EXPERIENCED PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER SERVING ALL OF TEXAS
Written by Geoffrey Dashner. Read more about the author.
Most people who come to us after being hit by a car have no idea which insurance policy is supposed to pay them — or why there might be more than one. That confusion costs injured pedestrians real money. It delays treatment, it delays claims, and it sometimes results in people accepting far less than their injuries are worth. At Dashner Law Firm | McAllen Injury & Accident Attorney, I’ve worked through these insurance questions with hundreds of injured clients across the Rio Grande Valley, and what I see repeatedly is that the insurance process after a pedestrian accident is genuinely more complicated than after a standard car crash — because multiple policies can apply, and the order in which you use them matters.
This post focuses specifically on how insurance works in pedestrian accident cases in McAllen and throughout Texas. If you’ve already read about fault determinations or settlement amounts elsewhere on our blog, this picks up where those leave off.
Does Insurance Cover a Pedestrian Accident in Texas in McAllen?
Yes — but it’s rarely simple. In Texas, the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is the primary source of recovery for an injured pedestrian. Texas requires all drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That’s the state minimum under Texas Transportation Code § 601.072.
The driver’s liability policy covers bodily injury to people the driver harms — and a pedestrian qualifies just as much as an occupant of another vehicle. So if a driver runs a red light on Nolana Avenue and strikes you in a crosswalk, their liability carrier is supposed to compensate you for medical bills, lost wages, pain, and other damages.
That said, Texas liability minimums are low. Serious pedestrian injuries routinely generate medical bills well above $30,000. When the at-fault driver carries only the minimum — or no insurance at all — the pedestrian’s own policies become critical. Your own auto insurance policy (if you have one) may carry uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, which steps in to cover the gap. Your health insurance also comes into play. In some cases, the driver’s employer or the owner of the vehicle is separately liable, which opens additional coverage.
In McAllen specifically, I’ve handled cases where injured pedestrians didn’t even own a car and weren’t aware they could tap into a family member’s auto policy for UM/UIM coverage. Texas law generally allows household members to be covered under another resident’s policy, even if they weren’t in the vehicle. That’s a detail many people miss.
Who Covers Medical Bills in a Vehicle versus Pedestrian Accident in Texas?
In a standard two-vehicle crash, both drivers’ insurance companies are in the picture, and each driver may access their own collision or medical payments coverage. A pedestrian accident is different because you, as the pedestrian, have no vehicle involved — but that doesn’t mean you’re without options.
Here’s how medical bill coverage typically stacks up in a Texas pedestrian accident:
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is responsible for your damages once fault is established. But liability coverage doesn’t pay as you go — it pays at resolution, either through a negotiated settlement or a court judgment. That can take months or longer. You need something to cover treatment in the meantime.
Your own health insurance is usually the fastest way to get immediate treatment covered. Providers bill your health insurer, you pay your deductible and copays, and you seek reimbursement of those costs from the at-fault driver’s insurer through your injury claim. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001 — so as long as you’re less than 51% at fault, you can still recover. Even partial fault doesn’t eliminate your right to compensation.
Medical payments coverage (MedPay) on your own auto policy can pay your medical bills directly and immediately, up to the policy limit, regardless of fault. I’ll cover that separately below.
Medicaid and CHIP are relevant for lower-income McAllen residents. Texas has specific Medicaid reimbursement rules, and if Medicaid pays your bills, the state may assert a lien against your eventual recovery. We navigate those liens regularly as part of case resolution.
The key difference between a vehicle-versus-vehicle accident and a pedestrian accident is that pedestrians often lack the MedPay and PIP coverage they’d have as vehicle occupants — unless they proactively purchased it on their own auto policy. That gap in coverage is something worth addressing before you ever get hurt.
Does a Pedestrian Injured in an Auto Accident Have Medical Payment Coverage in Texas?
This is one of the most common questions I get, and the answer is: it depends on the policies in play.
Texas does not require drivers to carry MedPay coverage, but insurers are required to offer it. If you own a vehicle and declined MedPay when you set up your policy, you likely don’t have it. But here’s what many injured pedestrians don’t realize: if you live in the same household as someone who does have MedPay coverage on their policy, you may qualify as a covered household member — even though you weren’t in their car when you were hit. Policy language varies, so this requires an actual review of the specific policy documents.
MedPay in Texas typically covers amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, though higher limits are available. It pays regardless of who was at fault, covers medical and funeral expenses, and has no deductible. For a pedestrian with a broken leg or a traumatic brain injury, even $5,000 in immediate MedPay coverage can make the difference between getting proper early treatment and delaying care because of billing uncertainty.
Some clients ask whether the driver who hit them might have MedPay that could cover the pedestrian. Generally, MedPay on a driver’s policy covers the driver and their passengers — not third parties like pedestrians. The pedestrian would be covered under the driver’s liability coverage, not their MedPay.
One more wrinkle: Texas Personal Injury Protection (PIP) was eliminated as a mandatory coverage years ago, but some older policies or out-of-state drivers may still carry it. PIP functions similarly to MedPay. If the driver who hit you has an out-of-state policy with PIP, that could be an additional resource.
How Much Insurance Is Involved in a Pedestrian Death Due to a Car Accident in Texas?
Pedestrian fatalities in Texas have been a persistent problem. According to CDC data, pedestrians account for a disproportionate share of traffic fatalities nationally, and Texas consistently ranks among the states with the highest pedestrian death counts. When a pedestrian is killed, the case shifts from a personal injury claim to a wrongful death claim — and the insurance math changes significantly.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.002, eligible surviving family members (spouses, children, parents) can bring a wrongful death claim. Recoverable damages include loss of financial support, loss of companionship and care, mental anguish, and funeral expenses. These claims can be substantial.
The insurance coverage available in a fatal pedestrian case follows the same structure as a non-fatal case, but the dollar amounts matter more:
The at-fault driver’s liability policy is the starting point. If that driver carries only $30,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, that’s the ceiling from that policy alone. In fatal cases, families are often stunned to discover that the driver who killed their loved one had minimum-limits coverage.
If the driver was uninsured or underinsured, the deceased’s own household auto policy’s UM/UIM coverage applies. Households with strong UM/UIM limits — $100,000 or more — are in a materially better position than those with none.
If the driver was working at the time of the accident (a delivery driver, a commercial vehicle operator, a rideshare driver), their employer’s commercial policy comes into play. Commercial auto policies often carry $1 million or more in liability coverage. That’s a major difference from a personal auto policy.
Some families also pursue dram shop claims if alcohol was involved — meaning the establishment that served the driver may share liability. These cases add another insurance source.
In my experience, wrongful death cases involving pedestrians are among the most complex insurance matters in personal injury law. Getting the full picture of all available coverage requires subpoenas, policy reviews, and sometimes litigation. Families trying to handle this on their own almost always leave money on the table. The American Bar Association consistently advises that wrongful death claimants retain counsel, and there’s a good reason for that.
How Long Does It Take to Settle an Insurance Claim After a Pedestrian Accident in Texas?
Straight answer: anywhere from a few months to several years. The range is that wide because settlement timing depends on factors specific to each case.
The single biggest driver of timeline is medical treatment. Experienced pedestrian accident attorneys in Texas will generally advise clients not to settle until they’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) — meaning their doctors have determined the extent of long-term injury. Settling before MMI is a risk. If you accept $40,000 and then discover you need a second surgery, you can’t reopen the claim. That’s a permanent waiver of your rights.
For a pedestrian with a fracture and soft tissue injuries who treats for four to six months, a settlement might be reached six to nine months after the accident — assuming the at-fault driver was clearly liable and their insurer doesn’t dispute the claim aggressively.
For a pedestrian with a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, or who is permanently disabled, the case may take two to three years. That timeline typically includes litigation, discovery, and potentially a trial date — which often prompts the insurer to finally make a serious offer.
Texas insurance carriers are required under the Texas Insurance Code to acknowledge a claim within 15 days, accept or deny within 15 business days of receiving proof of loss, and pay within five business days of accepting. In practice, liability disputes and medical documentation delays push things far beyond those windows.
What speeds cases up: clear liability (a driver who ran a red light with a police report documenting it), solid medical documentation, and a claimant who followed all treatment recommendations. What slows cases down: disputed fault, gaps in treatment, and insurers who stall hoping claimants will accept low offers out of financial pressure.
How Many Car Accidents Involve Pedestrians in Texas?
Texas sees more pedestrian accidents than most states simply because of its size and car-centric infrastructure. The Texas Department of Transportation reported more than 800 pedestrian fatalities in recent years, making it one of the top three states for pedestrian deaths annually. Non-fatal pedestrian injuries run into the thousands each year.
The Rio Grande Valley — the region that includes McAllen — has specific traffic patterns that contribute to pedestrian risk. High-traffic commercial corridors like 10th Street, Expressway 83, and 23rd Street see significant pedestrian activity alongside fast-moving vehicle traffic. In border communities, pedestrian movement across intersections and near transit stops is frequent and often poorly protected by infrastructure.
Nationally, the CDC reports that a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash approximately every 75 minutes in the United States. Texas accounts for a disproportionate share of those deaths. Urban areas with mixed pedestrian and vehicle traffic — exactly the kind of environment that describes much of McAllen’s commercial districts — are where most of these accidents happen.
What these numbers mean practically: if you’re struck as a pedestrian in Texas, you’re far from alone, and the legal and insurance systems here have developed specific approaches to these cases. An attorney who handles pedestrian cases regularly knows how insurers approach these claims, what investigators look for, and how local courts view pedestrian accident litigation. That local, case-type-specific experience matters.
What a Hit-and-Run Does to Your Insurance Claim?
Hit-and-run accidents are common enough in McAllen that they warrant their own mention. If the driver who hit you fled the scene, you have no named at-fault driver and no accessible liability policy. Your recovery then depends almost entirely on your own UM coverage — or a household member’s — and potentially on any witnesses or camera footage that could identify the driver.
Texas law allows UM coverage to apply to hit-and-run accidents, but the policy typically requires that there was actual physical contact between the vehicle and the pedestrian (or requires the pedestrian to report within a specific timeframe). A Texas pedestrian hit-and-run attorney knows how to document and present these claims correctly so the insurer can’t find a technical reason to deny them.
Why You Need a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Before Talking to the Insurer?
Insurers assign adjusters to minimize payouts — that’s their job. Within days of an accident, adjusters may call injured pedestrians asking for recorded statements, requesting medical records releases, or offering quick settlements. In my experience, early settlement offers in pedestrian cases are almost always well below full value. Adjusters make those calls when you’re still in pain, still uncertain about your prognosis, and potentially worried about bills piling up.
A personal injury pedestrian lawyer acts as your point of contact with all insurers. We send representation letters so adjusters call us, not you. We preserve evidence — surveillance footage, black box data, witness statements — before it disappears. And we calculate a real damages figure based on actual medical costs, future care projections, lost income, and pain and suffering, not the adjuster’s number.
You can read about our team’s experience and past results for clients to get a sense of how we approach these cases. Legal resources from Justia and Cornell Law School also provide useful background on personal injury and insurance law if you want to understand the framework before consulting an attorney.
Talk to a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in McAllen
If you or someone you love was struck by a vehicle in McAllen or anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley, the insurance questions above are ones you shouldn’t try to sort through alone while recovering from serious injuries.
Dashner Law Firm | McAllen Injury & Accident Attorney represents injured pedestrians and their families across Texas. We handle cases on a contingency fee basis — no fee unless we recover for you. Initial consultations are free.
Call our office today at (956) 303-6170. You can also contact us online to schedule a consultation at your convenience. Our office is located at 813 N Main St #608, McAllen, TX 78501.
You have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim under Texas’s statute of limitations — but evidence fades fast, cameras overwrite footage, and witnesses become harder to locate. The sooner you get legal help, the stronger your case.
