Houston Auto Accident Attorney

Rarely the at-fault driver, and that surprises almost everyone. Their liability insurer normally pays a single sum at settlement rather than paying providers as invoices arrive. In the meantime the sources are your own personal injury protection or medical payments cover, which pays early and is the reason it is worth carrying; your health insurance; and sometimes a letter of protection under which a provider treats you and waits to be paid from the recovery. Keep every bill and every explanation of benefits, because those documents become the basis of both your claim and the lien negotiation later.

Either the at-fault driver's property damage cover, up to the $25,000 Texas minimum under § 601.072, or your own collision cover if you carry it. Using your own is often faster, and your deductible is usually recovered later if the other insurer accepts responsibility. Rental cover is a separate question and is frequently the practical problem, because repairs take longer than the rental allowance. If the vehicle is a total loss, the argument is about actual cash value, and independent valuation evidence is worth having before accepting a figure.

Because several parties may have a right to be reimbursed from the recovery before you are paid. A health insurer that paid for your treatment may assert subrogation. Medicare and Medicaid have statutory recovery rights. Hospitals and providers can assert liens. Those amounts are identified, verified and frequently negotiated down before disbursement, which is part of the work rather than an afterthought. A settlement figure quoted without reference to liens is not the number you will receive, and any firm should explain that distinction at the outset.

Then your own uninsured motorist coverage is the claim. Texas requires insurers to provide UM and UIM in at least the Chapter 601 limits unless a named insured rejected it in writing under § 1952.101(b), so if your declarations page does not show it, ask the insurer to produce that signed rejection — it is a document they must be able to produce. Be aware that a UM claim is made against your own insurer, which then stands in the absent driver's shoes and is entitled to contest liability and damages exactly as that driver could have.

It applies where the at-fault driver had insurance but not enough — their limits are exhausted and your loss is greater. It is the layer that matters most in serious injury cases, because $30,000 per person does not go far against surgery and lost income. UIM claims usually cannot be settled without following the policy's own procedures, including notifying your insurer before accepting a settlement from the other side, since accepting first can prejudice the UIM claim. That sequencing is a genuine trap and it is worth advice before, not after.

Whenever the at-fault driver was acting in the course and scope of employment, which changes the ceiling entirely. Commercial policies are typically far above the statutory minimum, and there may be additional claims against the employer for hiring, training, supervision or maintenance. Where a tractor-trailer is involved, the federal motor carrier rules Texas adopts under § 644.051 add a documentary layer as well. Establishing what the driver was doing at the time of the crash is therefore one of the highest-value early questions.

Usually straight away for medical payments, PIP and collision, because they pay early and waiting achieves nothing. The common worry is that claiming on your own policy will raise your premium after a crash you did not cause; that is a question for your policy and your carrier, but the alternative is often months without treatment funding. What does require care is UIM, where accepting a settlement from the at-fault insurer without notifying your own carrier first can prejudice the claim.

After treatment concludes, the claim is negotiated or tried, and the liens are resolved — in that order. A claim should not settle before you reach maximum medical improvement, because settlement is final and cannot be reopened if the injury proves worse than expected. Once a settlement is reached, the disbursement timeline depends on how quickly lien holders respond, which is frequently the slowest part and is largely outside anyone's control.

Because an early offer is made before anyone knows what the claim is worth, which is precisely its advantage to them. At that point your treatment is incomplete, the medical records are partial, and the future care question is unanswered. The offer looks reasonable against the bills received so far and is final in every sense. There is no obligation to respond quickly, and the passage of time before maximum medical improvement generally helps the accuracy of the valuation rather than harming the claim.

That page covers the claim — fault, evidence, deadlines and how a case is built. This one covers the money: which policies respond, in what order, what gets deducted before you are paid, and where the coverage runs out. Most people need both, but the questions that keep them awake in the first month are usually the ones on this page.