The kind of vehicle that hit you shapes the whole claim: which insurance policy may pay, which rules the driver had to follow, and which deadlines apply. As a vehicle accident lawyer in Houston, we look at those questions first. This page takes them one vehicle at a time.
This page is part of Automobile Accident Lawyers Houston, a site of LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC. The Houston attorneys who handle its cases work on Memorial Drive at Memorial Park, a short drive west of downtown, and Jonathan Harris is the lawyer responsible for the site’s content.
Why the vehicle matters as much as the crash
Two collisions can look the same from the shoulder of the road and still be very different claims. A crash with a neighbor’s sedan usually involves one personal auto policy. A crash with a delivery van may involve a company and its business policy. A crash with a city bus brings in a government unit and a six-month notice rule. A crash with an 18-wheeler brings in federal safety rules and records that can be lost if nobody asks for them in time.
So one of the first questions a vehicle accident lawyer in Houston asks is simple: what exactly was the other vehicle, who owned it, and what was the driver doing at the time? The answers decide where we look for coverage and what evidence we ask to be kept.
Vehicle by vehicle: whose policy may apply and the rules that matter
| Vehicle | Whose policy may apply | Rules that matter |
|---|---|---|
| Car | Liability coverage of the driver who caused the crash, plus your own PIP and UM/UIM coverage | 30/60/25 minimum liability (Transportation Code 601.072); fault rule (CPRC 33.001, 33.012); two years to sue (CPRC 16.003) |
| SUV or pickup | The other driver’s liability coverage, your own PIP and UM/UIM, and a business policy if the truck was out on work | The same minimums and fault rule; if the pickup was a work vehicle, the questions in the company vehicle row |
| Motorcycle | Liability coverage of the driver at fault, and the rider’s own coverage | Helmet rule and its exceptions (Transportation Code 661.003); fault rule (CPRC 33.001) |
| Rideshare car | The rideshare driver’s own policy and any other policy that covered the trip; your own PIP and UM/UIM | Fault rule; two years to sue; texting offense (Transportation Code 545.4251) |
| Delivery van or company vehicle | The driver’s policy and the company’s policy, depending on who owned the vehicle and why it was on the road | Federal safety rules where the van counts as a commercial motor vehicle (Transportation Code 644.051); CPRC chapter 72 for trial |
| City bus | The government unit that runs the bus | Written notice within six months (CPRC 101.101); Tort Claims Act limits (CPRC 101.023) |
| 18-wheeler | The motor carrier’s policy, and others depending on who owned the truck and trailer | Federal hours of service (49 CFR 395.3); electronic logs kept at least 6 months (49 CFR 395.8); CPRC chapter 72 |
The table is a starting map, not an answer for any one crash. Which policy pays depends on the facts, so we ask every insurer involved, in writing, what coverage applies.
Cars
Every Texas driver must carry at least $30,000 of liability coverage for injury or death of one person, $60,000 for two or more people and $25,000 for property damage in a single crash (Transportation Code section 601.072). Those are legal floors, and they are not a measure of any injury. When the injuries go beyond the other driver’s limits, your own underinsured motorist coverage may help, and Texas puts that coverage in every auto policy unless a named insured turns it down in writing (Insurance Code section 1952.101).
Your personal injury protection is the other piece. It is paid without regard to fault, and the insurer must pay within 30 days of satisfactory proof of the claim (Insurance Code sections 1952.155 and 1952.156). In a car crash, fault is then argued under the proportionate responsibility rule: you can recover if you are 50 percent or less at fault, and your recovery is reduced by your own share (Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 33.001 and 33.012).
SUVs and pickups
Houston roads are full of SUVs and pickup trucks, and most of the claim rules are the same as for a car. Two things deserve a closer look. First, a larger vehicle can do more damage to a smaller one, so the injury records and the photographs of both vehicles need careful attention. Second, many pickups double as work trucks. If the driver was on the job when the crash happened, the employer and the employer’s policy may be part of the claim, and we ask whose truck it was, who was paying for the trip and what the driver was doing.
Motorcycles and the Texas helmet rule
Under Transportation Code section 661.003, every rider and passenger must wear a helmet that meets state standards, except a person at least 21 years old who has either completed an approved motorcycle operator training and safety course or is covered by a health insurance plan that pays for injuries from a motorcycle collision. An officer may not stop a rider only to check the course or the insurance.
Riding without a helmet does not by itself bar a claim. The other driver’s insurer may still argue it under the comparative fault rule in section 33.001, which is why the facts of the crash and the nature of each injury matter so much. TxDOT counted 585 motorcyclists killed in Texas in 2024, drivers and passengers together, and recorded 216 of them as not wearing a helmet (TxDOT, Motorcyclist Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group and Helmet Use, 2024).
Rideshare cars
A crash involving a rideshare car can leave you as a passenger in that car, a driver hit by it, or someone in a car the rideshare driver was trying to avoid. The rideshare driver has a personal policy, and other coverage may apply depending on what the driver was doing for the app at that moment. Because the answer turns on those facts, we ask early for the trip records and for written confirmation from each insurer about which policy covers the crash.
Phone use is part of the picture in these cases, since the driver works from an app. Under Texas law, a driver commits an offense by reading, writing or sending a message on a portable device while the vehicle is in motion (Transportation Code section 545.4251). A phone mounted on the dashboard is not proof of anything, but the records of what the phone was doing can be.
Not sure whose insurance applies to the vehicle that hit you? Call our Houston office and tell us what you know. The consultation is free.
Delivery vans and company vehicles
When a van, service truck or company car causes a crash, the company behind it and its policy may be part of the claim, depending on who owned the vehicle and whether the driver was working at the time. Texas follows the federal safety rules for commercial vehicles: the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety adopts rules consistent with federal regulations (Transportation Code section 644.051). Whether a particular van counts as a commercial motor vehicle depends on the vehicle and how it is used, so we check that before relying on those rules.
If a suit against a company goes to trial, the 2021 Texas law in Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 72 lets the defendant ask for a trial in two phases. Our commercial vehicle accident lawyer in Houston page explains what that means and which records to request.
City buses
A bus owned by a city or another government unit changes the rules. Written notice of the claim, describing the injury, the time, the place and the incident, must reach the government unit within six months, a city charter may set a shorter period, and actual notice can sometimes excuse the written one (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 101.101). The Tort Claims Act also limits government liability, and for a municipality the bodily injury or death limits are $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence (section 101.023). Those figures are statutory caps, not what any claim is worth. Our bus accident lawyer in Houston page covers passengers, pedestrians and private buses as well.
18-wheelers and the federal rules
Big trucks run under detailed federal rules, and those rules create records. For property carriers, 49 CFR 395.3 requires 10 consecutive hours off duty before driving, bars driving after the 14th hour on duty, allows at most 11 hours of driving, requires a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and bars driving after 60 hours on duty in 7 days or 70 in 8 days. Electronic logging devices record the driver’s duty status (49 CFR 395.8), and carriers must keep those records and their supporting documents for at least 6 months.
Six months passes quickly while someone is in treatment. That is why, in an 18-wheeler case, a vehicle accident lawyer in Houston sends a preservation letter to the carrier early, asking it to keep the logs, the driver qualification file required by 49 CFR 391.51, the inspection and maintenance records required by 49 CFR 396.3, and any phone records that could show a breach of the texting and hand-held phone rules in 49 CFR 392.80 and 392.82.
What every vehicle crash has in common
- The two-year deadline. A personal injury suit must be brought within two years of the day the claim accrues (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003), with the shorter notice rule for government vehicles.
- The crash report. An officer who investigates a crash with injury, death or apparent damage of $1,000 or more files the CR-3 report with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code section 550.062).
- The duty to stop. A driver in a crash with injury or death must stop, check whether anyone needs aid and stay to give information (Transportation Code section 550.021).
- Shared fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own share of responsibility and barred above 50 percent.
If you are not sure what kind of vehicle hit you, or who owned it, start with what you have: the crash report, the other driver’s insurance card, photos of the vehicle and any logo or number painted on it. Our Houston vehicle accident lawyer team takes it from there. For how insurers judge an ordinary auto claim, see our auto accident lawyer in Houston page.
Questions people ask
The van that hit me had a company name on it. Can I claim against the company?
Possibly. It depends on who owned the van and whether the driver was working at the time. We find out who insured the vehicle and send notice to each insurer that may be involved.
Does it matter that I was not wearing a motorcycle helmet?
It does not by itself bar a claim in Texas. The insurer may raise it under the comparative fault rule, so we look closely at how the crash happened and how you were injured.
Whose insurance pays if I was riding in a rideshare car?
That depends on the driver’s status in the app at the time and on the policies involved. We request the trip details and ask each insurer in writing which coverage applies.
Is the deadline shorter if a city bus hit me?
The written notice to the government unit is due within six months, or sooner under some city charters. The two-year limit for filing suit still applies as well.