The Different Sources of Compensation after a Car Wreck
You’ve been injured in a car, truck or motorcycle accident. Your first course of action is typically to file a lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident, with the expectation that his or her insurance provider will cover all your losses and injuries. But what if that motorist was uninsured or underinsured? What other potential sources of recovery are available after a motor vehicle accident in Texas?
Recovering Benefits from Your Own Insurance Company
All auto insurance providers are required, under Texas law, to offer coverage for losses caused by uninsured or underinsured motorists. You are not required to purchase this additional insurance but must decline it in writing if you opt not to get the coverage. After any motor vehicle accident, you should always have your lawyer review your coverage to determine what’s available.
Accidents Involving Drunk Drivers
If you were hurt in a collision caused by someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the person who provided the controlled substance. In Texas, a person or establishment that provides alcohol to someone who subsequently causes an accident may be liable for those injuries if the person was “obviously intoxicated” such that he or she posed a “clear and present danger” to himself or to others. It must also be shown that the intoxication was a proximate cause of the accident and injuries suffered. Texas law also makes a social host responsible for any injuries caused by a minor, if the social host provided alcohol to the minor.
Accidents Caused by Persons in the Course of Employment
If the person who caused the accident in which you suffered injuries was working at the time of the crash, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against that person’s employer, under a legal theory known as “respondeat superior.” That theory won’t apply if the defendant was on his ore her way to or from work at the time, unless they had deviated from their typical route to engage in some work-related task (such as picking up bagels for the office).
Accidents Caused by Dangerous or Defective Vehicles or Component Parts
Often, an accident will stem from the breakdown of a mechanical component of a vehicle—the brakes, the steering wheel or the accelerator, for example. In those circumstances, you can bring a product liability claim against any party in the chain of distribution, from the designer or manufacturer of the product to the wholesaler or retailer. Product liability claims can be based on negligent design, negligent manufacturing or negligent marketing (failure to warn of known or anticipated dangers associated with the product).
Contact the Proven Accident Injury Attorneys at Bailey & Galyen
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we understand how a personal injury can change your life. We’ll be your advocate throughout the legal process, helping you take the right steps to get full and fair compensation for all your losses. We can also be your liaison with insurance companies as well, so that you get all the benefits to which you are entitled. Contact us by e-mail or 844-402-2992 call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
