007(b), checked 2026-11-08. “An owner, lessee, or occupant of land does not owe a duty of care to a trespasser on the land and is not liable for any injury to a trespasser on the land, except that an owner, lessee, or occupant owes a duty to refrain from injuring a trespasser wilfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred”
- Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 101.023, checked 2026-11-09. “$100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each single occurrence for bodily injury or death”
- Martinez v. Val Verde County Hospital District (Tex. 2004), checked 2026-11-09. “The lower courts held that it is not,[2] and we agree.”
- Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “JOHN PETER SMITH HOSPITAL 11/1/2028 E FORT WORTH 76104”
- Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “TEXAS HEALTH HARRIS METHODIST HOSPITAL FORT WORTH 1/1/2029 E FORT WORTH 76104”
- Cook Children's, Pediatric Trauma Surgery, checked 2026-11-09. “As a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center”
- Tex. Prop. Code § 55.002, checked 2026-11-09. “For the lien to attach, the individual must be admitted to a hospital not later than 72 hours after the accident.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001, checked 2026-11-08. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”
- Fort Worth City Charter, Chapter XXVII, Section 25, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty (180) days after the same has been sustained, unless good cause is shown”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.0105, checked 2026-11-09. “recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.005(a), checked 2026-11-09. “the burden is on the claimant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) there was a safer alternative design”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.012(b), checked 2026-11-09. “a claimant must commence a products liability action against a manufacturer or seller of a product before the end of 15 years after the date of the sale of the product by the defendant”