When you ask your insurance agent how much insurance you should buy, know that vehicle owners in Texas are required to have a minimum of $30,000 for each injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. However, the minimums are often not enough to adequately cover your needs should a car accident occur.
You’ll want to carry enough insurance to meet the minimums and purchase additional coverage accordingly to your needs and budget.
When the other driver flees the scene of the accident, you will need first, to contact the police and tend to your medical needs, and second, to contact your auto insurance company. There are specific actions one must take after an accident.
A crash is a hit and run (driver fled after the accident) if these things do not occur.
- No exchange of information
- Driver does not call the police or wait for the police to arrive
- The driver will not render aid: the driver isn’t expected to perform medically, but at the least, should call 911
If nobody can find the driver then your damages may be compensable via your insurance policy if you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM), insurance to carry in addition to Texas minimum requirements.
Typical car accident injuries can keep a victim out of work for days, weeks, even months. Even simple injuries like a broken leg can require surgery to repair, and operation means recovery time. Whether your personal injuries keep you in the hospital or at home on doctor’s orders, time lost from work should be compensated for in a car accident injury settlement.
When a person fails to act in a way that’s reasonable, safe, or meets an expected degree of care, the behavior is termed negligent. In a car accident, negligence is often the determining factor regarding fault – the person who acted negligently most likely will be held liable for damages according to Texas negligence laws.
If you’re in an accident with a driver who does not have a valid driver’s license, this fact may help you in establishing negligence and fault, and recovering the different types of compensation.
For drivers in the state of Texas, it’s mandatory to carry car insurance.
Required insurance types are as follows.
- $30,000 in bodily injury liability per person
- $60,000 in bodily injury liability per accident
- $25,000 in property damage liability per accident
However, there are additional insurance options you may want to consider.
After a fatal car accident takes the life of your family member or loved one, you may not know what your options are moving forward. Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be extremely trying and emotional, especially if the person was the primary wage earner for your family. While nothing can ever replace your lost family member, an attorney can help you to file a wrongful death claim for damages.
If you’ve been in a car accident in Dallas that results in any damage whatsoever, you’ll need to report the accident to your car insurance company as soon as possible. Next, you’ll be asked to give a recorded statement. The insurance adjuster will be your next hurdle although most accident victims don’t know this.
You don’t have to give a recorded statement to another person’s insurance company. Yours is a little trickier. Even though you hired the insurance company as your representative, they still act as a separate entity from you and hold their interests to heart. Their job is to discern if the cause of the accident — an event that will cost their company money — was you.
Thus, any evidence that they can obtain pointing to your fault for the accident will aid them in decreasing your payout and keeping money in their coffers. There’s a reason they say ‘deny’ is an insurance company’s favorite word. Here are the things that you should never say to an insurance adjuster, as well as advice on when you should or should not give a recorded statement.
When a person sustains injuries in a car accident in Dallas, he or she can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company or file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver in civil court. Both methods of recovery can yield damages for noneconomic losses, known as pain and suffering damages. Pain and suffering damages are damages paid based on the monetary value of the victim’s non-financial losses and include damages for physical pain and suffering, mental or emotional pain, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to reputation, and more. A personal injury lawsuit often yields higher damages amounts than filing a claim with an insurance company.