T-Boned by a Red-Light Runner: Claims and Deadlines

Attorney Answer

If she ran the red light, Texas law gives you a claim against her — and the most urgent thing in your message is the calendar, not the fault. Do not let this sit.

Start with the rule she broke. Tex. Transp. Code § 545.151(a) requires a driver approaching an intersection to stop, yield, and grant immediate use of the intersection in obedience to an official traffic-control device, and to proceed only when the intersection can be safely entered without interference or collision. A driver who enters against a red signal and strikes a car crossing lawfully has not done that. A Texas court decides what legal weight her violation carries, but as a practical matter the signal evidence is what carriers fight over.

Fault is then divided under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Under § 33.003 the trier of fact assigns each party a whole-number percentage of responsibility. Section 33.001 provides that "In an action to which this chapter applies, a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent." If your share is 50 percent or less, § 33.012(a) simply reduces your damages by that percentage, and under § 33.013(a) a defendant ordinarily pays only its own share. Expect her insurer to look for some percentage to put on you — your speed, your attention, your ability to avoid her.

If it turns out she had no insurance or not enough, look at your own policy before you assume there is nothing there. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b) prohibits an insurer from issuing an auto liability policy in Texas without providing uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and § 1952.101(c) provides that "The coverage required by this subchapter does not apply if any insured named in the insurance policy rejects the coverage in writing." Absent a written rejection, the coverage was required to be there. Personal injury protection works the same way under §§ 1952.152 and 1952.155: it must be offered unless rejected in writing, and § 1952.155(a) makes those benefits payable without regard to fault or to any collateral source.

What you can do

1. Request the officer's crash report from the agency that investigated, and check how the officer recorded the signal and the point of impact.

2. Ask the city traffic department and nearby businesses in writing for intersection video and signal-timing records. This is the evidence most likely to be gone already, so ask now.

3. Gather every medical record and bill from the crash, and keep treating if you are still having symptoms.

4. Ask your own insurer, in writing, for a full copy of your policy and for any written rejection of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or personal injury protection.

5. Photograph or document the vehicle damage if the car still exists, and keep repair estimates and the total-loss paperwork.

6. Speak to a Texas lawyer this week, not next month, and take the crash report and your policy with you. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) sets two years from the day the cause of action accrues for personal injury and for injury to property. Your crash is dated in your message, and the accrual date and any effect of your particular facts are exactly the kind of question that has to be answered by a Texas attorney looking at your file — not by a general page and not by a calculation you or I do here. Get that review immediately.