Hit by an Uninsured, Unlicensed Driver in Texas

Attorney Answer

You almost certainly still have a way to recover — but the money will most likely come from your own auto policy, not from the driver who hit you. Start with your own coverage today.

Texas requires every driver to establish financial responsibility for the vehicle, and Tex. Transp. Code § 601.051 lists the only ways to do it: a liability policy that complies with the chapter, a surety bond, a deposit with the state, or self-insurance. Driving without one of those is an offense under § 601.191, punishable by a fine of $175 to $350 for a first offense and $350 to $1,000 if the driver has been convicted before. That matters for the driver, but understand what it does not do for you: a fine is paid to the state, not to the person who was hit. The same is true of the license issue — driving without a license is the driver's problem with the state, and it does not by itself create a separate claim or a separate pot of money for you.

The coverage that actually pays in this situation is your own. Under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b), an insurer may not issue an auto liability policy in Texas unless it provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the policy or supplemental to it, and § 1952.101(c) says that requirement does not apply only if a named insured rejected the coverage in writing. So unless someone signed a written rejection, the coverage should be there — and § 1952.101(a) describes it as covering both bodily injury and property damage. Personal injury protection works the same way: § 1952.152 requires the insurer to provide it unless it was rejected in writing, and § 1952.155(a) says those benefits are payable without regard to fault and without regard to any other source of medical or wage benefits. PIP is usually the fastest money available after a crash like this.

You can also sue the driver personally. The claim is an ordinary negligence claim, and being uninsured and unlicensed does not shield anyone from it. The practical problem is collection: a driver with no insurance often has no assets either, and a judgment is only worth what can be collected on it. That is the honest reason most people in your position work their own policy first.

What you can do

1. Pull your own declarations page — the one-page summary from your insurer — and look for uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection. Both should be listed with dollar limits.

2. If either is missing, ask your insurer in writing for a copy of the signed written rejection. Under § 1952.101(c) and § 1952.152 the coverage stands unless a named insured rejected it in writing.

3. Report the crash to your own insurer now and ask to open an uninsured motorist claim. Policies carry prompt-notice conditions, and late notice is a defense insurers do use.

4. Get a copy of the officer's crash report from the agency that responded. It records what the officer found about insurance and licensing.

5. Keep every medical record, bill and repair estimate, and photograph your vehicle and your injuries before anything is fixed.

6. Do not sign a release or accept a settlement — from anyone — before a lawyer reads it. An uninsured motorist claim is a claim against your own insurer under your own contract, and releases in these claims are broader than they look.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with a Texas attorney is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) requires suit for personal injury, and for injury to property, to be brought not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. Your policy also imposes its own notice and cooperation deadlines, which are usually much shorter. When each of those clocks runs in your case depends on your facts, so have a Texas attorney check the dates instead of counting them yourself.