Texas Cyclist Struck in a Hit-and-Run: Recovery Options

Attorney Answer

Two things can move at once. The driver who hit you and left committed a criminal offense, so the police investigation is a real route to identifying him. Separately, uninsured motorist coverage — yours, or in some households a relative's — can pay even if he is never found, and because the car actually struck you, you meet the element that defeats most hit-and-run claims.

Start with what the driver was required to do. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021(a) requires the operator of a vehicle involved in a collision that results, or is reasonably likely to result, in injury to or death of a person to immediately stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, to immediately return if the vehicle was not stopped there, to immediately determine whether a person is involved and, if so, whether that person requires aid, and to remain at the scene until the operator complies with § 550.023. Section 550.023 sets out what compliance means: giving the operator's name and address, the registration number of the vehicle driven, and the name of the operator's motor vehicle liability insurer to any person injured or to the operator or occupant of a vehicle involved; showing the driver's license on request if available; and providing reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport for medical treatment where it is apparent that treatment is necessary.

Leaving is an offense, and a serious one. Under § 550.021(c), an offense involving a collision resulting in death is a felony of the second degree and one resulting in serious bodily injury is a felony of the third degree; an offense involving a collision resulting in other injury is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years or confinement in county jail for not more than one year, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both. That is why a complete police report and an active investigation matter to you, not just to the state.

Now the coverage side. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b) prohibits an insurer from delivering or issuing for delivery in this state an automobile liability policy unless it provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in or supplemental to the policy, and § 1952.101(c) makes that coverage inapplicable only where an insured named in the policy rejects it in writing. Section 1952.101(a) describes it as protecting insureds legally entitled to recover from owners or operators of uninsured or underinsured motor vehicles for bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, or property damage. Where the driver is unknown, Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3) requires that actual physical contact have occurred between the vehicle operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured — a car that struck you satisfies that.

One honest caveat: you were on a bicycle, not in a car. Whether you count as an insured under a particular auto policy while riding depends on how that policy defines who is covered — put that question to the insurer in writing rather than assume. Personal injury protection is worth asking about in the same breath: § 1952.152 requires PIP unless the named insured rejects it in writing, and § 1952.155(a) makes those benefits payable without regard to the fault or nonfault of the named insured or recipient and without regard to any collateral source.

What you can do

1. Make sure a police report exists, and get a copy and the report number. If no report was made, ask the agency how to file one now.

2. Get medical care and keep every record, itemized bill and receipt.

3. Ask your own insurer, and any auto insurer in your household, in writing whether you are covered as an insured for uninsured motorist and personal injury protection benefits while riding a bicycle.

4. Preserve the bicycle, the clothing and helmet you were wearing, and any camera or phone footage exactly as they are, and photograph your injuries as they heal.

5. Ask a Texas attorney about the uninsured motorist claim and about pursuing the driver if the investigation identifies him.

*Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — the police report and the declarations pages of every auto policy in your household — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.*

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) allows two years from the day the cause of action accrues to bring suit for personal injury or for injury to property. Any policy you claim under also imposes notice and proof conditions that can be much shorter. When each period started depends on your facts, so have a Texas attorney review the dates rather than counting from a page like this.