Road rage refers to extreme aggression behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. While it is normal for drivers to sometimes become frustrated or angry, road rage brings driver frustration to the level of violence or recklessness. A driver putting him or herself and others in danger due to serious aggression is road rage. If a road rage driver causes personal injuries, property damages or deaths, victims can seek help from a car crash and injury attorney.

Is it Against the Law?

The state of Texas does not have any legislation specifically listing road rage as a crime. However, several actions an enraged driver may take could qualify as crimes. Aggressive driving, on the other hand, is a specific moving violation in Texas. Putting other people at risk by intentionally or recklessly breaking traffic laws is the definition of aggressive driving in Texas. Road rage could lead to several different criminal charges depending on the situation.

• Reckless driving. If a driver’s road rage causes him or her drive recklessly, the driver could be guilty of a crime under Texas Transportation Code section 545.401. This is a misdemeanor crime.
• Assault and battery. An extremely angry driver may exit his or her vehicle to physically assault a victim. A road rage driver could be guilty of assault, battery or harassment. These could be misdemeanor or felony offenses.
• Vehicular homicide or manslaughter. A road rage driver could be guilty of these serious crimes if he or she uses a vehicle as a weapon to take the life of another person. These are felony crimes that will lead to mandatory jail time.

A driver’s road rage itself may not be against the law in Texas, but many actions an enraged driver is likely to take could break state laws. Criminally negligent homicide, intoxication manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggressive driving, reckless driving, speeding, running red lights, harassment, tailgating or unsafe passing could all lead to criminal convictions or moving violations for the road rage driver.

Can Road Rage Be Harmful?

Road rage can be extremely harmful to everyone on the roadway. A driver experiencing a bout of anger may not be able to safely or prudently control his or her motor vehicle. This can lead to accidental or intentional collisions. A driver experiencing road rage could break roadway rules, speed, run red lights, ignore rights-of-way, weave between vehicles and tailgate – all dangerous behaviors that could cause car accidents. He or she could also become violent, leading to potential personal injuries from assault or battery.
Aggressive driving is a leading cause of auto accidents, according to studies. Aggressive driving can cloud a driver’s judgment or lead to intentional crimes, such as ramming one’s vehicle into another car or a pedestrian. It could also become a significant cognitive distraction, causing unintentional mistakes such as failing to notice a light changing. Road rage could be harmful to the driver and to everyone else on the road.

Is Road Rage Deadly?

Road rage has proven fatal for many victims in the past. Deadly incidents of road rage could involve catastrophic vehicle collisions or physical assaults with weapons from the angry driver. In many cases, road rage goes hand in hand with personality disorders and/or substance abuse. These combinations can lead to reckless driver behaviors that ultimately lead to fatal incidents.
You can help prevent road rage incidents by being a careful and courteous driver. Do not cut other drivers off, use hand gestures, yell at other drivers, tailgate, honk or otherwise instigate an altercation. Avoid doing things that could incite a driver’s road rage, such as driving too slowly in the fast lane. If an angry driver tries to engage with you, ignore him or her and do not make eye contact. Get out of the driver’s way and report him or her to the police if the driver appears to be a threat. Drive directly to a police station if an enraged driver appears to be following you.

Recovering from a car accident in Texas often takes seeking money from one or more parties to pay for your medical costs, vehicle repairs and other crash-related losses. Which insurance company will take your claim depends on the fault laws in your state. Your state will use fault, no-fault or hybrid fault laws. Texas is a fault state, not a no-fault state.

What Is a No-Fault State?

A no-fault state does not place any significance on fault for a car accident. It does not require injured parties to determine fault, identify negligence or prove liability to recover damages. Instead, all injured drivers and victims will seek benefits from their own auto insurance companies through first-party claims, no matter who is to blame for the accident. In no-fault states, all drivers carry personal injury protection insurance. This type of coverage pays for the insured person’s medical bills and property repairs, whether or not the insured party caused the car accident.
If you live in a no-fault state, every car accident claim will be a first-party insurance claim unless your injuries are serious enough to qualify you to bring a lawsuit against the negligent party. No-fault states use serious injury thresholds to decide if a victim has been injured severely enough to enable him or her to sue the at-fault party. If so, the victim can bring a third-party insurance claim against the other driver instead.

Is Texas a No-Fault State?

No, Texas is not a no-fault state. It uses a tort-based insurance system, meaning the driver at fault for the collision will be financially responsible for damages. Every driver in Texas lawfully must carry car insurance. Most drivers use their car insurance policies to pay for victims’ damages rather than paying out of pocket. After a vehicle collision, injured victims will seek financial benefits through the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. A negligent driver’s bodily injury and property damage liability insurance will pay for victims’ losses.
Unlike a no-fault state, Texas always allows car accident victims to file lawsuits against others in pursuit of financial compensation. You do not have to meet an injury threshold to bear the right to file a lawsuit against another driver for speeding, drinking and driving, texting while driving, or another act of negligence or recklessness in Texas. You will, however, have to prove the other driver’s fault for your accident before his or her insurance company will pay for your damages.
In a no-fault state, you do not need to prove fault. Your own insurer will reimburse your losses without requiring proof of anyone else’s negligence. This is not the case in Texas if you file a third-party insurance claim. In a hybrid fault state, it is usually up to drivers whether they wish to purchase fault or no-fault car insurance policies.

What Is Texas’s Comparative Fault Law?

During a car accident claim in Texas, the at-fault driver may try to avoid liability for your damages by alleging that you are also to blame for the collision. This is the comparative fault defense. This defense tries to diminish the defendant’s liability for your damages by apportioning some of the fault to you. If the courts agree that you also contributed to the crash, you may receive less in financial compensation.
A successful comparative fault defense in Texas can reduce your settlement or judgment award by an amount equivalent to your percentage of liability. If the defendant’s lawyer proves you were 10% at fault for looking at your phone when the defendant ran a red light and crashed into you, for example, you might receive 10% less than if you had not contributed to the crash at all.
Texas’s fault insurance laws can be difficult to navigate on your own – especially if you are simultaneously dealing with serious and painful personal injuries. Hire a car accident attorney to help you with the claims process. Your lawyer can negotiate with a third party’s insurance company for you while you focus on healing.

Are you interested in suing insurance company for denying claim? Dealing with an insurance company is not easy after an accident in Texas. We often receive the question if you can sue an insurance company for denying your claim. Insurance companies have a financial interest in the outcomes of claims. An insurer will benefit from avoiding client payouts. For this reason, insurance providers often violate the terms of insurance policies or engage in bad-faith claims practices for their own financial gain. If you are the victim of insurance bad faith in the form of denying a valid claim, you may be able to sue the insurance company in Dallas.

Is your insurance company denying claim in Dallas?

Do you have options if your insurance company is denying claim? The short answer is yes. But it only applies in certain circumstances.
There are many valid reasons why an insurance company might deny your claim, and it isn’t always grounds for a lawsuit.
However, the insurance policy you signed with the company is a binding agreement. Should the insurance company fail to meet the terms agreed upon in the policy, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit.

What Is Insurance Bad Faith?

Insurance companies deny claims all the time. Not all denials are illegal, invalid or in bad faith. Valid reasons for denying insurance claims include missing information, false information, missed deadlines, liability disputes and lack of insurance coverage. The insurance company receiving your claim must give you a reason if it denies coverage. If it doesn’t, call the insurance company to ask why it denied your claim.
If the insurance company cannot give you a reason, or the reason does not seem valid, you may be the victim of insurance bad faith. Common examples of insurance bad faith are inadequate investigations, requests for excessive proof of losses, unfounded claim denials, lowball settlement offers, delayed payouts and refusal to handle a claim reasonably. No insurance company is going to admit to bad faith. It will be up to you to identify signs of a wrongful denial.

Is Your Insurance Denying Claim? What Are Your Options After an Insurance Claims Denial?

If you suspect the insurance company of handling your claim in bad faith, you have legal options, such as, suing insurance company for denying claim. One is suing the insurance company. Before you file an insurance bad-faith lawsuit, however, talk to an insurance claims attorney in Dallas for advice. A lawyer may be able to negotiate a different case outcome without a lawsuit. Requesting an internal review of your insurance claim, for instance, may be enough to achieve a change in the outcome of your case. This is especially likely if your lawyer submits further evidence to support your claim.
Another option is to request an external review. You can contact the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) to complain about insurance bad faith. The TDI will review your insurance claim and how the insurer responded. If the TDI agrees that the insurer is in the wrong, it may force the company to pay you benefits. Simply hiring an attorney may be enough to convince an insurance company to handle your case better. If not, you and your lawyer can bring a lawsuit against the insurance company for denying your claim instead.

Can You Sue an Insurance Company for Denying a Claim?

We are often asked, “Can you sue an insurance company for denying a claim?” If your lawyer believes suing the insurance company is the best way to resolve your case, he or she can file the paperwork for you. Your lawyer will start by organizing the evidence related to your case. This may include a copy of your insurance policy, letters from the insurance company, summaries of your phone calls with claims adjusters, the denial notice, a police report and your medical records. Then, your lawyer will file a lawsuit with the civil courthouse in your county in Texas, naming the insurance company as the defendant. The lawsuit will describe the legal issue – an insurance bad-faith claim denial – and request an amount in compensation to resolve the case.
The insurance company will receive notice of your intent to sue. It will then have the chance to respond. If the company reconsiders its decision and agrees to offer a fair settlement, this could be the end of your lawsuit. If the insurer continues to deny benefits, however, you and your lawyer may need to proceed to trial. If your side of the case can prove insurance bad faith, the courts will order the insurance company to pay out your original claim, plus additional compensation to penalize the provider. Work with a car accident attorney near you for assistance going up against a company for wrongfully denying your claim.

Contact a Dallas Insurance Claim Lawyer Today

At Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. we offer a complimentary consultation in which we will examine the facts of your case and advise you on how to proceed with your insurance claim case.

With 14 years of experience, Texas Board Certification, a client-centered practice focused exclusively on personal injury law, the highest possible AVVO rating, more than 50 jury verdicts, and membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

You will incur no attorney fees, court, or legal expenses unless you recover. Time to file is limited by state law, so call today at (214) 833-8167 to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer who can protect your right to a monetary recovery.