Fort Worth Uninsured Motorist Lawyers
Reviewed by Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Founder · Texas Bar No. 24113438 · Updated August 2026
What this page covers
This page is about claims against your own insurance company after a crash in Fort Worth or Tarrant County caused by a driver who was uninsured, underinsured, or never identified. It covers what UM/UIM coverage is, the written-rejection rule that makes it part of most Texas policies, the physical-contact rule for hit-and-run, the Brainard decision that shapes how these claims are litigated, the 30/60/25 gap that makes underinsured claims so common, and the practical steps that protect the claim. Claims against the at-fault driver are covered on our Fort Worth car accident page; the Fort Worth personal injury overview covers the general framework.
Where we are. Fort Worth UM/UIM cases are handled from our Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, about 30 miles east on I-30. We do not have a Fort Worth office; consultations are free by phone or video and the case is filed in Tarrant County. Our Dallas uninsured motorist lawyers page covers the east side of the Metroplex, and the national uninsured motorist page compares the rules across the six states where our attorneys are licensed.
Fort Worth uninsured motorist law at a glance
| UM/UIM must be offered | Included in every Texas auto policy unless the named insured rejects it in writing — Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101 |
|---|---|
| Hit-and-run (phantom vehicle) | UM claim requires actual physical contact with the unidentified vehicle — § 1952.104 |
| When the UIM insurer must pay | Only after the at-fault driver’s liability and underinsured status are established — Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006) |
| Minimum liability limits | 30/60/25 — Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072 |
| Personal injury protection | $2,500 minimum must be offered; no-fault; no subrogation against your recovery — §§ 1952.152, 1952.155 |
| Deadline to sue | 2 years from the crash for the injury claim — Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003; check the policy for notice and cooperation conditions |
| Fault rule | Barred above 50% responsibility — § 33.001 |
| Where suit is filed | Tarrant County district courts, Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun St., Fort Worth 76196 |
| Our office | 4245 N Central Expy, Suite 490, Dallas, TX 75205 · (469) 253-2533 |
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Tell us what happened and a member of our Texas team will call you back — usually within minutes during business hours. Free, confidential, no fee unless we win. Prefer to talk now? Call (469) 253-2533.
What is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in Texas?
UM/UIM is coverage on your own auto policy that stands in for the at-fault driver’s missing or inadequate liability insurance. Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver had no liability insurance, or when the driver cannot be identified. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver had insurance, but not enough to cover your damages. Both pay the damages you would have been entitled to recover from the at-fault driver — medical expenses, lost wages, pain and mental anguish, physical impairment — up to your UM/UIM limits, and in an underinsured case reduced by what the other driver’s insurer paid.
Texas makes it hard not to have it. Under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101, an insurer must offer UM/UIM coverage with every auto liability policy, and the coverage is part of the policy unless the named insured rejects it in writing. Many people who believe they declined it never signed a rejection; many who signed did so on a policy that has since been renewed or replaced. The first step in every Fort Worth UM/UIM case is to obtain the policy and any rejection form and read them, because the coverage is often there.
Why are underinsured claims so common in Tarrant County?
Because the state minimum is so low. Texas requires only 30/60/25 — $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, $25,000 in property damage (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072). A worked example: a driver on Loop 820 is rear-ended by a minimum-limits driver and suffers a herniated disc requiring surgery, with $90,000 in medical bills and three months of lost wages. The at-fault driver’s insurer pays its $30,000 limit and is done. The remaining loss — $60,000 in bills, the wages, the pain and the impairment — is paid, if at all, by the injured driver’s own UIM coverage. With 100/300 UIM limits there is room to be made whole; with no UIM there is not. A serious injury almost always exceeds a minimum policy, and many drivers carry the minimum, or nothing at all.
Does uninsured motorist coverage cover a hit-and-run in Fort Worth?
Yes, with one hard condition: Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104 requires actual physical contact between your vehicle and the unidentified vehicle. A driver who forces you into the median on I-35W and disappears without touching your car has not triggered UM coverage under the statute, however clear the fault. A driver who clips you and flees has. Establishing contact is therefore the first evidentiary task in a phantom-vehicle claim — paint transfer, damage patterns, debris, dash-camera and traffic-camera footage, and witnesses. Report the hit-and-run to Fort Worth Police or the responding agency immediately; the CR-3 and the timing of the report matter to the insurer.
Do I have to sue my own insurance company?
Often, yes — and that is not a sign of bad faith, it is how Texas law works. In Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006), the Texas Supreme Court held that a UIM insurer’s contractual obligation to pay does not arise until the insured establishes the at-fault driver’s liability and the amount of damages — typically by judgment. Until then the insurer owes nothing, is not in breach, and generally owes no attorney’s fees for declining to pay. The practical consequence is that a UM/UIM claim is frequently resolved by filing suit against your own insurer in Tarrant County, proving the other driver’s fault and your damages to a jury, and then collecting under the policy. Insurers know this and price early offers accordingly; a case prepared for trial is valued differently from one that is not.
What if I was partly at fault?
UM/UIM pays what you would have recovered from the at-fault driver, so Texas proportionate responsibility applies. If a jury puts your share at 50 percent or less, your damages are reduced by that percentage; above 50 percent you recover nothing (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, § 33.012). Your own insurer will make the same fault arguments the other driver’s insurer would have made — speed, following distance, lane changes, phone use — and the evidence answers them the same way.
Will my rates go up if I file a UM/UIM claim?
UM/UIM is coverage you paid for against exactly this risk. Texas law does not prohibit every rate consequence, and underwriting decisions vary by carrier, but a claim arising from a crash you did not cause is treated very differently from an at-fault claim. The larger point is arithmetic: the value of a serious-injury UM/UIM claim dwarfs any conceivable premium change, and declining to use the coverage does not make the medical bills go away.
How long do I have to file a UM/UIM claim in Fort Worth?
The underlying injury claim carries Texas’s two-year limitation (§ 16.003), and the safest course is to treat the UM/UIM claim as subject to the same clock. Policies also impose notice, cooperation and consent-to-settle conditions: settling with the at-fault driver’s insurer without your own insurer’s written consent can forfeit UIM coverage under many policies. Report the crash to your insurer promptly, put it on notice of a potential UM/UIM claim in writing, and do not sign a release with the other driver’s carrier until the UIM carrier has consented or waived.
What is a Fort Worth UM/UIM claim worth?
The same measure as a claim against the at-fault driver — economic damages (medical expenses paid or incurred under § 41.0105, lost wages, lost earning capacity) and non-economic damages (pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement) — capped by your UM/UIM limits and reduced, in an underinsured case, by the liability payment received. Stacking rules, multiple vehicles on a policy, and coverage on a resident relative’s policy can change the available limits and are checked in every case. Personal injury protection pays first and, under § 1952.155, is not recouped from the recovery. Health-plan and hospital liens under Property Code Chapter 55 are negotiated against it. Any figure quoted before the policy and the medical records are reviewed is a guess.
Which court hears a Fort Worth UM/UIM case?
A suit against your own insurer is filed under § 15.002 where the crash occurred or where the insurer does business — for a Tarrant County crash, the Tarrant County district courts at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun Street, or the county courts at law for smaller claims. The at-fault driver, if identified, is usually joined so that fault and damages are decided in one proceeding. Out-of-state insurers sometimes remove to the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division.
What should you do to protect a UM/UIM claim after a Fort Worth crash?
- Report the crash to your own insurer promptly and in writing, and state that you may have a UM/UIM claim.
- Get the policy and any UM/UIM rejection form and read them. The coverage is often there.
- In a hit-and-run, document physical contact — photographs of paint transfer and damage, the CR-3, camera footage, witnesses — and report it to police immediately.
- Open your PIP claim so bills are paid while the UM/UIM claim proceeds.
- Do not settle with the at-fault driver’s insurer or sign a release until your UIM carrier has consented in writing.
- Treat consistently and keep a record of missed work and limitations; the UM/UIM insurer values the claim on the medical proof.
- Calendar the two-year deadline and the policy’s notice conditions.
Southern Injury Attorneys
4245 N Central Expy, Suite 490, Dallas, TX 75205 — about 30 miles east of downtown Fort Worth via I-30
(469) 253-2533 · Open 24 hours · Free phone and video consultations for Tarrant County clients
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What clients say about Southern Injury Attorneys
Real Google reviews from our clients. Individual results vary.
“A young man with no insurance totaled my car. Southern Injury stepped up and made me happy with the result.”
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“I was overwhelmed with insurance and medical bills after my car accident. They reached a fair resolution for me.”
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Related Fort Worth, Dallas and Texas pages
Other Fort Worth pages: car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, rear-end collisions, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death and the Fort Worth personal injury overview. Across the Metroplex: Dallas uninsured motorist lawyers and our Dallas office. Statewide: Texas car accident lawyers; national: uninsured motorist accident lawyer.
Fort Worth uninsured motorist FAQs
Do I have uninsured motorist coverage in Texas?
Probably. Under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101, UM/UIM coverage is part of every Texas auto policy unless the named insured rejected it in writing. Get the policy and any rejection form and read them.
Does uninsured motorist coverage cover a hit-and-run?
Yes, if there was actual physical contact between your vehicle and the unidentified vehicle, as Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104 requires. A driver who runs you off the road without touching your car does not trigger UM coverage under the statute.
What does underinsured motorist coverage pay?
The damages you would have recovered from the at-fault driver, reduced by what that driver’s insurer paid, up to your UIM limits. Texas minimum liability is only $30,000 per person, so serious injuries commonly exceed it.
Do I have to sue my own insurance company to get UM/UIM benefits?
Often. Under Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006), the insurer’s duty to pay does not arise until the at-fault driver’s liability and your damages are established, typically by judgment. Filing suit is a normal step, not a sign of bad faith.
Can I settle with the other driver’s insurer first?
Not without your own insurer’s written consent. Most Texas policies condition UIM coverage on consent to settle, and a release signed without it can forfeit the coverage.
How long do I have to bring a UM/UIM claim in Fort Worth?
Treat it as two years from the crash under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, and comply with the policy’s prompt-notice and cooperation conditions.
Can I recover under UM/UIM if I was partly at fault?
Yes, if your share of responsibility is 50 percent or less; your recovery is reduced by that percentage. Above 50 percent you recover nothing under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001.
Will filing a UM/UIM claim raise my rates?
A claim from a crash you did not cause is treated differently from an at-fault claim, and underwriting varies by carrier. The value of a serious-injury claim far exceeds any premium change.
Does PIP have to be paid back out of my settlement?
No. Under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.155 an insurer paying PIP has no subrogation right against your recovery; its only reimbursement right is against an uninsured at-fault driver.
Where would a Fort Worth UM/UIM lawsuit be filed?
In the Tarrant County district courts at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun Street, Fort Worth, or the county courts at law for smaller claims, under the venue rules of § 15.002.
Does Southern Injury Attorneys have a Fort Worth office?
No. Fort Worth UM/UIM cases are handled from our Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, about 30 miles east. Consultations are free by phone or video at (469) 253-2533, and there is no fee unless we win.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened and we will call you back — usually within minutes during business hours. Free consultation, no fee unless we win. Phone and video consultations are available for Fort Worth and Tarrant County clients; we also meet clients at our Dallas office on N. Central Expressway.
Texas Bar No. 24113438. Jimmy leads a personal injury firm with attorneys licensed in Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and Georgia. Fort Worth and Tarrant County cases are handled from the firm’s Dallas office on N. Central Expressway.
This page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, regulations and case law change; every case turns on its own facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Reviewed by Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Founder, Southern Injury Attorneys, Texas Bar No. 24113438. Fort Worth matters are handled from the firm’s Dallas office at 4245 N. Central Expressway, Suite 490, Dallas, Texas 75205, about 30 miles east of downtown Fort Worth. Southern Injury Attorneys does not maintain an office in Fort Worth.
