Recovering Damages for Accidents Caused by Drivers Without Insurance In Texas

I was involved in an auto accident, but the driver that hit my car did not have any insurance; what can I do?

            Texas Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Laws require that every driver carry a minimum of $25,000 liability insurance per person on their vehicle.  Unfortunately, this is often not enough to cover the damages that can be caused by a single auto accident.  In addition, there are millions of drivers who, recklessly and illegally, drive without any insurance at all.  The possibility that you may be injured by a negligent, uninsured driver or that your injuries may exceed the minimum coverage required by law is the best reason to carry uninsured/underinsured (“UM/UIM”) coverage on your own insurance policy.

            UM/UIM coverage is meant to insure you in just the situations described above.  If you can show that your were injured by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, your UM/UIM policy should pay for any liability that exceeds the amount that the at-fault party’s insurance will pay—or all of your damages in the case that the at-fault party is totally uninsured.

            In order to make a successful UM/UIM claim, you or a member of your family or household must carry UM/UIM coverage in the first place.  However, that does not assure that your insurance carrier will readily pay on a UM/UIM claim.  Although you are paying the premiums for UM/UIM coverage, your insurer may come up with many excuses as to why they do not want to pay on your UM/UIM claim.  They may claim that the case against the negligent driver is less than clear, or that there is no negligence involved.  They may raise many other legal and procedural loopholes in an effort to avoid having to pay you for a service you have been paying them for.

            However, an experienced Texas personal injury lawyer should be familiar with these situations, and should be able to aggressively pursue your interests and obtain a reasonable settlement from your UM/UIM carrier.  Don’t let an insurance company that someone in your family or household is paying for UM/UIM coverage get off the hook without paying your claim if you have been injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver.