A study that looked at stolen cars in U.S. metro areas with more than 1 million residents said that motor vehicle theft rates in San Antonio were among the highest in the nation. In raw numbers, the study found that 25,082 cars were stolen in Bexar County from 2017 to 2019 and that the rate of car thefts increased by 10 percent over the two years surveyed.
Worse than the theft, many allegedly stolen vehicles wind up in accidents, such as the head-on collision that left a couple and their 2-month-old child hospitalized last November or the crash that left two people in a stolen vehicle dead on I-10 near San Antonio in October.
If your car was stolen and involved in an accident in San Antonio, you may wonder who could be held responsible for the costs of the accident involving your stolen vehicle. If you were hit and injured by someone who had stolen a car, you might wonder who would pay for your medical costs and other losses.
An experienced San Antonio car accident lawyer at Herrman & Herrman can help you. We can review your options for seeking compensation in a free legal consultation.
Insurance for Damage To or Caused By Stolen Vehicles in San Antonio
If your car is stolen and damaged, you would need to have comprehensive auto insurance coverage to file a claim for the damage.
Comprehensive coverage pays to repair or replace a covered vehicle that is stolen or damaged by something other than a collision. For example, damage caused by theft, vandalism, fire, wind, hail, flood, falling objects, and hitting an animal would be covered. Comprehensive coverage also covers glass claims and windshield repair.
The liability and collision portions of your auto insurance will not cover car theft.
If you were to be hit and injured by someone driving a stolen car, your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage would pay for your and your passengers’ medical bills. PIP coverage also pays for lost wages and other nonmedical costs. All auto insurance policies in Texas include PIP coverage. If you don’t want it, you must sign a document declining coverage.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) may pay you if you were hit by someone driving a stolen car. UM/UIM is coverage you must be offered when you buy liability insurance. It is meant to pay if you are in an accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance or whose coverage isn’t enough to pay your medical bills. You could file against your UM coverage because the driver of a stolen car would not have liability insurance on that vehicle.
If you have UM coverage, your own insurance company should pay for your medical bills and even your pain and suffering if your injuries are severe enough.
If you decline to buy UM/UIM coverage, you must do so in writing.
Medical payments coverage, which is optional, also pays your and your passenger’s medical bills after a car accident. It also pays if you’re hurt while riding in someone else’s car.
What to Do If Your Vehicle Gets Stolen in San Antonio
If your car is stolen, you should follow these steps:
- Immediately contact the police and file a report.
To reach the San Antonio Police Department Auto Theft Division, phone (210) 207-7345. You may also phone (210) 207-7273, the SAPD’s nonemergency line.
Make sure you are prepared to provide police your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) so law enforcement agencies may identify your vehicle if it is located. A VIN is a 17-character code unique to each motor vehicle.
A car’s VIN is on the vehicle and on the vehicle title and insurance card. You should make sure that one copy of your auto insurance card and the car’s title if you have it, are not stored in your vehicle. If you do not have your VIN number readily available, contact your insurance company or financial lender to obtain it.
If possible, have the vehicle’s title available and know where all keys to the vehicle were before the theft, and be ready to provide a thorough description of the vehicle and any personal property stolen with the vehicle.
Note that not every incident reported to the San Antonio police is assigned for further investigation. A stolen vehicle report will generally only be assigned if additional information is available for follow-up investigators.
- Report the theft to your insurance provider.
Even if you do not have comprehensive insurance coverage, reporting the car as stolen will protect you if it causes harm to others after being stolen. Your insurer may want much of the same information SAPD needs.
- Contact your lender if the vehicle is leased or still being financed.
You’re Not Liable for a Stolen Car Accident
The good news after your car is stolen is that you are generally not responsible for the actions of the thief.
The majority common law rule is that the owner of a stolen vehicle is not liable for damages when the vehicle is stolen and then involved in an accident that causes injury or property damage. This is because the vehicle was taken without the consent of the owner, who did not cause the accident.
However, if you loan a vehicle, under the “permissive use doctrine,” you could be liable for personal injury or property damage resulting from negligence in the operation of a vehicle by anyone using the vehicle with your permission. Liability is dependent on the car owner’s express or implied permission.
CONTACT HERRMAN & HERRMAN IF YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF ACCIDENTS:
We can help you if you have been harmed by the following:
- Car accidents – Our lawyers have extensive experience handling car accident cases. We will work to identify the party or parties at fault for the crash and build a case to demonstrate persuasively how the parties caused the accident and your injuries. We will seek fair and full compensation through a negotiated settlement or at trial if necessary.
- Truck accidents – Thousands of large commercial trucks travel the roads of Texas every single day. Unfortunately, careless truck drivers and trucking companies disregarding safety put innocent people at risk of serious injuries. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, let our experienced Texas personal injury lawyers stand up to the trucking companies and insurers on your behalf.
- Motorcycle accidents – Motorcycle riders often suffer grievous injuries in crashes caused by other motorists. Too many motorcycle accidents in Corpus Christi are caused by careless drivers who don’t look for motorcycle riders or violate their right of way. Our personal injury lawyers will work to cut through the bias and stigma against motorcycle riders. Our goal is to seek the financial compensation that you’ll need to recover from a serious motorcycle accident and injuries such as bone fractures, road rash, or traumatic brain injury.
- Product liability – Product manufacturers have a legal obligation to make products that are safe for their intended uses and to warn consumers of any risks that may come with the product. When products have design or manufacturing defects or undisclosed dangers, the product manufacturer may be legally responsible for injuries suffered by consumers. Our attorneys can help you evaluate whether you have a valid product liability claim.
- Brain injury – Brain injuries can leave accident victims with disabilities that leave them unable to work or perform many tasks of daily living. Seeking compensation for a brain injury in an accident often proves incredibly complex. The brain injury survivor may seek compensation for anticipated future medical care and the medical care already provided. Our personal injury lawyers can help you through the difficult recovery process following a brain injury and will fight to make sure you have the resources you need.
- Spinal injury – Spinal cord injuries could cost millions of dollars of care over the course of the victim’s lifetime, especially when those injuries result in partial or complete paralysis, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. If you or your loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you deserve compassionate legal representation. Our attorney can help you determine whether you may be entitled to claim compensation for your injury and expenses related to living with the disability, such as making a home more accessible.
- Wrongful death – If you have lost a loved one due to the negligent or reckless actions of another party, your family deserves to seek accountability and compensation from those at fault for the wrongful death. Our caring and dedicated attorneys can help guide you and your family through this difficult and painful time and seek justice for your loved one.
