The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, held annually in the great state of Texas, was marred by violence this year when a vehicle plowed into a crowd of bystanders.
At least two people have been reported dead, with several dozen having been admitted to the hospital with injuries. The driver was apparently fleeing the police, who had initially pulled him over for suspected driving under the influence. Police eventually apprehended the unidentified man after he turned the car into the congregation of bystanders.
While this violent act took place in Austin, all Texas drivers and pedestrians face the possibility of becoming car accident victims. Houston motorists should know the state’s limits on insurance payouts for both intentional and negligent acts.
If you become injured in a car accident in Texas, would you be guaranteed to collect from the driver’s insurance?
Texas law does not allow insurance payments for intentional acts, such as those likely taken by the SXSW driver. Unfortunately, in situations of negligent acts, if there are multiple victims, the driver may not carry enough insurance to cover all the damage.
Texas only requires coverage of $60,000 for bodily injury no matter how many people were in any one accident.
This means that once $60,000 in payments are made to some victims, there is nothing left for the other victims, and the driver’s insurance is not required to cover the balance.
However, you can protect yourself by carrying your own underinsured or uninsured motorist insurance, which pays the difference.
The facts of every case are different, which is why it helps to speak with a knowledgeable Houston car accident attorney to determine what options are available to you for recovering damages from a car accident.
Photo Credit: Flickr Contributor, Richard P J Lambert
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