classicdoug said:
I hope they take care of you. I have a fleet customer with front and rear cameras in all of their vans. One of them was on beltway 8 last January in stop and go traffic. A Harris county constable never saw the traffic and slammed full speed into the back of my customer. The video from both cameras was pretty shocking. The officer admitted fault, but as of a few months ago they were still having trouble getting paid. Both vehicles were totaled.
Firstly, glad OP was okay.
Public entities in Texas are almost all self-insured, including police, fire depts, schools, etc. They pool risk and hire a third party administrator to administer the fund, process claims, hire adjusters, etc… they are typically going to low ball. And they know you have little to no recourse if it's REALLY BAD. I would honestly use my insurance and have them subrogate. It's the easiest way to get paid.
Thankfully neither of these sound like they rise to the level of really bad. I know of a school bus wreck from years and years ago that had multiple fatalities, both in the bus and car they hit. Bus completely ran a red light going 45 and t-boned a car. If that had been an 18-wheeler, an ambulance chaser could have probably secured an 8-figure settlement/judgement from a company. But since it was a public entity, maximum payout was $100,000 per individual and $300,000 per claim. If it was a state angency then 250/500. And these limits aren't exactly pegged to inflation and haven't changed in a long time.
They have sovereign immunity and strict caps on liability under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Same section of the law that prevented Leach from suing Tech. I know the reason for the law but it doesn't seem just or fair in these situations. And if you're driving a car worth over $100,000 or have significant medical payments, good luck. That's when you just have to use your own insurance (and yet another contributing factor to our higher insurance costs).
