If you experience a hit and run accident in Texas, especially if you or someone in your car gets hurt, your head might be spinning. You might feel angry, scared, and unsure about what happens next. Who will pay for the doctor after a hit and run accident in Texas? How will your car get fixed?
Taking specific actions can help protect your health, your rights, and your ability to cover the costs caused by the driver who left the scene.
What To Do After a Hit and Run Accident in Texas
You need to notify your own car insurance company about the hit and run accident. Most insurance policies require you to report accidents promptly. Tell them what happened—that you were hit by a driver who fled the scene and that you were injured.
Seek Medical Help
Even if you think your injuries are minor, it’s very important to see a doctor or go to an emergency room as soon as possible after the accident. Some serious injuries, like whiplash or internal injuries, might not show symptoms right away.
Seeing a doctor also creates a medical record, which connects your injuries to the hit and run accident. Later, when you need to deal with insurance companies, these medical records are proof of your injuries and the necessary treatment.
Document Everything
After a hit and run, you'll likely deal with doctors, mechanics, police, and insurance adjusters. It can get confusing. Start a folder or a file specifically for this accident. Keep copies of everything related to the crash:
- The police report
- Medical bills and records from doctors, hospitals, physical therapy, etc.
- Photos you took of the scene, your car, and your injuries
- Estimates for repairing your car
- Receipts for any related expenses (like prescriptions or transportation if you can't drive)
- Names and contact information for witnesses, police officers, and insurance adjusters
- A log of conversations you have with insurance companies, including dates, times, who you spoke with, and what was discussed
Staying organized will make the process much smoother and help ensure you don't miss anything important.
Get Legal Help
Consult a Texas hit and run attorney before speaking with an insurance adjuster. An experienced lawyer can review the facts of your case and discuss your options moving further.
How a Texas Hit and Run Attorney Can Help After an Accident
Recovering from a hit and run accident can be overwhelming. Dealing with insurance, paperwork, and medical bills adds to the stress and pain. Seeking legal representation from an attorney specializing in hit and run accidents can be invaluable.
Their expertise in navigating the complexities of these cases can provide essential guidance and support throughout the legal process.
Here are some important ways a lawyer can assist you.
Investigate the Crash
While the police investigate the crime of leaving the scene, a lawyer can conduct their own investigation focused on helping your claim. They may return to the scene, search for nearby security footage, interview witnesses, and work with investigators to identify the driver or vehicle.
Finding the driver can significantly impact how you get compensation.
Explain Your Insurance Policy
Car insurance policies can be confusing, especially parts like Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage or Personal Injury Protection (PIP). A lawyer can review your specific policy, explain exactly what coverages you have in plain language, and show you how they apply to your hit and run situation.
They can clarify deductibles, coverage limits, and what benefits you are entitled to claim.
Deal With Insurance Companies
Talking to insurance adjusters can be intimidating. Remember, the adjuster works for the insurance company, and their goal is often to pay out as little as possible.
Here are some common tactics that insurance companies use to minimize payouts:
- Minimizing your injuries: An adjuster might suggest that your injuries aren't as serious as you say they are or that they couldn't possibly have come from this specific accident.
- Shifting blame: Even though the other driver broke the law by leaving, the insurance company might still try to argue that you were somehow partly responsible for the initial crash. In Texas, if you are found partially at fault, the amount you can recover might be reduced.
- Offering a fast, low payment: Insurance adjusters may offer a quick settlement after an accident. This is often less than your claim's worth, and accepting it prevents you from asking for more money later, even if your injuries worsen.
- Delay tactics: The insurance company may use tactics like delays and repeated requests to frustrate you into accepting a lower offer.
- Using recorded statements against you: The insurance adjuster will likely ask you for a recorded statement about the accident. They might ask questions designed to get you to downplay your injuries or say something that could suggest you were partly at fault. Speak with a lawyer before giving a recorded statement, especially if you have significant injuries.
A Texas hit and run lawyer can handle all the communications with the insurance companies for you. They know how to present your claim effectively, counter low settlement offers, and fight for the full amount you deserve based on your injuries and losses.
Calculate Your Losses
The goal of an insurance claim or a lawsuit is to get compensation (damages) to help cover your losses. If the driver is found, you claim against them. If not, you often claim these from your own coverage. It's not just about the immediate medical bills or car repair estimate.
Here are some of the main types of damages you might be able to recover:
- Money for all your past medical bills
- Future medical bills related to the crash injuries
- Wages you lost because you couldn't work while recovering
- Future lost income due to injuries
- Cost of repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
A Texas hit and run accident lawyer can help you gather all the documentation needed to calculate the total cost of the accident, both now and in the future, to make sure you ask for fair compensation.
Protect Your Rights and Meeting Deadlines
There are strict time limits in Texas (like the two-year statute of limitations) for taking legal action after an accident. A lawyer can file all necessary paperwork correctly and on time so that you don't accidentally lose your right to seek payment for your damages.
Take the Burden Off Your Shoulders
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits is peace of mind. Knowing that someone knowledgeable is handling the complex legal and insurance details allows you to focus on what's most important: recovering from your injuries and getting your life back on track.
Who Pays for Everything? Understanding Texas Insurance
This is often the biggest worry after a hit and run, especially when you're injured. The answer depends mainly on whether the police can find the driver who hit you and what kind of car insurance you have.
If the police are successful in identifying and locating the driver who fled and that driver has car insurance, things are relatively straightforward. Texas is an "at-fault" state, which means the driver who caused the accident is responsible for paying for the damages.
Their liability insurance should cover your medical bills, lost wages if you couldn't work due to your injuries, the cost to repair or replace your car, and possibly compensation for your pain and suffering.
If the driver disappears without a trace, or if they are found but have no insurance, you'll need to rely on your own car insurance policy. A hit and run accident lawyer in Texas can help you sort out which insurance policy to file a claim with after an accident.
Dealing With Your Injuries and Doctor Bills
After you've seen a doctor, make sure to follow their treatment plan. Keep all appointments for follow-up care or physical therapy. Otherwise, insurance companies can point to missed appointments as a way to downplay your injuries and minimize your payout.
PIP or MedPay coverage is often the first insurance used to pay your initial medical bills since it pays regardless of fault. Once that limit is reached, UM Bodily Injury coverage can step in to cover more medical costs and lost wages.
If you have health insurance, it might also help cover some costs, though you may have copays or deductibles. Keep detailed records of every medical bill, treatment, and related expense.
Getting Your Car Fixed After a Hit and Run
If the driver who hit you isn't found, you'll likely use your own insurance to repair your vehicle. Your insurance company will likely ask you to get one or more estimates from repair shops. They may have preferred shops, but sometimes you’ll have the option to choose where you get your car fixed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Hit and Run Injury Accidents
Here are answers to some common questions people have after being injured in a hit and run crash in Texas:
Who Pays My Medical Bills Right After the Hit and Run Accident?
Your auto insurance policy may cover your immediate medical bills, even before the hit and run driver is identified. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) may pay for your initial medical treatment and some lost wages, regardless of fault. Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage works similarly for medical bills.
Once those limits are used up, your Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) coverage can step in to cover further medical costs if the hit and run driver isn't found or has no insurance. Your regular health insurance might also cover some costs.
Will My Insurance Rates Go Up if I Make a Claim on My Own Insurance for a Hit and Run?
Insurance companies look at many factors when deciding rates, including your overall claims history. While a single not-at-fault hit and run claim may not cause a major hike, it's impossible to guarantee it won't affect your rates at all. It's best to discuss this possibility with your insurance agent.
How Can a Lawyer Help Me After Being Injured in a Texas Hit and Run?
A car accident lawyer can help you understand all your options, especially when dealing with insurance claims involving Uninsured Motorist coverage, which can sometimes be tricky. They can make sure you meet all the deadlines, gather evidence, and negotiate with the insurance company to ensure you get fair compensation for all your losses.
If the insurance company isn't offering a fair settlement, a Texas hit and run attorney can negotiate for better compensation.
How Much Time Do I Have To File a Claim After a Hit and Run Accident in Texas?
For personal injury claims, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. The same two-year deadline typically applies to filing a lawsuit for damage to your vehicle. If you miss this deadline, you usually lose your right to sue forever.
Report the hit and run to the police, seek medical care, notify your insurance company, and seek legal advice sooner rather than later.
Schedule Your Free Consultation at DFW Injury Lawyers Today
Taking the right steps immediately after the hit and run accident can help you build a strong case. Keep careful records of everything, follow your doctor's advice, and seek legal advice.
At DFW Injury Lawyers, we’re dedicated to helping hit and run victims in Texas seek the justice and compensation they deserve.
Call us today at (972) 440-2320 for a free consultation, or contact us online.
Kevin L. Edwards
Founder
Attorney Kevin Edwards is a co-founder of DFW Injury lawyers. During his law school tenure, Mr. Edwards worked for a prominent local personal injury attorney, where he gained valuable pre-litigation, litigation, courtroom, and trial experience in lawsuits involving car wrecks, commercial trucking wrecks, medical malpractice, premises liability and catastrophic injury. Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Edwards joined a high-volume civil litigation/insurance defense firm in Dallas, Texas, where he defended corporations, insurance companies, employers, trucking companies, and numerous businesses and individuals throughout the State of Texas. After approximately five years on the defense side of the docket, Mr. Edwards had seen enough of the corporate and insurance company greed. In 2008, Mr. Edwards moved across the courtroom aisle to help plaintiffs whom he had seen from experience suffer real, and often times, debilitating injuries and were deserving of compensation. Over the last 15 years, Mr. Edwards has dedicated his practice to helping those who have been injured or harmed by the negligence, malfeasance, and/or recklessness of others. He has represented thousands of victims in personal injury matters, defective products cases, and mass tort litigations against medical device and pharmaceutical companies.
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