Dallas Automobile Accident Attorney

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Important and often Overlooked Types of
Insurance Coverage that actually protect YOU:

Personal Injury Protection: Texas REQUIRES insurers to offer
Personal Injury Protection (PIP).   The only way you don't have PIP on
your policy is if you signed a written rejection of the coverage with your
agent.   You can have $2500, $5000, or $10,000 in coverage. This is a
no-fault insurance, which means you can collect against this coverage
regardless of fault. The liability coverage of the other driver who
causes the accident will not pay you for your injuries until you are ready
to settle the entire case. Therefor, you will need an insurance coverage
that pays for your medical bills and lost income (80% of lost income up
to limits) while waiting to settle with the other person's insurance
company. That is exactly what PIP does, it covers medical bills and lost
income (as well as some other helpful areas). Contact your agent and
make sure you have this important coverage on your insurance policy.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Approximately 1/3 of the
drivers out on the road in Texas do not have insurance coverage for
one reason or another (never bought it in the first place, missed a
payment, driving a car they purchased but forgot to add to their policy,
allowing a driver who has been excluded from the policy to drive the
vehicle). You MUST have Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage
on your insurance policy if you have an automobile accident with one of
these motorists. This coverage is designed to take the place of the
uninsured/underinsured motorist's coverage if they had coverage.
Like PIP, insurance companies are required to offer you this coverage.

Make sure you have adequate UNDERinsured motorist coverage as
well. Texas only requires that drivers carry $15,000.00 in liability
coverage for property damage. This means that a vast majority of
drivers on the road only have $15,000.00 in coverage if they hit your
vehicle, since this is the minimum amount required, and is the
cheapest rate, it is safe to assume, that this is the amount most people
carry.   This limit has not changed in over 20 years.   This amount will
not cover a new vehicle if it is totalled, which means that if you don't
carry Underinsured Motorist coverage, you will be digging into your own
pocket to pay for a loss caused by someone else. You MUST carry
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage to protect yourself.

Liability Coverage: Most people assume that they have adequate
liability insurance coverage if they purchase what is required under the
law. This is simply not true in Texas today. The minimum liability
coverage in Texas is 20/40/15, which means $20,000 per person for
injury claims, up to $40,000 per incident for injury claims (so no matter
how many people are hurt, they wont pay over $40,000), and $15,000
for property damage regardless of the number of vehicles. If you are
unfortunate enough to be the cause of an automobile accident, and that
accident totals even 1 new vehicle, your minimum limits will not cover
the entire loss. What will happen is the person you hit will be forced to
use his own Underinsured Motorist coverage. Then that insurance
company that paid under its Underinsured Motorist coverage will come
back after YOU for what it paid.   If you are unable to pay the insurance
company back, they will file forms with the State of Texas to suspend
your drivers license until you do pay the debt. They also can file liens
against any property you own, including your house, which keeps you
from being able to sell your home until the lien is paid off.

Be sure and check your liability limits, and purchase an adequate
amount to protect yourself and your assets. Failure to do so can be
devastating.

The Law Office of J. Douglas Goyen has been operating in Texas since 1997. Prior to
becoming an attorney, J. Douglas Goyen worked as a claims adjuster for GEICO from 1989
until entering Southern Methodist University Law School in 1994, and worked part-time for
various insurance companies during law school. Attorney Goyen has handled personal
injury automobile claims in one form or another since 1989. Attorney Goyen has been a
Trial Lawyer since 1997, representing victims of negligence who have been injured, killed
or disabled.

Mr. Goyen has the advantage of having worked both for and against the insurance
companies, and knows both the plaintiff's and defendant's ways of handling injury claims.
He has been handling injury claims in one fashion or another since 1989 (15 years).

To protect your rights, call us NOW. If a phone isn't available for you at the moment, use
the interactive form below to send us an email, and we will respond as soon as is possible.