Texas car accident claims: deadlines, fault rules and insurance, explained
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Texas Accident Type
Right of way, crosswalk status and lighting drive the fault argument. Coverage decides what a serious injury is actually worth.
The short answer
A Texas driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk, and must exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian regardless of who had the right of way. Crossing outside a crosswalk does not end a claim — it feeds proportionate responsibility, which only bars recovery above 50 percent.
In this guide
Right of way
Where no traffic control signal is operating, a driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk who is on the driver’s half of the road, or approaching closely enough from the other half to be in danger.
A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb into a crosswalk and into the path of a vehicle so close that the driver cannot stop and yield.
A driver may not pass a vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. This is the mechanism behind a large share of serious crosswalk injuries.
Crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, the pedestrian must yield to vehicles. Between adjacent signalised intersections, crossing is only permitted in a marked crosswalk.
A pedestrian may not walk along a roadway where an accessible sidewalk exists, and otherwise must walk on the left facing traffic. A driver emerging from an alley, driveway or private road must stop and yield to a pedestrian on the sidewalk crossing it.
Tex. Transp. Code § 552.003(a)–(c), § 552.005(a)–(b), § 552.006(a)–(c).
The driver’s duty either way
This is the provision that most often decides a claim where the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk.
Regardless of who had the right of way, a Texas driver must exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, sound the horn when necessary, and take proper precaution on observing a child or an obviously confused or incapacitated person on a roadway.
A pedestrian who crossed mid-block has not forfeited a claim. Their conduct becomes a percentage. Under Texas proportionate responsibility, damages are reduced by that percentage and barred only if it exceeds 50 percent.
Tex. Transp. Code § 552.008; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012.
The Lisa Torry Smith Act
Enacted as Senate Bill 1055 and effective 1 September 2021, the Act made it an offence to operate a motor vehicle with criminal negligence within the area of a crosswalk and cause bodily injury to a pedestrian — or to a person on a bicycle, motor-assisted scooter, mobility device, neighbourhood electric vehicle or golf cart.
The offence is a Class A misdemeanour, rising to a state jail felony where the person struck suffered serious bodily injury. The same Act is why section 552.003(a) now reads “stop and yield” rather than simply “yield”.
A criminal charge is not a civil claim and neither decides the other. But a charge under this section is a signal about how the investigating agency read the collision.
Tex. Transp. Code § 545.428(b)–(c); Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., ch. 944 (S.B. 1055).
Where the money comes from
A pedestrian has no vehicle policy in the collision, so the at-fault driver’s limits usually set the practical ceiling. Against the Texas minimum of $30,000 per person, a serious injury exhausts it immediately.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on a policy you hold can apply to injuries as a pedestrian, depending on the policy. This surprises people who assume it only covers them while driving.
Coverage held by a resident relative is worth checking for the same reason. Whether it responds depends on the wording, but it is frequently overlooked entirely.
Where the driver is never identified, uninsured motorist coverage is usually the only available route — which is why the written-rejection rule matters so much.
Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072(a-1); Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b)–(c).
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Common questions
No. It feeds proportionate responsibility. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility, and barred only if that percentage exceeds 50 percent.
Yes. Regardless of right of way, a driver must exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian, sound the horn where necessary, and take proper precaution on seeing a child or an obviously confused or incapacitated person.
No. Passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross is prohibited, and it is the mechanism behind many serious crosswalk injuries.
A 2021 Texas law making it an offence to cause bodily injury to a pedestrian by criminally negligent driving in a crosswalk. It is a Class A misdemeanour, or a state jail felony where the injury is serious.
Usually the driver’s liability policy. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, or a resident relative’s, may also respond to injuries suffered as a pedestrian depending on the wording.
Sources
Every Texas rule stated here is taken from the primary source named below. The Texas statutes are published free by the Texas Legislative Council.
Keep reading
Which policy responds, and the deadlines your own insurer must meet.
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Next steps
Right of way is only part of it. See how the Texas rules apply to what happened, and which coverage may respond. General information only, not legal advice.
Texas-specific information on crash deadlines, fault rules and insurance, with the statute cited on every page. Operated by National Claim Network. Not a law firm, insurer, or government agency.
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