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Automobile Liability Insurance Coverage in Texas
Attorney Doug Goyen is a Dallas Liability Insurance Injury Lawyer who has been licensed in Texas since 1997 and has decades of experience representing individuals as a personal injury attorney in auto accident cases throughout Texas. Thousands of cases have been successfully negotiated, litigated, tried, and settled by Attorney Goyen. He has gotten his clients millions of dollars in compensation.
Our clients are well-represented by the Law Office of Doug Goyen. Our personal injury attorney has the knowledge, experience, and desire for justice for our clients enable us to achieve proven results in their cases. Please contact us at (972) 599 4100. We will begin working on your case right away.
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Automobile Insurance Coverages for Personal Injuries
If you have suffered a personal injury as a result of a car accident, you will want to know what insurance coverage is available to you. If the other driver is at fault, you should obtain the other driver’s auto accident liability insurance information. If the other driver is at fault but is uninsured, you should use your uninsured motorist coverage. If they have automobile insurance but not enough to cover your claim, you should use your underinsured motorist coverage.
You may also have PIP or Medpay coverage that you can use. If you own a vehicle but are a passenger or driver in someone else’s vehicle, you may be eligible for additional coverage. To ensure that you recover the proper amounts under the insurance policies involved, you must conduct an evaluation of the situation, the vehicles involved, the insurance involved, and the coverages involved.
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Texas Law – Auto Accident Liability InsuranceAuto liability insurance is the only type of insurance that is required in Texas if you drive a car. Texas Transportation Code section 601.051 is the financial responsibility law in Texas. This coverage is required to protect others in the event that you are careless and cause damage or injury to someone or something else as a result of your carelessness.
Liability insurance protects you as the driver or owner from liability claims made by others if you are found to be at fault in a collision.
Liability Limits:
Texas Transportation Code section 601.072 currently establishes the minimum liability insurance limits in Texas as 30/60/25. This means that if someone has the minimum limits required by Texas law, they have up to $30,000.00 to cover a single person’s injury, and up to $60,000.00 if multiple people are injured (for example, if four people are seriously injured, the $60,000.00 must be split four ways). No single person could receive more than $30,000.00.
The “25” in “30/60/25” refers to the property damage coverage amount – $25,000.00. This means that if you total someone’s new Mercedes, you may not have enough insurance coverage to cover the cost of the vehicle.
People frequently have higher liability limits than the above-mentioned “minimum limits,” but those are the lowest amounts a person is required to have in Texas.
Who is Covered:
According to Texas Transportation Code Sec. 601.076, a motor vehicle owner’s liability insurance policy must:
(1) cover each motor vehicle for which coverage is to be granted under the policy; and
(2) pay, on behalf of the named insured or another person who, as insured, uses a covered motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named insured, amounts the insured becomes obligated to pay as damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicle in the United States or Canada, subject to the amounts, excluding interest and costs, and exclusions of Section 601.072.
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Penalties for Driving Without InsuranceLicense suspensions, surcharges, and fines: If you drive without auto liability insurance in Texas and are involved in a collision, your license can be suspended in a variety of ways, in addition to fines and a judgment, and you may be subject to fines and surcharges. If the police arrive, they will issue you a “no insurance” ticket, which will result in your license being suspended if you are convicted. If you have previously received no insurance tickets and your license has been suspended, and you are driving without insurance or a valid license, the police may cite you for Driving While License Invalid (DWLI) or Driving With Your License Suspended (DWLS), and your license will be suspended if you are convicted.
If the person you cause injury or damage to files a judgment against you personally (due to your lack of insurance), or if their insurance company files a judgment against you, a copy will be filed with the State of Texas DPS, and your license will be suspended until the judgment is satisfied. If you do not have insurance, the state of Texas will charge you a “surcharge” of several hundred dollars per year to keep your license. Your license will be suspended if you do not pay this surcharge. In Texas, most driver’s license issues are caused by insurance issues.
Make certain that you have adequate liability limits. The bare minimum required by law is insufficient. $30,000 in injury coverage is insufficient to cover even a minor but serious injury claim (such as a broken bone, or a case where someone might need minor surgery). If you have a judgment against you that exceeds your coverage amount, your assets and credit are at risk. Get more than the bare minimums if you want to protect yourself properly.
Other types of insurance may also have an impact on your personal injury claim. Health insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid can all have an impact on your claim and the amount you can recover. These insurance companies frequently assert a lien or subrogation interest in your injury claim against any auto insurance proceeds. Some of these claims are true, while others are not. Auto insurance coverage for personal injury can be perplexing. It can fully compensate you, or it can leave you short of the amount of money you should receive for your automobile injury claim if done incorrectly.
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If you have been involved in an automobile accident where you or someone you know has been injured, contact a personal injury attorney today to discuss your case. Make sure you are using your insurance coverage correctly in order to ensure you don’t end up owing bills that insurance should cover. Contact the Law Office of Doug Goyen at (972) 599 4100 to talk to our Insurance Injury Lawyer in Dallas.
By Doug Goyen, douggoyen@goyenlaw.com
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