Injured in a Hit-and-Run in Houston?

Do not chase the other driver. The impulse is understandable, but pursuing a fleeing vehicle puts you and everyone else on the road at risk. Stay where you are, check yourself for injuries, and call 911 immediately.

Tell the dispatcher it was a hit-and-run. Give them everything you can about the other vehicle — make, model, color, partial plate number, direction they fled, any damage you noticed. Even a partial plate or a general vehicle description can be enough for police to find the driver. Houston has deployed over 318 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras from Flock Safety across the city, and these cameras photograph every passing vehicle — a partial plate or vehicle description combined with ALPR data has helped solve hit-and-run cases.

If you're able, flag down witnesses before they leave. Other drivers, pedestrians, people at nearby businesses — anyone who saw the vehicle or the crash. Their descriptions and any dashcam footage can be the difference between finding the driver and never identifying them.

Even if your injuries seem minor, get checked out at an emergency room or urgent care the same day. Adrenaline and shock mask pain. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and internal bleeding don't always show symptoms right away.

Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center operates the Red Duke Trauma Institute, a Level I trauma center. Ben Taub Hospital (Harris Health System) is also a Level I trauma center. For children, Texas Children's Hospital is the largest pediatric hospital in the country.

Medical documentation matters for two reasons. First, it links your injuries to the crash — without that documented connection, any insurance claim gets harder. Second, if the driver is found later, your medical records become the foundation of your claim against them. If they're never found, you'll need those records to file a claim under your own uninsured motorist coverage.

If police responded to the scene, they'll generate a crash report. If they didn't — which is common in Houston, where only 4.3% of the 26,800+ hit-and-run cases in 2023 were even assigned to an investigator — you must file a report yourself. Call HPD's non-emergency line at 713-884-3131 or visit the nearest HPD district station. Note: HPD's online report system cannot be used for crash reports — these must be filed by phone or in person.

Texas law (Tex. Transp. Code § 550.062) requires drivers to file a crash report with TxDOT within 10 days if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more and was not investigated by a law enforcement officer.

The police report is your single most important document. It creates an official record that a hit-and-run occurred, captures the evidence collected at the scene, and triggers an investigation. Give the police everything you have: your description of the other vehicle, witness contact info, the time and location of the crash, and any photos or video.

Ask whether there are traffic cameras, red-light cameras, or business security cameras near the crash location. Houston has been expanding its camera and ALPR infrastructure, and footage from nearby intersections, gas stations, and commercial buildings has helped identify hit-and-run drivers. The police may not check every camera without being prompted — ask specifically.

Write down every detail you recall about the other vehicle and the crash while it's still fresh. Color, size, body style, any distinguishing features — bumper stickers, damage, loud exhaust, tinted windows. Which direction did they go? Did they brake before impact or hit you at full speed? Did they slow down after the collision or accelerate away?

Photograph your vehicle's damage, the crash location, skid marks, debris left behind, and any paint transfer on your car. Paint transfer is physical evidence — it can match the other vehicle's factory color and narrow the search. Don't wash your car or have the damage repaired until police have had a chance to examine it.

If you were a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car that fled, photograph your injuries, your damaged clothing, and the exact spot where the impact happened. Look for broken pieces from the other vehicle — mirror glass, plastic trim, headlight fragments. Those parts can identify the year, make, and model of the car.

Save everything. Tow truck receipts, medical bills, pharmacy costs, records of missed work. You'll need all of it whether you're filing against the other driver's insurance or your own.

Here's the reality: most hit-and-run drivers in Houston are never identified. Of 26,800+ hit-and-run cases in 2023, only 310 — roughly 1.2% — were cleared by HPD. Police simply don't have the resources to investigate every case. But that doesn't mean you're left with nothing.

If you carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your auto policy, this is exactly the situation it's designed for. When the other driver is unidentified — a textbook hit-and-run — your own UM policy steps in and covers your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, up to your policy limits.

Important: Texas does not require drivers to carry UM coverage. It is optional. When you purchase auto insurance in Texas, your insurer is required to offer UM/UIM coverage, and you must affirmatively reject it in writing if you don't want it. If you never signed a rejection form, you likely have UM coverage at your policy's liability limits. Check your policy now.

To trigger your UM coverage for a hit-and-run, you generally need to file a police report and demonstrate that you were injured by an unidentified driver. Important: most Texas UM policies include a physical contact requirement — meaning the fleeing vehicle must have actually struck your vehicle or your person for the UM claim to apply. If a driver ran you off the road without contact, your UM claim may be denied unless you can identify the driver. Your insurance company will treat this as a claim under your own policy, which means they'll investigate and negotiate — don't assume they'll be generous just because you're their customer.

If you also carry underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, that provides an additional layer. If the hit-and-run driver is eventually found but has minimal or no insurance, your UIM coverage makes up the difference.

If police identify the hit-and-run driver — through cameras, witnesses, paint transfer analysis, ALPRs, or the driver turning themselves in — the situation changes. Now you have a defendant.

The driver faces criminal charges under Texas's Failure to Stop and Render Aid statute (Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021). Penalties are severe: leaving the scene of a crash that caused death is a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony carrying 2 to 10 years. Any other injury is punishable by 1 to 5 years. Even a property-damage-only hit-and-run is a misdemeanor.

On the civil side, you now file your claim against the driver and their insurance — not your own UM policy. The fact that the driver fled the scene works strongly in your favor. Fleeing is evidence of consciousness of guilt and makes any comparative negligence argument against you much harder for the defense to sell. Juries don't look kindly on drivers who hit people and run.

Texas's two-year statute of limitations (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003) generally applies from the date the cause of action accrues. In hit-and-run cases, the statute may be tolled (paused) until the responsible driver is identified, since you can't sue someone you don't know. However, don't rely on tolling without consulting an attorney — the rules are fact-specific, and starting the process early preserves evidence and gives you more options.

Texas's modified comparative negligence rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001) applies to hit-and-run cases. If you're found partially at fault for the crash — for example, if you made an unsafe lane change and were rear-ended by a driver who then fled — your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If you're 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing.

In hit-and-run cases where the driver is never found, comparative negligence is less of an issue because there's no defendant arguing fault. Your UM carrier may raise it, but they have limited information about the other driver's behavior.

When the driver is found, comparative negligence becomes a real battleground. The driver's attorney will try to paint a picture where you contributed to the crash. But the fact that the driver fled undermines their credibility on fault. A jury is unlikely to blame the person who stayed and called 911 when the other driver ran.

Hit-and-run cases have layers that standard car accident claims don't. You may be filing against your own insurance company rather than the other driver's. The criminal investigation may or may not produce a suspect. The statute of limitations clock is ticking whether the driver has been found or not. And if the driver is found, coordinating the criminal and civil tracks takes experience.

An attorney can file the UM claim with your insurer and negotiate on your behalf, push for a thorough police investigation, preserve evidence (especially surveillance footage, which businesses typically overwrite within 30 to 90 days), and — if the driver is identified — pursue the full civil claim against them.

Most personal injury attorneys in Houston handle hit-and-run cases on contingency. No upfront cost, and they only get paid if you recover money. A free consultation tells you what your options are and what the case might be worth — whether the driver has been found or not.