If you’re a driver in Texas, then you know that the state requires you to carry car insurance ($30,000 and $60,000 in bodily injury liability insurance per person and per accident, respectively, and $25,000 for property damage). What you might not know, though, is whose car insurance pays for injuries in the event that an accident does happen when both parties have insurance.
Texas is an at-fault car insurance state meaning that the driver who is at fault for an accident is the driver who handles paying for it.
As such, an injured person can file a claim with his or her own insurance company (if he or she was at fault for the accident) in a first-party claim, or file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company (if the other driver was to blame).
If you have medical payments coverage or PIP (personal injury protection) coverage as part of your insurance policy, then you may file a claim with your insurance company to help pay for injuries. While liability insurance typically only pays if the insured party was at fault, medical payments and PIP coverage offer damages for medical expenses regardless of who was at fault.
Sometimes, an insurance settlement offer isn’t enough to pay for a victim’s full extent of injuries. If you want to seek damages for pain and suffering and other losses, you have the right to do so through a personal injury lawsuit. During a lawsuit, you will have to prove that the accident was the fault of the other driver and that your injuries and damages would not have been caused but for the other driver’s actions.
In summary, the at-fault driver’s insurance is typically responsible for paying for injuries unless the injured person has medical payments or PIP coverage. Other important things to know after a car accident include the type of coverage that you carry on your insurance, your insurance company’s deadline for filing a claim, and Texas’ personal injury lawsuit statute of limitations (two years).
To help you navigate through the process of filing a claim and recovering compensation for your wounds, an attorney can help. At the Law Office of Julie Johnson PLLC, our personal injury attorneys are ready to take on your car accident case. Call our offices at 214-290-8001 to schedule a consultation today, or fill out this online contact form.
