When a personal injury accident occurs in Texas, one or more insurance policies may be responsible for paying for a victim’s bills and losses. In general, a claimant can only exhaust the limits of an insurance policy when it comes to recovering damages or financial compensation. In certain circumstances, however, recovering beyond insurance policy limits is possible.

What Are the Minimum Required Amounts of Car Insurance in Texas?

When a car accident occurs in Texas, injured crash victims can seek coverage from the automobile insurance provider of the at-fault driver. Unless the driver is uninsured or underinsured, he or she will have the following minimum amounts of insurance available:

  • $30,000 in bodily injury liability per person
  • $60,000 in bodily injury liability per accident
  • $25,000 in property damage liability

These are the minimum required amounts under Texas law. If your losses exceed the limits listed on another driver’s car insurance policy, you may have options available for seeking additional payment elsewhere. A San Antonio car accident lawyer can help guide you through this process.

Filing a Claim With Your Own Auto Insurance Policy

You may be eligible for additional or supplemental coverage through one of your own insurance policies if the at-fault party in your car accident or personal injury case does not have enough insurance to fully cover your losses. While personal injury protection (PIP) coverage is not mandatory in Texas, you may have opted to purchase this with your car insurance policy. You may also have uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance, collision/comprehensive insurance or health insurance available.

Pursuing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

The majority of personal injury cases in Texas are resolved through settlements, or private out-of-court agreements made between an insurance company and a claimant to resolve a legal dispute. However, if you cannot recover fair and full financial compensation via settlement, your case may benefit from going to court.

With assistance from a San Antonio injury attorney, you can file a lawsuit against one or more parties for contributing to your injuries. A lawsuit against an individual or entity has the potential to result in a judgment award that orders the defendant to pay beyond insurance policy limits. You may be awarded pain and suffering damages, for example, in a personal injury trial.

Identifying Other Liable Parties

In some personal injury cases, fault or liability is clear. In others, however, liability is not as straightforward and multiple parties may share fault. For example, a drunk driver may be the obvious choice for liability after a drunk driving accident; however, the state’s dram shop liability law could also make an alcohol vendor liable for overserving the driver as a patron prior to the crash.

Naming more than one party as a defendant in your personal injury suit can grant you access to multiple insurance policies. This can allow you to recover full financial compensation for your past and future losses by exhausting the limits on each applicable policy. A personal injury attorney in San Antonio can carefully investigate your incident to search for all liable parties and sources of compensation.

If the extent of your injuries or losses in a claim exceeds insurance policy limits, do not settle for less than you deserve. Contact an attorney from Maloney & Campolo, LLP to learn about your options for seeking additional compensation through other means.