What are My Legal Options to Recover Medial Expenses When Hit by a Driver with No Insurance in Texas?

File an Uninsured Motorist Claim

(not actual clients)

Approximately 20% of all drivers in the State of Texas are uninsured, according to the Texas DMV. If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having been hit by someone with no insurance, your best option is make a claim for uninsured motorist benefits under your own auto insurance policy. You may need to look at your Declarations of Coverage page in the policy to determine whether you purchased this coverage if you are uncertain. If you have this optional coverage on your own vehicle, it will pay up to the policy limits for both the damage to the vehicle and the bodily injury that you sustain in the wreck, so long as the wreck was not your fault and there was physical contact between your vehicle and the uninsured driver. To make an uninsured motorist claim, you need only to contact your insurance company and inform them that you wish to open a claim under this policy coverage.

Will Filing an Uninsured Motorist Claim for my Medical Bills be Easy Since it is My Own Insurance Company?

Many drivers mistakenly think that filing an uninsured motorist claim for their own medical expenses under their own policy will be easy. Before you try to pursue this claim alone, you need to understand that when you file a claim for benefits, you basically become the insurance company’s enemy. No matter how long you have been a customer of theirs, their job is to look for ways to deny or devalue your claim. Your auto insurance company will generally not help you get the medical care you need because it is not in its best interest for you to incur more expenses. You have the right to hire an uninsured motorist lawyer to advise you and help you obtain he care that you need to get better. Hiring an uninsured motorist attorney can enable you to focus on getting the care you need while they deal with the insurance company.

File a MedPay or PIP Claim

Many auto insurance policies contain a very small policy called MedPay or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. While these are not identical, they operate very similarly. They are both coverages that, if on your own policy, allow you and any occupants of your vehicle to file a claim for medical bills incurred due to the wreck.  These coverages generally do not require proof of fault. The downside of these coverages is that they tend to be very small policies, and my coverage covers as little as $2,500 of your medical bills total. There may also be offsets or reimbursement requirements when you make claims against your uninsured motorist policy. However, if you have a bill you need paid quickly before it goes to collection, this may be the best option.

File on Your Own Medical Insurance

Filing a claim for medical bills that are caused by someone else’s negligence against your own health insurance policy is an option; however, it may not be as simple as one might think. Most health insurance policies contain a coordination of benefits clause. This clause will almost always make your health insurance secondary to any other insurance coverage that is liable for the bills. That means if they know there is an auto insurance policy out there, they may deny the claim. If the auto policy is exhausted, you can go back and demonstrate that it was paid out for other medical bills in order to get coverage again. However, this can be a long, drawn-out fight. To make matters worse, many doctors know this and will, therefore, refuse treatment following a car wreck. They simply do not have the time or resources to fight to get their bill paid. If you do manage to get them to pay, they will seek a subrogation claim against any other benefits that you manage to recover from other insurance sources.

File a Civil Lawsuit Against the Other Driver

When the other driver has no insurance, you can sue them for your damages. However, just because you can sue a driver with no insurance does not mean it is a wise option. The Texas Homestead Act and Federal Bankruptcy laws act as a shield for many debtors. You cannot make a debtor sell their home or their means of transportation. They can also designate other property as exempt—including up to $60,000 in cash. To make matters worse, they can simply file for bankruptcy to thwart your collection efforts. Because there is a low expectation of recovery when the other driver has no insurance, personal injury lawyers will generally not take these cases on a contingency fee basis. The point of a contingency is that the lawyer is risking his money due to a high expectation he has of a recovery, and you simply do not have that in most uninsured driver situations. Thus, if you hire a lawyer, you will likely have to pay his retainer and expenses out of pocket. If the defendant has no money or assets, you will be throwing good money after bad.

What is My Best Option After Being Hit by an Uninsured Driver?

Unfortunately, there are never great options when you are hit by an uninsured driver.  Your best option is to look at your own policy and determine whether there is uninsured motorist coverage, MedPay coverage, and/or PIP coverage. Each of these can help cover your bills; however, as you know, making a claim against your own insurance does have a tendency to cause your rates to go up. You may have to look for a new company that will not hold non-at-fault wrecks against you. Suing the uninsured motorist is a last resort that may cause you to lose more than you recover. The smartest thing you can do when faced with having been hit by a driver with no insurance is to get a free consultation from a personal injury lawyer to see whether you have coverage on your policy that applies and/or whether there is any point to pursuing a direct lawsuit.