I’m Kurt Arbuckle. I’m an attorney here in Houston, and I represent people who received injuries as a result to someone’s negligence, as a result of an automobile collision, or a dangerous product or a dangerous condition on property, and one of the questions that I often get asked is what if I’m in an automobile collision, and I’ve been injured but the other side doesn’t have any insurance?
The answer is – is that you may be able to claim against your own insurance, it doesn’t make your premium go up and it’s called, “Uninsured Motorist Coverage.” You’re entitled to get it unless you have specifically waived it in writing and I recommend that you never do that; it is not expensive insurance and it protects you by providing the same insurance that would have been provided by the other side. In fact you can get more insurance than the normal $30,000 minimum to make sure that you’re covered in the case the other side does not have insurance.
By the way, if the other side does not have insurance, your insurance company may get a judgment against them, and they may notify the DPS to have their license taken away because the laws in Texas require all drivers to have insurance. If they don’t, and they have a judgment against them, they can have their license taken from them.
I recommend to you that if you have significant injuries, you should talk to a board certified personal injury trial lawyer who can help you work out things with your own insurance company, and deal with the other side.