Rear-Ended and Not at Fault: Claims and Deadlines

Attorney Answer

If another driver ran into the back of your vehicle, you generally have three places to look for money, and one deadline that governs all of them. The three are the other driver's liability insurance, your own policy's first-party coverages, and a lawsuit against the driver. Which of them matters depends on the injuries, the damage, and how much coverage exists.

Start with the duty that was broken. Tex. Transp. Code § 545.062(a) provides: "An operator shall, if following another vehicle, maintain an assured clear distance between the two vehicles so that, considering the speed of the vehicles, traffic, and the conditions of the highway, the operator can safely stop without colliding with the preceding vehicle or veering into another vehicle, object, or person on or near the highway." Tex. Transp. Code § 545.351(b)(2) adds the duty to control speed to avoid colliding with a vehicle lawfully on the road. Texas has no rule making the rear driver liable automatically, so those duties, and the facts, are what decide it.

Fault can be divided. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 a claimant more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing at all. Under § 33.012(a), a claimant at or below that line has damages cut by their own percentage, and under § 33.013(a) each defendant pays only its own percentage.

Now the coverage. Tex. Transp. Code § 601.051 requires every driver to establish financial responsibility, and § 601.072(a-1) sets the minimum at $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage. Two coverages under your own policy can matter regardless of the other driver. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.152 requires personal injury protection to be provided unless it was rejected in writing; PIP pays medical expenses without regard to who was at fault. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101 requires uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing, which is what answers a driver with no insurance or with limits too small. One trap: for a claim involving an unknown driver, Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3) requires actual physical contact between the unknown vehicle and the insured's person or property.

What you can do

1. Get medical attention and keep every record and bill, even if the symptoms seemed minor at first.

2. Request the crash report from the law-enforcement agency that responded. Texas drivers do not file their own crash reports; the officer's report is the record.

3. Open a claim with the other driver's insurer and, in writing, ask it to confirm the policy limits.

4. Ask your own insurer for your declarations page and confirm in writing whether you have personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

5. Keep repair estimates, the total-loss valuation if the car was totaled, and rental or towing receipts. Property damage and injury are settled separately.

6. Do not sign a release or cash a settlement check until the full extent of your injuries is known.

7. Ask a Texas personal injury attorney to review the report, the records, and the coverage before you negotiate a number. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can ask you questions is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) generally gives two years from the day the cause of action accrues to sue for personal injury and for property damage. Your policy may also impose its own, shorter notice requirements for a first-party claim. The date that starts your clock depends on your facts, so have a Texas attorney confirm it rather than counting yourself.