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Yes, in most cases, even if the driver or the first police report blames you. The first police narrative is not the last word. Being assigned some share of the blame usually does not end a claim in Texas, and the evidence that decides fault is often still out there.
What cannot wait is the video and the vehicle. Camera footage is overwritten, and cars are repaired or salvaged with the data recorder still inside. If a government vehicle or a public roadway is involved, a notice deadline may be running as well. Call 713-521-0059.
No. Drivers routinely tell the responding officer that the pedestrian stepped out. That account can enter the report before anyone has looked at signal timing, crosswalk markings, sight lines, vehicle speed or the driver’s phone. You may have been taken to the hospital before you could give your side at all.
The report is an officer’s initial summary and a starting point for the insurance adjuster, not a ruling by a court. It can be tested against the physical evidence, the video and the data from the vehicle. If the report is wrong about a fact you know, write down what happened now, while you remember it clearly.
That usually does not end the claim. In most cases, you can still recover so long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Texas sets that rule in Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. If you are found responsible for a share at or below that line, your recovery is reduced by your percentage.
Insurers often argue a pedestrian’s share far higher than the evidence supports. Crossing mid-block, wearing dark clothing at night or looking at a phone are the usual arguments the adjuster raises. Each one is a question of fact, and each one can be answered with evidence.
Signal and crossing timing data. Nearby business and doorbell video. The vehicle’s event data recorder. Roadway lighting complaints. The physical evidence of impact point and throw distance.
Almost all of this evidence is time limited. Video is overwritten and vehicles are repaired or salvaged with the recorder still inside. Signal timing records and lighting complaints sit with the city or the county, and they have to be requested. The sooner each request goes out, the more of the record still exists.
Claims against a governmental unit carry their own notice rules. Section 101.101 entitles any governmental unit, such as a city, a county, the state or METRO, to notice not later than six months after the incident. Subsection (b) ratifies city charter and ordinance provisions requiring notice within a charter period permitted by law.
Houston has such a charter provision, so for the City of Houston the practical deadline can be far shorter than six months. METRO is not a city, so the six-month statutory notice applies to it. Subsection (c) provides that the notice requirement does not apply where the governmental unit has actual notice of the death, injury or property damage. Do not rely on it. Give formal notice in writing.
Some drivers carry little or no insurance. If the driver left the scene, the police may never identify the vehicle. Your own automobile policy may still help, because uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can apply to you as a pedestrian, depending on the policy language. A household member’s policy may also apply, depending on the policy. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims explains how that coverage usually works and what the insurer will request.
Keep the clothing and shoes you were wearing, unwashed, because they can show the point of impact. Photograph your injuries regularly as they heal or change. Write down the location, the time, the direction you were walking and anything the driver said. List every business, home and bus stop near the scene that might have a camera.
Keep every medical record, bill and receipt, and a short daily note of what you cannot do. You generally do not have to give a recorded statement to another party’s insurer. Your own policy may require you to cooperate with your own insurer. Our page on who pays your medical bills while the case is pending covers the months before a case resolves.
In most cases, Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires suit within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. A claim against a governmental unit can have a much shorter notice deadline, as explained above. Ask about your specific deadlines early.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Most of this evidence belongs to someone else, and much of it is on a short timer. A written request to keep it is the first step. The earlier it goes out, the less of your case depends on memory alone.
We start by finding the footage, the vehicle data and the signal records before they are lost. Then we identify every insurance policy that may apply, including your own uninsured motorist coverage, and check whether a governmental unit is involved so that any notice goes out on time.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
Not usually. The first police narrative is not the last word. Signal timing, video, vehicle data and the physical evidence can show a different account.
In most cases, yes, so long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, your recovery is reduced by your percentage.
Section 101.101 entitles a governmental unit to notice not later than six months after the incident, and the City of Houston has a charter provision requiring notice sooner. Treat the deadline as short and give formal notice in writing.
Often within days or weeks, depending on the system. Ask nearby businesses and neighbors right away, and have a written request sent to anyone who may hold footage.
Under Section 71.004 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the surviving spouse, children and parents may bring a wrongful death action. Section 71.021 provides for a separate survival action, which carries the claim the person who died would have had.
In most cases, two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury, under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A claim against a governmental unit can have a much shorter notice deadline.