Is Texas a No Fault State?

No. Texas is not a no-fault state. It is an at-fault state, which means the driver who caused a crash is responsible for the injuries and losses that follow, usually through that driver’s liability insurance. Auto policies in the state must include one benefit that pays regardless of fault unless the policyholder rejects it in writing, but that benefit does not change who is ultimately responsible.

At-Fault vs. No-Fault: How Texas Compares

In a no-fault state, your own insurance pays for your injuries first no matter who caused the crash. Texas works the other way:

Under the at-fault system, the injured person carries the burden of proof, which generally means showing that the other driver was careless and that the carelessness caused the injuries claimed. Texas law calls that carelessness negligence, measured against what a reasonably careful driver would have done. A claim can cover losses such as medical bills and lost income, along with non-economic losses like emotional suffering, mental anguish, pain and suffering in the past and future, and permanent disfigurement.

The party at fault is not always just the driver. When a trucking company’s driver causes a crash, the company and its insurer can be responsible too, which is one reason truck accident claims can involve more than one insurer.

Why Your Share of Fault Matters in an At-Fault State

Because fault decides who pays, the other driver’s insurer can argue that you share some of the blame. The state follows a modified comparative fault rule, and under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, recovery is barred only when the injured person’s share of responsibility is greater than 50%.

Below that line, Section 33.012 reduces the award by the injured person’s percentage. As an illustration only, if a jury values the damages at $100,000 and assigns the injured driver 20% of the responsibility, the recovery drops to $80,000. How fault is divided can matter as much as the size of the losses.

Does Texas Have Any No-Fault Coverage?

Texas has no no-fault system, but it does have personal injury protection (PIP), a benefit that pays regardless of who is at fault. Section 1952.152 of the Texas Insurance Code requires insurers to include PIP in every auto liability policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing. A conversation with an agent does not remove it, so a driver who never signed a rejection may have PIP without realizing it, and the policy’s declarations page shows whether it is there.

Under Section 1952.151, PIP can cover reasonable medical expenses and lost income for the named insured, members of the household, and authorized drivers and passengers. It is a first layer of payment, not a replacement for the claim against the at-fault driver.

Both a PIP claim and a liability claim involve talking with an insurance adjuster. Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company prior to hiring an attorney. Insurance companies may also try to get your full Social Security number. Do not give it to them.

How Much Insurance the At-Fault Driver Must Carry

In an at-fault system, the other driver’s liability policy is usually the main source of payment, so its limits matter. Section 601.072 of the Texas Transportation Code sets the minimum at $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for injuries to two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage in one collision, often written as 30/60/25.

Those amounts are legal floors, not estimates of what an injury costs, and a serious injury can exceed $30,000 quickly. When a minimum policy runs out, the rest of the loss may have to come from coverage on your own policy, which is one reason the state’s liability coverage requirements are worth knowing before a crash happens.

What If the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance?

When the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough of it, the claim may shift to the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy. Section 1952.101 of the Insurance Code requires insurers to provide that coverage unless a named insured rejects it in writing.

Fault still matters here. That coverage pays what you are legally entitled to recover from the uninsured driver, so your own insurer will look at who caused the crash and what the injuries are worth.

Deadlines for a Claim Against the At-Fault Driver

Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code generally requires a personal injury lawsuit to be filed within two years after the day the cause of action accrues, which for a crash injury is typically the day of the collision. Evidence of fault fades well before then: vehicles get repaired or scrapped, camera footage is recorded over, and memories of which light was green blur.

Most cases do not go to trial. If a settlement cannot be reached, a trial before a judge or jury may be necessary, and the lawsuit deadline still applies.

Getting Help After a Crash in an At-Fault State

Sorting out which policy pays after a crash is a lot to manage while you are hurting. Abraham Watkins has been a pillar in the Houston community since 1951, and a free consultation is a chance to ask how fault and coverage apply to your crash. We believe everyone deserves access to high-quality legal representation without an upfront cost.

Call (713) 222-7211 or contact us today, and we can talk through how Texas’s at-fault rules, rather than a no-fault system, apply to your claim.