Hit and run lawyer in Houston: what to do when the other driver leaves

A hit and run leaves you hurt and without the one person a claim usually starts with: the other driver. You still have options. This page explains what Texas law requires of a driver after a crash, what to do in the first hours, and how a hit and run lawyer in Houston works the claim.

This page is from LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC, the firm behind Car Wreck Lawyers Houston, with its Houston office at 5300 Memorial Dr. The attorney responsible for this site is Jonathan Harris, Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

What Texas law requires of a driver after a crash

A driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone must stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, return to it if needed, find out whether anyone needs help and stay until they have given their information (Transportation Code section 550.021). Leaving is a felony when someone is killed or seriously hurt (section 550.021(c)).

The information a driver must give is set out in section 550.023: name, address, vehicle registration number and the name of the driver’s liability insurer, a driver’s license if asked, and reasonable help to anyone who is hurt. A crash with injury, death or a car that cannot be driven must be reported at once to the local police or, outside a city, the sheriff (section 550.026).

The first hours after a hit and run

1. Get to safety and get care. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Your health comes before any claim.
2. Report it to the police. Ask for the officer’s name and the report number. A police report is evidence that the crash happened and that the other driver left.
3. Write down what you saw. The color, make and model, any part of the plate, the direction the car went, and the time. Small details help.
4. Look for witnesses and cameras. People nearby, drivers who stopped, and businesses, homes or transit stops with cameras facing the road.
5. Photograph everything. Your car, the road, debris and your injuries.
6. Call your own insurer to report the crash, and call us before you give anyone a recorded statement.

Who pays when the driver is never found

In many hit and run claims the answer is your own policy. Texas law requires every auto policy to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Insurance Code section 1952.101). The same is true of personal injury protection (section 1952.152). Your policy’s own terms decide how its coverage applies to a driver who is never identified, so we read it closely and ask the insurer the right questions.

PIP is paid without regard to who caused the crash, and the insurer must pay it within 30 days of satisfactory proof of the claim (Insurance Code sections 1952.155 and 1952.156). The law does not require PIP of more than $2,500 per person (section 1952.153), so it is often a first help with bills, not the whole answer.

If the driver is found later

Police sometimes identify a driver days or weeks later, from video, debris, a witness or damage on the other car. Then the claim can go to that driver and their liability insurer, and your own coverage may still matter if their policy is too small. Texas minimum liability coverage is $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for two or more and $25,000 for property damage (Transportation Code section 601.072). Those are legal minimums, not a measure of what any claim is worth.

How we work a Houston hit and run claim

Hit and run claims reward speed, because the evidence that could identify the other car disappears fastest. When you hire us, our Houston office works on several fronts at once:

• We get the police report and stay in touch with the investigating agency.
• We send preservation letters to businesses and others whose cameras may have recorded the crash, before the video is recorded over.
• We gather your medical records and bills and track your lost work.
• We read your own policy to find every coverage that may apply, and we handle the claim with your insurer.
• If a driver is identified, we make the claim against that driver and their insurer.

Talking to your own insurer

After a hit and run, the first adjuster you speak with is often from your own insurance company. It is natural to assume that conversation is friendly. It is a claim, and the adjuster will write down what you say. Report the facts of the crash promptly, as your policy requires, but keep to what you know: the time, the place, what you saw. Do not guess at speeds, distances or the extent of your injuries.

If the insurer asks for a recorded statement, a medical authorization or an examination, call us first. Some requests are part of the policy’s terms; others go further than they need to. Our attorneys have made those requests from the insurer’s side, and they know which ones to answer, which to narrow and which to question.

Keep copies of everything the insurer sends you, and write down the name of every person you speak with and the date. If the insurer delays, those notes help.

Deadlines still apply

A personal injury lawsuit in Texas generally must be filed within two years of the crash (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003). Your insurance policy may also have its own notice requirements, so report the crash to your insurer promptly. If the car that hit you was a city or county vehicle, written notice of the claim is generally required within six months, and a city charter may set a shorter time (section 101.101).

When the car that left was a commercial or government vehicle

Sometimes the vehicle that left is a delivery van, a company pickup or a city truck. A logo, a fleet number or the color of a work vehicle can be enough to start an inquiry. Tell the police and tell us everything you noticed, however small.

If the vehicle belonged to a city, county or other government unit, the claim follows different rules. Written notice describing the injury, the time, the place and the incident is generally required within six months, a city charter may set a shorter period, and the law caps what a government unit can be made to pay (Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 101.101 and 101.023). Those limits make it even more important to call early.

Fault still matters in a hit and run

It may seem obvious that a driver who fled was to blame, but an insurer can still argue that you share responsibility. Under Texas law you can recover if your share is 50 percent or less, and your recovery is reduced by your share (Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 33.001 and 33.012). Witnesses, video and the scene itself answer those arguments.

Where hit and run crashes happen in Houston

Hit and run crashes happen on freeways, in parking lots and on neighborhood streets. Harris County is busy: TxDOT counted 115,173 crashes in the county in 2024, with 2,282 crashes involving a suspected serious injury. People walking and biking are especially exposed when a driver does not stop. If you were hit while walking, read our article on pedestrian accidents in Houston.

No Fees or Costs Unless We Win: the firm advances case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless money is recovered for you. For the full picture of a claim, read our page on hiring a car accident attorney in Houston.